Imagine the scene - Bangkok airport and I are sitting on the short flight of Thai Airways to Siem Reap, Cambodia, at 16H. The nice hostess gives me a hot and scented towel while I call "Bollocks" while I clap my forehead firmly.
She gives me a legitimate look of contempt as I apologize for my explosion and begins to ask her to contact Lost & Found as soon as possible. You see, I had my nice carbon fiber tripod with a kneecap in one of those plastic cups that you are now forced to dump your belongings from this world at all airports before being forced to get through the X-ray machine.
I managed to walk around the Bangkok airport, have a snack, check my emails and get on the plane without realizing that I had lost one of my most important. I charged the scary ride through downtown Bangkok last night when I tried to find our hotel. It was late at night.
So I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and I'm going for a Buying a Tripod first. Siem Reap has evolved considerably over the years. but remains a galactic black hole for tripod shopping.
The best I could find was a $ 45 US Yunteng tripod with a panoramic head with one of those long handles that stings your eyes every time you try to look in the viewfinder.
It was like going back to the first best tripod under 300 I bought. The next four days of filming was a rabies management exercise because it took me five times longer to prepare my recordings. If my tuk-tuk driver and his soothing influence had not always passed, I would have bent the tripod to the knee and thrown it under the wheels of a bus.
No wonder so many newcomers leave the tripod through the stage.
She gives me a legitimate look of contempt as I apologize for my explosion and begins to ask her to contact Lost & Found as soon as possible. You see, I had my nice carbon fiber tripod with a kneecap in one of those plastic cups that you are now forced to dump your belongings from this world at all airports before being forced to get through the X-ray machine.
I managed to walk around the Bangkok airport, have a snack, check my emails and get on the plane without realizing that I had lost one of my most important. I charged the scary ride through downtown Bangkok last night when I tried to find our hotel. It was late at night.
So I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and I'm going for a Buying a Tripod first. Siem Reap has evolved considerably over the years. but remains a galactic black hole for tripod shopping.
The best I could find was a $ 45 US Yunteng tripod with a panoramic head with one of those long handles that stings your eyes every time you try to look in the viewfinder.
It was like going back to the first best tripod under 300 I bought. The next four days of filming was a rabies management exercise because it took me five times longer to prepare my recordings. If my tuk-tuk driver and his soothing influence had not always passed, I would have bent the tripod to the knee and thrown it under the wheels of a bus.
No wonder so many newcomers leave the tripod through the stage.
A good tripod makes ALL the difference
If you buy a zomei tripod and opt for an El Cheapo model, there are two events:
You spend so much time with your camera that when you're ready to take the picture, you've lost your will to live.
You'll find that the $ 45 you spent was used to buy a tripod that you now know you need to buy anyway.
I realize that it is very hard for a beginner to spend about $ 400 on a tripod, but I've seen so many studio students struggle with frustration with poor quality backpacking tripod that my heart breaks. If I lend them one of mine, that's like a sunbeam to them. At this point, they find that their cheap tripod is unwanted.
Speed is important
You may think that using a tripod to repair your camera will give you plenty of time to take your picture. Sometimes it's true, but the scene usually changes quickly, especially when you're dealing with nature. Weather and wildlife are not waiting for you to set up your tripod.
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