# Stability - making yourself a tripod versus using one



## astroNikon

Yesterday I went walking through a park.  There are many things you find just walking around, frogs, butterflies, bees, nice flowing water, etc.

But many times You have to climb here and there and there just isn't room to carry a tripod over your should.  Just carrying the camera is challenge enough.

But the issue is I have one lens which has VR the kit 18-105/3.5-5.6 VR lens that came with my Nikon D7000.  It's a very nice lens, and takes very sharp / detailed pictures.  But there are DOF things that I don't like with it, thus the reason I bought a 24-85 AF-D/2.8 lens (and the other lens in my signature line), which does not have VR.

If money was no issue, I'd have a line up of VR lens.  But havings kids, a house, responsibilities, etc I try to get nice lens but at the low end of the price spectrum.

The main issue I have is stability.  I've practiced in my backyard taking pictures with the VR lens and without it.  But I'm wondering how people position themselves, breathing techniques, etc to improve taking a "still" shot?


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## Juga

Monopod...there are also camera straps that help with stability but also keeping your elbows tucked in helps a ton...or bumping your ISO to get a faster shutter speed


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## Ilovemycam

Mini pocket tripod work around small trees, poles, walls.


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## sm4him

I never use a tripod for my bird or other wildlife photos, and only rarely use my monopod.

1. As mentioned above, elbows tucked in really helps. I basically use my torso as a base and "anchor" the camera by tucking my elbows in to my body.
2. Sometimes other means of support are available--a tree or a pole I can prop myself against to get more stability.
3. Also mentioned above, faster shutter speed. Might mean bumping up the ISO, but for the tradeoff of a good, sharp picture, I'll take a little bit of noise.
4. Breathe in, Breathe out...if I find I'm really having trouble keeping the camera steady enough for a good shot (often happens with macro shots), I'll try breathing in, hold my breath for a second as I take the picture, then breathe out.
6. Continuous shutter mode. By setting the camera to continuous shutter mode, I can take two quick, successive shots of the same subject. I often find that the second shot is sharper than the first, because that initial little shake as I actuate the shutter can affect the first shot.
7. Bean bags and gorrillapods--again, sometimes, there IS something you can use as a makeshift monopod, like a fence post. Even better if I have a bean bag with me to set on the post first then set the camera on that. Gorrillapods can wrap around things to hold the camera--though I admit, I've not used a gorrillapod since upgrading to the D7000 and a Sigma 150-500 lens; I don't think it would handle that kind of weight, as the one *I* have barely held up the D5100 and Tokina 100mm macro combination.


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## Robin_Usagani

astroNikon said:


> But there are DOF things that I don't like with it, thus the reason I bought a 24-85 AF-D/2.8 lens (and the other lens in my signature line), which does not have VR.



Explain?


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## 480sparky

Exceedingly cheap, low tech, yet highly effective:

Short piece of rope, and a ¼x20 eyebolt.







Make sure eyebolt isn't too long for the camera threads (turning it in too far can damage it), and the rope is about at tall as you are.  

Assembly instructions:

1. Tie rope onto eyebolt.


User Manual:

1. Insert eyebolt into camera threads.
2. Stand on other end of rope.
3. Pull rope up until camera is at eye level, keeping rope taut.
4. Compose and take photo.






You can easily gain 2-3 shutter stops with this, maybe more with patience and practice.


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## zombiemann

well crap.... off to the hardware store


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## Bulb

480sparky said:


> Exceedingly cheap, low tech, yet highly effective:
> 
> Short piece of rope, and a ¼x20 eyebolt.



Thanks for the tip. I'm going to try this. It looks much easier than carrying around a tripod.


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## KmH

Cradle the lens in your left hand by having the palm face upwards. The left hand supports a majority of the camera/lens weight.
Keep your upper arms and elbows in against your torso.
The right hand is lightly held on the right side camera grip.

Have the right foot angled out to approximately forty-five degrees to the side and to the rear at shoulder length. Most of the weight will be on the forward foot, with the forward knee slightly bent and the rear leg straight. The person's upper torso should be leaning forward at the hips, putting the shoulders just over the forward foot.

A vertical grip on the camera really helps balance the camera lens and adds some heft that contributes to stability, which is part of why top-of-the-line pro DSLRs have a vertical grip built in. 

In some situations even the above can be made more stable.

Da Grip « Joe McNally?s Blog


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## astroNikon

Robin_Usagani said:


> astroNikon said:
> 
> 
> 
> But there are DOF things that I don't like with it, thus the reason I bought a 24-85 AF-D/2.8 lens (and the other lens in my signature line), which does not have VR.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Explain?
Click to expand...

I see you have some awesome lens.  What I basically mean is I cannot afford the VR version of the lens that I want (if they make them like that).  The AF-S ones also are out of my budget, thus I buy AF/AFD lens which seem much more affordable.

But I like to blow out backgrounds and foregrounds dependent upon what I'm taking a picture of.


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## astroNikon

Those are some awesome suggestions.

@ Juga / ILovemycam - I've thought of a monopod / mini tripod.  I have an old (30 yr) Velbon tripod which I've used one leg, ala monopod,  It's very sturdy (rectangularish legs), and small.  But I was trying to avoid having to carry additional cargo with me.

@ Juga - great info with bumping up the ISO, I never thought of that.  and the arms rucked in.  I try once in a while different positions, one arm in, etc but just haven't gotten it all together.

@ sm4him
2 - I try that when I can, but yesterday I was on a creek bed, and other than the mud there wasn't anything there  LOL.  I do try to use anything to stabilize myself and even lean my head against a wall.  I do this when I take quick snapshots of the moon and my 75-300 or 500 lens.  I lean against a wall including my head for stability.
3 - great idea.  I'm going to practice that
4- been practicing if breathe in, hold  or breathe out hold was better ...  but I wasn't keeping track  LOL
6 - what happened to 5 ?   Ironically, I keep it in continuous but because the button seems more sensitive.  But I have those issue where I know my finger action still slightly shakes.  I'll take 2 pics next time.
7 - good ideas.  I use my hand as a bean bag once in a while.


@ KMH - love  the explanation.  I was trying various stances but not really knowing.  I'll definitely try everything you mentioned.  I have a grip on my camera too.


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## astroNikon

@480Sparky - wow - awesome



zombiemann said:


> well crap.... off to the hardware store



@ zombiemann - You and me both.
I might try using an old quick release plate too.

This is great becz it is so compact and if I forget it or lose it, it's no big deal.


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## KmH

IMO, VR is over-rated.

Nikon VR explained


> *
> The first and most important rule of VR is this: never turn VR on unless it's actually needed.*


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## Robin_Usagani

Astro, I was questioning your statement about the DOF. Also, none of my lens has any stabilizer .


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## 480sparky

Breathing technique is also important.  Just like shooting firearms:  Inhale, then exhale halfway and hold: Shoot.


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## astroNikon

KmH said:


> IMO, VR is over-rated.
> 
> Nikon VR explained
> 
> 
> 
> *
> The first and most important rule of VR is this: never turn VR on unless it's actually needed.*
Click to expand...


Wow, I'm going to have to reread that several more times.

I did an experiment the other week.  Sitting on my porch steps and taking pictures of my car hubcap Ford emblem as I was trying to stabilize the camera better by hand.  Consistently with the VR ON my 18-105 kit lens the image was very very nice.  I kept having shakes on my 24-85 .. with all else being equal on focal length, aperture, etc.

I'm glad I was never a brain surgeon .. oops, slight slip of the scalpal ....

Of course, on a tripod it was excellent with non-VR.  So I've seen the advantages of VR on my simple experiment.


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## 480sparky

KmH said:


> IMO, VR is over-rated.
> 
> Nikon VR explained
> 
> 
> 
> *
> The first and most important rule of VR is this: never turn VR on unless it's actually needed.*
Click to expand...


I rarely use VR.  In fact, the only lens I use it turned on with is my 70-300, and that's only when I'm shooting action.  I turn it off and leave it off on all my other VR lenses.


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## astroNikon

Robin_Usagani said:


> Astro, I was questioning your statement about the DOF. Also, none of my lens has any stabilizer .



I was taking a picture of a person in a riverbed.  Some very interesting water flows, etc which on it's own was interesting.  But I wanted to keep everything but the person out of focus and I like the look of 2.8 or greater for that.  When I take pictures, since I'm more of a hack, I tend to take various apertures of the same thing and I always tend to like the 1.8 - 2.8s when I want to maintain focus on people.

I always keep in my head seeing a friends family photos.  They are sitting in front of a barn door that has some amazing rust aging.  And up front you can see the sharp focused and uncut grass.  You eyes first go to the family, then wander to the foreground and background and you tend for forget the people in between.   So 3.6 isn't bad I just like the 2.8 and faster.


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## Derrel

Good breathing technique is important. So is a soft, very minimal movement shutter release motion. Do not jab at the shutter button, but press it down. On a camera that has a grip-release, like most d-slr's have, kind of "roll" the finger on one edge of the button. I see a number of bad shots that people ask for C&C analysis on, and many times it's easy to see a simple downward mash on the shutter release leads them to move the entire camera and lens downward, causing blurring that shows up as vertical smearing of the image. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little.

A second trick that I use a lot is to fire 3-shot bursts in continuous advance mode, so that there is only ONE press of the shutter button. WHen working at the margins of hand-holdable speeds, often the shutter release action can cause a tiny bit of blurring, so that shot 2 or 3 is often the sharpest. And that's another thing when shooting realllllly slow--blurring is a random event. Out of ten frames, ONE might be very,very sharp, 3 or 4 acceptably sharp, and five pretty blurry. If you really need a good, sharp shot, and the speeds are dicey, you're probably best off to shoot as many as three or four, 3-shot sequences.


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## astroNikon

Derrel - what is "grip release" ?


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## astroNikon

Just in experimenting right now taking a picture of a newspaper about 8 feet away on a 50mm, and multishoot on and taking 3 shots or more at a time, and trying better arm and breathing technique I'm finding my 1st shoot is massively improved, 2nd is blurry, 3rd is really good.

So I'm going to keep experimenting and trying to improve everything.  Thanks for all the tips so far.


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## Gavjenks

Love the guy wire rope idea.

Have you considered TWO ropes, one held down by each foot?


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## astroNikon

I forgot to mention one of my own solutions that I did last fall.  I had my remote in my left and and just pressed that, so no finger pressure on the Camera itself.  I need to try that again but I also need to improve my hand holding technique overall anyways.
Thanks all for the tipes


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## Juga

You can also set the camera to 'Mirror Lock-up' which will also help to reduce vibration within the camera but very minimally. Every little bit helps just like four quarters makes a dollar.


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## table1349

This is what I use....MAKE | How-To: Low-Cost Gyroscopic Camera Stabilizer


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## 480sparky

Gavjenks said:


> Love the guy wire rope idea.
> 
> Have you considered TWO ropes, one held down by each foot?




There's a million variations on that theme.  You can kneel on the rope, tie it to a rock or exposed tree root or trunk, ask someone you're with to stand on it/them........... _anything_ to secure the end(s).


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## table1349

480sparky said:


> Gavjenks said:
> 
> 
> 
> Love the guy wire rope idea.
> 
> Have you considered TWO ropes, one held down by each foot?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There's a million variations on that theme.  You can kneel on the rope, tie it to a rock or exposed tree root or trunk, ask someone you're with to stand on it/them........... _anything_ to secure the end(s).
Click to expand...


Except that with 2 ropes tied to the eyebolt there is only going to be ONE exact position where both ropes apply an equal amount of tension thereby adding to the stability.  Other than that, you have the same one rope setup with a dangling piece of rope doing no good.  And if think that it is tough shooting hand held, wait till you try finding and holding that one exact position where both ropes do some good. .


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## 480sparky

gryphonslair99 said:


> Except that with 2 ropes tied to the eyebolt there is only going to be ONE exact position where both ropes apply an equal amount of tension thereby adding to the stability.  Other than that, you have the same one rope setup with a dangling piece of rope doing no good.  And if think that it is tough shooting hand held, wait till you try finding and holding that one exact position where both ropes do some good. .




Don't tie a knot.... just run the rope through the eyebolt.  Problem solved.


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## oldhippy

480sparky said:


> gryphonslair99 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Except that with 2 ropes tied to the eyebolt there is only going to be ONE exact position where both ropes apply an equal amount of tension thereby adding to the stability. Other than that, you have the same one rope setup with a dangling piece of rope doing no good. And if think that it is tough shooting hand held, wait till you try finding and holding that one exact position where both ropes do some good. .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't tie a knot.... just run the rope through the eyebolt. Problem solved.
Click to expand...


Good logic


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## 480sparky

oldhippy said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gryphonslair99 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Except that with 2 ropes tied to the eyebolt there is only going to be ONE exact position where both ropes apply an equal amount of tension thereby adding to the stability. Other than that, you have the same one rope setup with a dangling piece of rope doing no good. And if think that it is tough shooting hand held, wait till you try finding and holding that one exact position where both ropes do some good. .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't tie a knot.... just run the rope through the eyebolt. Problem solved.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Good logic
Click to expand...


I are smart.


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## Gavjenks

Couple of points:

1) There's actually a *circle *of positions (half of it underground) where the ropes would be in equal tension.

One rope = sphere of points with equal tension
Two ropes = circle of points
Three ropes (not co-linear)  = two points, one of them underground.     But you don't have three feet, so this is impractical. Hence only suggesting 2.
Four ropes (no three of them co-linear) = truly a single point solution. Which is why GPS likes to have 4 satellites to be absolutely sure about position.

Basically, one rope should alleviate up/down shake, but not front/back or side/side.  Two ropes under each foot would be coming from the sides and thus alleviate up/down AND side/side, but not front/back.  Should be a little bit better.  Would likely work best with your legs straddled a decent distance apart, at least shoulder width, maybe a little more.  But it might not be enough angle in practice to help much, hence being unsure and wanting to test it.

2) Just like with one rope, you should still be able to easily orient the camera around to point at different things, with no significant tension resistance, since it is a rope loosely looped around an eye bolt. Most of my framing and composing fine-tuning is orientation more so than moving the whole camera around, so I think it wouldn't be that bad.  Still, gonna go try it out when I get a chance, both ways.



Another slightly more off-the-wall idea is to carry one of those lightweight but super strong magnet hooks, to act as a potential third wire when there are metal hand rails or bleachers or garbage cans nearby =P


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## Gavjenks

As for knots, easiest loop IMO is this:

http://swiftwaterrescue.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/figure8.gif

Just double some over, then put the eye on in the doubled over portion, then tie a figure 8 (granny knot but you come in at the end from the other side)


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## 480sparky

Gavjenks said:


> ............Another slightly more off-the-wall idea is to carry one of those lightweight but super strong magnet hooks, to act as a potential third wire when there are metal hand rails or bleachers or garbage cans nearby =P









A woodworking clamp also works:


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## Gavjenks

Nice. Either of those with a hook *plus *a bare male 1/4 20 thread next to each other would allow either a guy wire or direct mounting as desired, for an extra 5 cents.

Glah!  I am annoyed that I'm staying at my girlfriend's place this weekend and don't have access to a hardware store to go experiment with all this right now!


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## astroNikon

Gavjenks said:


> Couple of points:
> 
> 1) There's actually a *circle *of positions (half of it underground) where the ropes would be in equal tension.
> 
> One rope = sphere of points with equal tension
> Two ropes = circle of points
> Three ropes (not co-linear)  = two points, one of them underground.     But you don't have three feet, so this is impractical. Hence only suggesting 2.
> Four ropes (no three of them co-linear) = truly a single point solution. Which is why GPS likes to have 4 satellites to be absolutely sure about position.
> 
> Basically, one rope should alleviate up/down shake, but not front/back or side/side.  Two ropes under each foot would be coming from the sides and thus alleviate up/down AND side/side, but not front/back.  Should be a little bit better.  Would likely work best with your legs straddled a decent distance apart, at least shoulder width, maybe a little more.  But it might not be enough angle in practice to help much, hence being unsure and wanting to test it.
> 
> 2) Just like with one rope, you should still be able to easily orient the camera around to point at different things, with no significant tension resistance, since it is a rope loosely looped around an eye bolt. Most of my framing and composing fine-tuning is orientation more so than moving the whole camera around, so I think it wouldn't be that bad.  Still, gonna go try it out when I get a chance, both ways.



At that point, might as well just take a tripod.


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## Gavjenks

^ It may be just about as _annoying to use_ as a tripod.  But the key difference is that it packs up and fits in your pocket.  And it also costs $5, not $50-$500.

I am trying to think of some way that you could attach it to your shoes semi-permanently, to make it easier to use.  But it needs to not trip you as you walk around. 

Something along the lines of spring-loaded retracting wires, sort of like a tape measure.  And then some little cam or lever that stops it from retracting freely when you're ready to take a shot.  Thus, the retracting pulls up all of the slack as you move so you don't trip, but still allows tension when you want it.

It would look incredibly dorky, though, and still sounds dangerous.


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## sm4him

astroNikon said:


> @ sm4him
> 6 - what happened to 5 ?



5. Drink more coffee before you type anything longer than the word "coffee." :lmao:


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## Derrel

astroNikon said:


> Derrel - what is "grip release" ?



A grip release is a shutter release button located on a battery or accessory grip, as opposed to a release located on the "body" or top deck of the camera. Grip releases are characterized by very short stroke release actions, and are quite a bit different from the old plunger-style releases that most 35mm SLR and medium format rollfilm cameras used.


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## Eclectix

I haven't seen anyone else mention this, but in situations where I have nothing to prop the camera with and need to hold it as still as possible, I use the camera strap in a manner similar to a hunter using a rifle sling. I put the strap over my right shoulder and under my left armpit, and loop my left wrist through it to pull it tight towards me, pushing the camera away with my right hand to form a very stable triangle (see image taken by my lovely assistant). The only wobble I have to contend with that way is by my torso; very little movement is created by my hands in this position.

It seems to me that this position, in conjunction with the rope underfoot (brilliant idea) would be about as stable as you could possibly get using your body as the only solid physical support- in a standing position at least.


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## astroNikon

Thanks everyone for their input.
My pictures with a non VR lens is night and day difference from when I first posted this.


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## minicoop1985

There are some very interesting and creative ideas in this thread. Have any of you just set your camera on something environmental, like a beach lounger, or a table, or a raised walkway, or even the ground? I've been known to do this to avoid setting up the tripod since our Velbon takes FOREVER to get just right.


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## kundalini

Eclectix said:


> I haven't seen anyone else mention this, but in situations where I have nothing to prop the camera with and need to hold it as still as possible, I use the camera strap in a manner similar to a hunter using a rifle sling. I put the strap over my right shoulder and under my left armpit, and loop my left wrist through it to pull it tight towards me, pushing the camera away with my right hand to form a very stable triangle (see image taken by my lovely assistant). The only wobble I have to contend with that way is by my torso; very little movement is created by my hands in this position.
> 
> It seems to me that this position, in conjunction with the rope underfoot (brilliant idea) would be about as stable as you could possibly get using your body as the only solid physical support- in a standing position at least.
> 
> View attachment 53234



Yet, you hold it like a girl.  Why are you trying to throw a southpaw slider?  Regardless of your words, the photo screeeeeeams.

Always, always, always, use your left hand to support the gear, not add weight.  Depending on your lens of choice, your hand position will change from front to back, but the basics do not change.  The left hand SUPPORTS THE WEIGHT!


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## kundalini

In case I wasn't specific enough, the left hand cradles from underneath.


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## Steve5D

I can make a "tripod" (stabilizing device) out of damn near anything. I made one out of two bar coasters once...


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## astroNikon

minicoop1985 said:


> There are some very interesting and creative ideas in this thread. Have any of you just set your camera on something environmental, like a beach lounger, or a table, or a raised walkway, or even the ground? I've been known to do this to avoid setting up the tripod since our Velbon takes FOREVER to get just right.



I do that too, but when you are walking around a park and want to catch a cute frog before it jumps away, there's no time to ask the frog to pose.


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## table1349

Steve5D said:


> I can make a "tripod" (stabilizing device) out of damn near anything. I made one out of two bar coasters once...


Steve, were talking about stabilizing a camera, not the drunk attached to the camera.  :lmao:

Sorry Steve, It's all in fun.  You make a great straight man sometimes.  I couldn't resist.


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## MOREGONE

Saw a very interesting Tripod of sorts recently.

It was a soda cap with a 1/4 thread both through it. They had it on a 2 liter but could be attached to a 20oz in a pinch. A lot of the time you may only need the cap with you and you could find a bottle in the trash or just collapse it and bring it with you. Easily filled with water or sand. The example I saw had a bridge camera on it, not a DSLR. Obviously this isnt a catch all solution but I was impressed by the ingenuity of it.


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## Steve5D

gryphonslair99 said:


> Steve, were talking about stabilizing a camera, not the drunk attached to the camera.  :lmao:
> 
> Sorry Steve, It's all in fun. You make a great straight man sometimes. I couldn't resist.



Hey, bro, I'm tippin' in at about 265 lbs.

That'd be _three _coasters, minimum...


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## Steve5D

MOREGONE said:


> Saw a very interesting Tripod of sorts recently.
> 
> It was a soda cap with a 1/4 thread both through it. They had it on a 2 liter but could be attached to a 20oz in a pinch. A lot of the time you may only need the cap with you and you could find a bottle in the trash or just collapse it and bring it with you. Easily filled with water or sand. The example I saw had a bridge camera on it, not a DSLR. Obviously this isnt a catch all solution but I was impressed by the ingenuity of it.



I've seen those. Pretty inventive!


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## pgriz

Gavjenks said:


> Nice. Either of those with a hook *plus *a bare male 1/4 20 thread next to each other would allow either a guy wire or direct mounting as desired, for an extra 5 cents.
> 
> Glah!  I am annoyed that *I'm staying at my girlfriend's place this weekend* and don't have access to a hardware store to go experiment with all this right now!



Focus, man, Focus!  get the priorities straight.


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## DiskoJoe

astroNikon said:


> Yesterday I went walking through a park.  There are many things you find just walking around, frogs, butterflies, bees, nice flowing water, etc.
> 
> But many times You have to climb here and there and there just isn't room to carry a tripod over your should.  Just carrying the camera is challenge enough.
> 
> But the issue is I have one lens which has VR the kit 18-105/3.5-5.6 VR lens that came with my Nikon D7000.  It's a very nice lens, and takes very sharp / detailed pictures.  But there are DOF things that I don't like with it, thus the reason I bought a 24-85 AF-D/2.8 lens (and the other lens in my signature line), which does not have VR.
> 
> If money was no issue, I'd have a line up of VR lens.  But havings kids, a house, responsibilities, etc I try to get nice lens but at the low end of the price spectrum.
> 
> The main issue I have is stability.  I've practiced in my backyard taking pictures with the VR lens and without it.  But I'm wondering how people position themselves, breathing techniques, etc to improve taking a "still" shot?



My camera has a focus meter in the display so you just have to wait for the bars to go down to an acceptable level. Doing some curls with weights heavier than your lens and camera wouldnt hurt you either.


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## Aro

Hey, I'm new to this forum and I dealt with this problem before when I was first starting out. Here's a dope article I found that went over the TOP 6 techniques to Reduce Camera Shake. Tell me what you think of it and if you learned anything from it?

How to Reduce Camera Shake - 6 Techniques - Digital Photography School


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## batmura

480sparky said:


> Gavjenks said:
> 
> 
> 
> ............Another slightly more off-the-wall idea is to carry one of those lightweight but super strong magnet hooks, to act as a potential third wire when there are metal hand rails or bleachers or garbage cans nearby =P
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A woodworking clamp also works:
Click to expand...

What exactly is this called and where can I find it? I've never seen this at my local camera shop.


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## ronlane

Steve5D said:


> I can make a "tripod" (stabilizing device) out of damn near anything. I made one out of two bar coasters once...



Well I'll be darn. Just call you McGyver.


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## 480sparky

batmura said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gavjenks said:
> 
> 
> 
> ............Another slightly more off-the-wall idea is to carry one of those lightweight but super strong magnet hooks, to act as a potential third wire when there are metal hand rails or bleachers or garbage cans nearby =P
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A woodworking clamp also works:
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> What exactly is this called and where can I find it? I've never seen this at my local camera shop.
Click to expand...


Since it's called a woodworkers clamp, maybe a woodworking store or hardware store.... Lowes..... Home Depot.....


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## astroNikon

Thought he was asking about the 2 bar coasters


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## CameraFu

Aro said:


> Hey, I'm new to this forum and I dealt with this problem before when I was first starting out. Here's a dope article I found that went over the TOP 6 techniques to Reduce Camera Shake. Tell me what you think of it and if you learned anything from it?
> 
> How to Reduce Camera Shake - 6 Techniques - Digital Photography School



This is a great article.


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## hamlet

Learn some advanced sniper positions. Sitting position & Leaning position. These are only a couple, but there are many more you can learn. Controlled breathing and relaxing is the most important part.


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## btraven

480Sparky:  What a great idea! 

So good in fact that I'm gonna use it and if anybody asks about it I won't tell 'em where I got, I'll just smile and let them think I thought it up myself. Thanks.


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## mud711

I will be doing some macrophotography where tripods are not allowed.....found an old camera strap, attached it to the tripod clip on the camera and looped through my belt......adjusted the length so that there would be a slight amount of tension when raised to eye level...this allows me to either stand,squat or kneel and still stabilize  the camera......


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