Frances E. Schultz

It was a heady affair covering camera supports at photokina, with dozens of new tripod tops from a variety of manufacturers. The trend is toward greater precision and quality: increased control, with spring counterweights to balance heavy lenses, calibrated friction control as pioneered by Novoflex, panoramic calibrations, and quick-release plates. Some manufacturers...

In the entry hall of our house, there is a picture of two young sisters. When the picture was taken, Marion was 14 years old and Helen was 7. That was in the mid-1920s. Marion was my mother; Helen, my aunt. Both are dead now.

The oldest picture in my family album is probably the portrait of Franklin Corbin. He died in Andersonville prison during the Civil War.

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Charge!
You can now charge your electronic devices while you are on the move. The G24i solar panel was developed for MIA (Mascotte Industrial Associates) by Gcell and has so far been incorporated in a backpack, a laptop bag, a camouflage bag, and even a tennis bag. It is lightweight and flexible, not too sensitive to the angle of the light, has a high energy output, and...

At photokina 2008, there was (as usual) an extraordinary range of camera supports. So many in fact that a “laundry list” of new introductions could easily fill the whole magazine. This prompted me to think hard about what to look for in a camera support. It seemed to me there are three things: three legs, if you like. What you need; what you want; and what you can afford. You may care...