• Camera Equipment

    The New (Perfect?) Tripod

    August 14, 2023

    Back in late May I ordered the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod. I sat undecided for months before ordering it because of its high price. Please don’t think this is a review with any ratings but it’s my way of sharing my experience at how the tripod is working for me after almost 3 months of use. 

    My current tripod is a carbon fiber Manfrotto 3443 I’ve had for over 20 years. I have had no complaints or issues with this tripod, it has served me well. However, I do not carry it with me primarily due to its size. At just over 5 pounds and a folded length of about 29 inches I’m not excited about lugging it around at my age.

    Here are my impressions. I was pleasantly surprised with the size of this new tripod. They call it a travel tripod for a valid reason. Because it’s small and lightweight, at 2.8 pounds and just over 15 inches in folded length, it is very easy to carry. And, since it is easy to carry I am finding I bring it with me far more often than my other tripod. And, I use it!

    I am going through a learning curve in setting it up and taking it down and finding what works best for me. Each time I use it I find myself getting into a routine, it becomes easier and quicker, which is something I really want in a tripod and entices me to use it more often.

    I was concerned with how stable the tripod was going to be. I shoot with a mirrorless camera so my gear is much smaller and lighter. My largest lens is the 70-300mm zoom and the tripod has no issues supporting it. It is stable enough for my photography. Gusty winds will be an issue with any tripod.

    For my stature its minimum height of 51” inches is good enough for me, only 3 inches shorter than my Manfrotto. I love the ball head. It is easy to place my camera in the ball head and lock it down. I did forget to lock it down once and had a close call. I also like how easy and quickly the one ring is to adjust. I seldom shoot vertical images and when I do it has not been a problem for me. I raise the center column about 4-5 inches and have begun to use my LCD more when on the tripod. It really is easier than looking through the viewfinder. The tripod is not capable of doing a panorama series but I’ve only done that once in all my years of photography. I so enjoy not having an L-bracket on my camera. Their little standard plate is small and much less intrusive.

    I also find it to be physically attractive, a state of the art tripod. Its design fits my hand very well because of the shape of the legs and how it’s folded. There is no wasted space. I probably will never use the stowable mobile phone mount but it’s there. Peak Design also has several useful videos on their website for using and servicing the tripods.

    So, I am pleased with my purchase but still reeling from the cost. It will not make me a better photographer and I knew that when I ordered it. However, when I use it as a tool in the craft of photography it will help in my photography. Just taking a tripod with me does that. Was it worth the money? Probably not. Well…

    In closing I’ll say it is not the perfect tripod because there is none. But we can argue that when I have it with me and use it, it is the perfect tripod at that moment. Oh, and it’s guaranteed for life. It’ll probably outlast me.

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  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-T10,  journal

    Simplified

    October 22, 2015

    The X-T10 with 27mm f2.8 lens and my journal.
    The X-T10 with 27mm f2.8 lens and my journal.

    This is pretty much all I carry with me in my backpack, anymore. One camera, one lens. My journal and pen. Kindle paperwhite. A light jacket. Sometimes I throw in a small “10” Chromebook. The kitchen sink. And, I don’t usually carry this much cash with me, either. 🙂

     

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  • Camera Equipment,  Fujifilm X-E1,  Photography,  Vision

    Strange Characters

    November 20, 2013

    Strange Characters
    Strange Characters

    The X-E1 is my first camera with an EVF (electronic viewfinder). My first impression was: slow. (Notice I said was.) DPReview uses the word “laggy” in their review. I’ll call it slow. At first this bothered me as I’m use to having a DSLR camera in my hand where I can pull the camera up to my eye as I turn it on. Once it’s at my eye I can shoot immediately. This is not true of the EVF or LCD on the X-E1. I must wait a second or two for them to settle in. As I’ve gained more familiarity with the camera I’ve come to appreciate this. It has shown me a trait of looking through the viewfinder too quickly. Now, when I’m turning on the camera and raising it up to my eye I’m taking more time. This allows me to continue to look at the whole scene and not just what the viewfinder allows. So, even though the EVF is slower than an optical viewfinder it may help me be a better observer and to anticipate a scene about to appear.

    I’ve been using a G12 for a couple of years now for my travels. It has an optical viewfinder but I use the LCD 99% of the time.This was mainly due to the usefulness of the information I was able to use on the LCD that was not in the viewfinder. The electronic viewfinder on this X-E1 will display the same shooting information as it shows on the LCD. Cool! I’ve also come to check out the exposure compensation meter on the lower left corner of the viewfinder as moving the exposure compensation dial on top is quite easy to move.

    Who are those strange characters in the above image? Using your imaginations you can see some of our blogging friends, or yourself, hiding behind the goggles. 🙂

     

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  • Camera Equipment

    Being Spoiled

    January 14, 2012

    Lamp Shadow

    Over a year ago I bought the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens. I’ve wanted a fast zoom lens for a long time but I could not justify the purchase of the Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 nor did i rally want to lug around a large lens. So, for a lot less money I purchased the Tamron. I’ve been pleased with it. I like it’s smaller size and enjoy the 2.8 aperture. The extra stop of light adds one brush to our palette for creative images. I found myself using it for almost all my work and decided to sell my Nikon 18-200mm VR lens. After sock stuffing a few dollars for about six months I purchased the 50mm f1.4 lens, another brush to work with.
    When I purchased the used D300 as my backup I also bought the 18-70mm kit lens. I always read good reviews about this lens and thought why not, expecting to use it for my landscape and nature images. I don’t know if I have a bad lens but it sure has a lot of difficulty auto-focusing. It’s so frustrating I’ve put on the shelf. It may be that the faster glass has spoiled me.
    I’m liking being spoiled!

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  • Camera Equipment,  Holiday Seasons

    A New Backup

    December 23, 2011

    Tree Ornament

    I’ve been having trouble with the Main Command Dial on my D300. I find when I want to change shutter speeds or adjust my EV, it takes a couple of clicks to get it to change. My first indications was when it started to stiffen up. It makes sense to me as that is the most used dial I use on my camera. I’ve been looking for quite some time in having another D300 as a backup but did not want to put out the money and wondering if it would be more feasible to wait for the next generation to come out. I’ve been using my old D100 as a backup but I’m noticing some switch issues with it also. Financially a used D300(s) would be a better solution than paying a higher price for the next generation. I found a used D300 on Craigslist that’s a year newer than mine and with about 50k actuations. He told me bought it to play with Photomatix HDR and therefor the higher shutter count. The price fit my budget and he threw in the Nikon 18-70mm kit lens. We ran it through a few tests then made a deal with him. So, here is a shot of one of my tree ornaments using the camera with the lens. So, I guess I bought myself a Christmas present!

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