Tripod News

A tripod is a must have item for photographers so we all have at least one in our gear bag or studio. While handy, there are times when it simply isn’t practical to carry around a stand size tripod and some places (such as museums) don’t allow one. Manfrotto’s versatile Pixi mini tripod is the ideal solution to this dilemma. 

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring, 2014, in Vancouver, Canada.

This kit was created with the (studio or location) strobist photographer in mind and it features a Manfrotto Nanopole stand, a Snap Tilthead and a convenient carrying case. The Nanopole is a two-in-one device—built to be stable, lightweight and strong.

The new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is compact, lightweight, and easy to hold in your hand. It has an industry standard Super 16 size sensor that is perfect when using Super 16 cine lenses via MFT adapters and the 13 stops of dynamic range look is almost identical to shooting with a pro Super 16 film camera. The Micro Four Thirds lenses are compatible with mount adapters such as PL mounts for large lenses and pro motion picture film rigs.

It’s a truism that the best tripod is the one you carry with you, because it’s the only one you can use. But equally, it has to be the right tripod: the one that holds the equipment you use at the height you want and that locks it firmly, without “creep.” It also needs to be quick and easy to use, and durable. With that in mind here are some of the many tripods at photokina that caught my eye.

The trend in tripods is toward more compact and lighter-weight tripods, with an increasing number of entries in carbon fiber. Is carbon fiber the ultimate lightweight tripod? The jury is still out, although everyone seems to want one. And along with tripods, various ball heads grabbed our attention. We even found a portable copy stand.

It was with considerable dismay that I discovered, after my story on gimbal mounts appeared in a recent issue of Shutterbug, that Really Right Stuff (RRS) manufactures a gimbal mount as well; in fact, some might argue it is one of the best conventional gimbal mounts currently being offered among top-tier gimbal mount manufacturers.

Built primarily of CNC-machined black anodized aircraft-grade aluminum stock, RRS’s gimbal is one tough mount. And it’s also beautiful, to boot. Manufacturing quality is as good as it gets—and the postproduction finish and fit are impeccable. The custom knurled pitch lock knob for the articulated arm is solid aluminum. The custom pan knob is solid aluminum as well, but additionally has a rubber grip to facilitate rotation. Importantly, both knobs are located on the same side of the gimbal, thus facilitating access and allowing the user to release or tighten both with just one hand.