59
votes
Accepted
What is the point of the depressible peg on a quick release plate?
It’s called an anti-rotation pin. This pin interfaces with most cine (motion picture) cameras. Cinematographic camera applications often involve panning the camera. Such activities can result in the ...
- 37.7k
41
votes
Accepted
How can a tripod be unstable?
A tripod can be unstable by:
Having cheap leg fasteners / too heavy a load for the legs
My first tripod ever was a hand-me-down Velbon that had seen some abuse. Even sporting just a 20D and 70-200 ...
- 20.4k
33
votes
What is the point of the depressible peg on a quick release plate?
I haven't seen any camera that has a hole that the peg would fit into.
Let me fix that for you. Here is the base of an old video camera of mine:
The little hole is where the peg goes. If you don't ...
- 816
26
votes
Long exposures blurred images due to mirror movement - film photography
Along with weighing down the tripod, using a cable to release the shutter will help reduce camera movement.
Also, if you want to guarantee no mirror shake happens during the exposure, hold a black ...
- 1,057
24
votes
How can a tripod be unstable?
I have a nice heavy tripod and a cheap, light aluminum tripod. I hear a lot of people talking about wind and vibration, etc, and I think you're right - the environment makes a big difference. ...
- 504
24
votes
Accepted
Why is there ghosting when using flash on tripod with image stabilization?
Looks like it's related to image stabilization as Tetsujin suggested. Managed to replicate the issue. Switched off the IS and the Ghosting went away. It is a new IS lens (Latest Sigma 105mm macro IS)....
- 501
23
votes
Why is there ghosting when using flash on tripod with image stabilization?
Sigma's product manual says:
Please do not use Optical Stabilization in the following situations.
When the lens is mounted on a tripod
Bulb (long time exposure)
As I understand it, ...
- 1,339
22
votes
Accepted
Long exposures blurred images due to mirror movement - film photography
Mirror slap is an issue in "medium" long exposures - from 1/30 or so til about a second or two.
Tripod shake is issue in "long" long exposures - from about a second upwards.
For shooting stars you ...
- 5,960
21
votes
Accepted
How important is quick release for a tripod?
The importance of a quick release is inversely proportional to the patience of your family.
- 21.6k
20
votes
Accepted
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
I'd like preface my answer with a note that a tripod is not only useful in conjunction with ND filters — it also improves the results from image stacking as well. By fixing the position of the camera, ...
- 31.6k
17
votes
Long exposures blurred images due to mirror movement - film photography
Mirror slap will last some fraction of a second. This is completely irrelevant in a multi hour exposure.
Weighing down your tripod is a good idea nonetheless, since movement from wind will be a ...
- 6,967
15
votes
How can a tripod be unstable?
May I ask how a tripod can be unstable?
Unstable might be the wrong word to describe the major problem with tripods; unsteady might be a better choice. Tripods are quite stable in the sense that, ...
- 31.6k
13
votes
What are the pros and cons of flip lock vs. twist lock on tripods?
For most people it is just a personal preference. Some say the flip locks are more bulky and can get snagged on objects. Some will tell you that one or the other is faster to set up and take down.
I ...
- 11.9k
13
votes
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
Well, with regards to your (1)... You could carry a light tripod (or beanbag or any other way of stabilizing a camera) and use only a single ND filter instead of several stacked filters.
With regard ...
- 5,073
12
votes
Photographing Older Documents
I've taken pictures of documents recently. While in my case there was no requirement to have high quality pictures, I decided to try to aim for the most detailed and noise free pictures possible. To ...
- 3,576
12
votes
Long exposures blurred images due to mirror movement - film photography
There's always the old Hat Trick:
Take your hat (or anything blocking light, a piece of cardboard, the dew cap of your lens etc.). Hold it in front of the lens to prevent light to reach your film.
...
- 221
12
votes
How can I ensure that a lens is pointing absolutely vertically downwards?
A good way is to set a mirror flat on the floor, and check the reflection of the lens in the viewfinder. It should be exactly centered:
This actually ensures that the lens axis is perpendicular to ...
- 18.3k
11
votes
Accepted
How can I stiffen a droopy Gorilla Pod?
The following method worked for me to stiffen up a generic fakey-pod (i.e., meaningless name / brand gorillapod clone). This may or may not work for your version.
I only had problems with a few ...
- 19.5k
10
votes
Tripod heads vs monopod heads: what's the difference?
There's a lot of overlap in terms of what can be used with each type of support. In general both tripods and monopods use a standard 3/8" bolt to connect to the heads attached to them. So pretty much ...
- 172k
10
votes
Can I make this tripod I found in the trash work for my camera?
That is not a camera tripod. It looks more like a light stand, music stand, or microphone stand with a part missing.
It may be stable enough for a small camera but you would have to jury-rig ...
- 11.9k
10
votes
Can a tripod be used on the grounds of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich?
It can't be a by-law, as it's private property; it can only be a 'management decision' & frankly they can be as capricious as they like.
I've been there with a full film crew & 100 movie ...
- 21.6k
9
votes
How can I best take a tripod on a plane trip?
I only have a fairly small aluminum tripod (53 cm / 21" folded, sans head), which fits inside my suitcase and is more than sturdy enough to take any abuse the luggage handlers might dish out, so I've ...
- 4,553
9
votes
Which tripod apex material reduces vibrations better, magnesium or aluminum?
TL;DR: You can't really optimize the tripod apex for vibration reduction, just the legs.
Note: I've also heard the apex referred to as a spider. It's the (usually) single piece where the legs come ...
- 31.6k
8
votes
Photographing Older Documents
My 2 cents.
1) Use the longest focal range you can, the longest lens and/or the furthest distance you can setup.
This is to reduce perspective distortion and chromatic aberrations.
2) You can ...
- 22.1k
8
votes
What can I use to shift a tripod mount to the side for easier access to the battery compartment?
This question actually inspired me to create an account, because I just recently went to the trouble to fabricate the exact thing you describe for my old Olympus XZ-1, which has a very similar ...
- 5,374
7
votes
What are the pros and cons of flip lock vs. twist lock on tripods?
I used to have a Bogen/Manfrotto 3205 legset (bought about 20 years ago). (Looks like 190 might be the current model?) I had two complaints about the flip locks:
They were loud. Out in the woods, ...
- 12.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Carrying a metal tripods during thunderstorms or related
Is it safe to carry a metal tripod during the rain/thunderstorm
Having a collapsed tripod strapped to your bag is unlikely to be a problem. Holding an extended tripod over your head in the middle of ...
- 31.6k
7
votes
How can a tripod be unstable?
You are severely underestimating both the effect of wind, and how quickly vibration is damped. Even on days you'd now classify as perfectly still the small wind will still shake unstable tripods. And ...
- 1,396
7
votes
How can a tripod be unstable?
Lots of great answers, just one point to stress out: tripod stability has very little to do with price.
An old wooden geodetic tripod (provided you rig its head to fit a modern camera screw) will be ...
- 5,960
6
votes
Accepted
How to stabilize a tripod?
Mass.
Whether makeshift, or purpose built.
It serves 2 functions, the mass itself is going to reduce the tendency to be affected by the environment, but also it will lower the centre of gravity of the ...
- 21.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible