> On Sep 8, 2019, at 5:42 PM, Dale H. Cook <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Focus on that long lens is touchy, and it has little depth of field due to > its focal-length-related fixed aperture. For the next try I will move some of > the kitchen furniture to allow a shorter zoom and a wider field of view. > Getting used to this glass is a lot more work than I expected. I am also > saving up for a much better tripod and head.
If you’re the sort that enjoys home hacks an important detail to know is that tripod heads screw on to a 3/8-16 (3/8 NC) thread. That means that if you can get a bit of the appropriate thread sticking up out of something solid, then that will work as your tripod base. A bit over ten years ago in my search for an inexpensive sturdy tripod base I made one out of a pneumatic manifold (one in, three out) and some plumbing bits. I did have to cut, drill and tap a small chunk of aluminum to make it work. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/albums/72157605385468949 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ellarsee/albums/72157619815658015 If you happen to have a metal ladder that is about the right height, you could do something so that you had the 3/8-16 threads sticking up out of the top step. Going a little lower tech you could do some hanger bolt into wood, 3/8-16 on one end and wood screw on the other. Use some 4x4 as your center column and figure out something clever as your base, and you’re good to go. I used something like these screwed into the end of dowels to make cheap ass monopods. https://www.boltdepot.com/Product-Details.aspx?product=12194&gclid=CjwKCAjwzdLrBRBiEiwAEHrAYmT5fLSZ6YGQi5UG1igB029X__mbEEm2g6axlOAmgaIeqX0Sg7fWmxoConwQAvD_BwE I’ve gone through the whole cycle of utter trash, to crappy manfrotto RC2, to slightly less crappy RC2 to finally switching to Arca-Swiss. I finally got the Induro BHD2 ballhead https://www.amazon.com/Induro-BHD2-Ballhead-39-6lb-Capacity/dp/B002SXMRWQ The RRS etc. 2” ball heads are probably sturdier, but their $200 ballheads probably aren’t. My theory was to trade brandname for size. It looks like Amazon has these on sale too. There are those who will sing the praises of name brand $600 tripod heads, but I swim in the shallower end of the financial pond and I’ve found that Benro/Induro gear is an excellent value. I spent something like $75 on their equivalent of a $200 manfrotto carbon fiber monopod which telescopes down short enough to carry in my camera bag. -- Larry Colen [email protected] -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
