Jeff Blogs

When I first purchased my Gitzo Series 3 monopod I needed a head to hold the camera. At the time I selected a Really Right Stuff BH-40 mid-sized ball head. The ball head was amazing and was perhaps the finest engineered photography accessory I have ever seen in my life.

It works perfectly securing the camera or the lens. The only issue I have with it is the fact that it is too versatile for what I need. The BH-40 was designed to be a tripod ball head. It is designed to adjust on any axis.

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I’ll be the first to admit that when I began researching monopods and ballheads I had no idea what I was doing. Until now my photography was predominately handheld. On those occasions when I needed a tripod I relied upon an aluminum model that I purchased at K-Mart in the early 1980’s. This was definitely not what you would call state of the art.

I have to admit; when I bought the monopod I inaccurately assumed it came with some type of head to mount the camera to it. When the monopod arrived you can imagine my surprise when I found that all it had was a threaded bolt at the top.

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I am not sure how it happened but the amount of photographic equipment and accessories I’ve accumulated has blossomed like a mushroom cloud. I found myself carrying two or three bags of equipment with me when I went out on a photo shoot. This became cumbersome and frustrating. I decided what I needed was a bag that could hold my gear and keep it protected while I was out in the field. I looked at several before finally deciding on the Tamrac 5587 photo backpack.

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I’m a total technology geek. I am always looking for a new toy or tool that will make my life easier or just plain more fun. It doesn’t matter what aspect of my life I am talking about; I am always looking for fun new toys. This winter my son was selected to play on an AYSO tournament soccer team. As a former soccer player myself I was enthusiastic at this selection. As a nervous father I tend to pace the sidelines and over analyze each moment of play. In order to keep my sanity and not get thrown out, my wife suggested that I take my Nikon D300 and D200 cameras and take pictures. She is now regretting that suggestion as I have filled hard drives with pictures and begun to make a list of camera accessories that I “need” in order to get the best possible shot.

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I’ll freely admit I am very biased towards digital SLR cameras. The capabilities they provide are just so much better than what can be found in a point and shoot camera. Not just the ability to change lenses to meet your shooting needs but in the other features as well.

The larger sensor sizes in the DSLR cameras provide better noise management especially when using higher ISO settings for lower light shooting. The ability to have a hot shoe flash that moves the flash further away from the sensor plane is also a huge advantage as it results in fewer red-eye pictures being taken. I have never been a fan of red-eye reduction flash since all it really does is pre-flash to fool the eye.

The problem with this is that the subject thinks the pre-flash is the actual picture so you end up many times with people moving or closing their eyes since they think the picture has been taken. That drives me crazy. But for all the benefits of a DSLR there is one thing about them that can be troublesome, their size.

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