60
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 ...
- 39.7k
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 ...
- 20.5k
32
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 ...
- 806
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, ...
- 1,340
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 ...
- 5,988
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.
- 23.4k
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, ...
- 33.3k
16
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 ...
- 7,209
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, ...
- 31.7k
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 ...
- 5,158
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 ...
- 22k
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 ...
- 176k
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 ...
- 12.3k
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 ...
- 23.4k
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 ...
- 1,406
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 ...
- 5,988
7
votes
Accepted
How to photograph a fresco located high up in a church?
Where I live several accidents have resulted in prohibiting scissor lifts for capturing game film video from beyond the end zone of American football fields. They now use tripods with masts that ...
- 176k
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 ...
- 23.4k
6
votes
How to stabilize a tripod?
So yes, as mentioned in other posts, Mass is good. Especially in the centerline, but on each leg can be better than nothing.
However, you mentioned using a lighter tripod and backpacking, so I'm ...
- 91
6
votes
Accepted
What kind of "stand" for photo taken from above? E.g., food photography
Stands like that do exist. They're called copy stands and as you might imagine they were designed to copy things, usually flat artwork.
There are other options. Camera stands often have overhead ...
- 563
6
votes
What is the advantage of carrying a tripod and ND-filters when you could use image stacking instead?
For me the main advantage is... Joy.
I enjoy a lot more taking photos, people places, products, rather than editing the images, especially on automated tasks, like stacking photos. Of course, there ...
- 25.4k
6
votes
Bolt size for Velbon tilt head?
I found some answers at my local hardware store.
A 60mm M6 bolt fits perfectly.
- 101
6
votes
How to improve t2i video crop mode 640x480 with a zoom?
Keep the tripod legs as short as possible.
Use a heavy tripod (you already mentioned you are using a beefy tripod). If it costs under USD 150, it isn't beefy. The tripod head also needs to be beefy. ...
- 3,114
5
votes
What is the purpose of the second bump on the plate of this tripod?
This is an alignment pin. This pin dovetails into a receiving hollow built into the base of most video cameras. The idea is to prevent unwanted camera movement that otherwise might occur when panning. ...
- 39.7k
5
votes
How can a tripod be unstable?
A light tripod with a heavy camera on top is rather top heavy. This makes it more inclined to wobble from the slightest side force. I have a rather heavy lens and walk quite long distances with ...
- 3,902
5
votes
Accepted
A heavy tripod without a center column under $300?
A tripod for indoor, macro photography...
So, first up, let's dispel the myth of the center column adding instability. A center column, lifted to it's maximum height, creates a precarious platform ...
- 20.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible