For Photographers of All Skill levels since 2005
The fall is coming to an end
It's not too late to get out there and capture some of the fall colors. They are getting a little harder to find and in some areas they are more 'rustic' then vibrant but one look around here and you will see that the shots are still available.
Saturday morning I awoke early and headed up to get some pictures up by Mueller Park in Bountiful. The colors there are less vibrant but plentiful. The weather was great and the light was diffused.
I shot for about an hour when, during one of my shots, my camera fell from the tripod. My heart stopped for a moment. All is well though. My camera strap became entangled in the handles of my tripod head(the big knobs on the Bogen 3030 are a life saver) and stopped about 6 inches from the ground, dangling.
The problem, it turns out, is that my tripod socket had become stripped at the end so my camera was only holding on by a thread or two. I think this happened from using a newer anti-twist quick release plate that the mounting screw was not long enough for my combination. This way the screw could not fully seat in the camera body. I checked with the repair shop and the cost to repair was ~$140 as the tripod socket is an integral part of my camera body. A friend and I were able to drill out the old threads(talk about sweating bullets), re-tap and use a heli-coil insert. This was a permanent fix and kept my original 1/4" thread size. Out the door cost $25.
Anyways, as I sat there looking at my camera dangling, I remember a time I was with Ron Boswell and his safety release on his tripod head unlatched and his camera, with a very expensive and large 300mm f/2.8 lens, fell to the ground. Luckily for him it only dented the lens and was more of a cosmetic thing. But, stuff happens. As I pondered this, I realized that far too often I trust my camera and lens to the durability of a 1/4" screw attached to the base of my camera. Most mounting plates only have 3-4 threads. That is it! I am now way too paranoid to not have some sort of secondary safety measure. I will wrap my strap around one of my handles when shooting on a tripod for the time being. Rob 'aka the vest guy' can make anything. He is looking into designing something as more of a safety strap for the camera. Maybe something like a small strap that attaches to one of your camera's eyelets and then clips onto your tripod or neck strap. We'll see how that goes and I'll report back.
-Doug
Saturday morning I awoke early and headed up to get some pictures up by Mueller Park in Bountiful. The colors there are less vibrant but plentiful. The weather was great and the light was diffused.
I shot for about an hour when, during one of my shots, my camera fell from the tripod. My heart stopped for a moment. All is well though. My camera strap became entangled in the handles of my tripod head(the big knobs on the Bogen 3030 are a life saver) and stopped about 6 inches from the ground, dangling.
The problem, it turns out, is that my tripod socket had become stripped at the end so my camera was only holding on by a thread or two. I think this happened from using a newer anti-twist quick release plate that the mounting screw was not long enough for my combination. This way the screw could not fully seat in the camera body. I checked with the repair shop and the cost to repair was ~$140 as the tripod socket is an integral part of my camera body. A friend and I were able to drill out the old threads(talk about sweating bullets), re-tap and use a heli-coil insert. This was a permanent fix and kept my original 1/4" thread size. Out the door cost $25.
Anyways, as I sat there looking at my camera dangling, I remember a time I was with Ron Boswell and his safety release on his tripod head unlatched and his camera, with a very expensive and large 300mm f/2.8 lens, fell to the ground. Luckily for him it only dented the lens and was more of a cosmetic thing. But, stuff happens. As I pondered this, I realized that far too often I trust my camera and lens to the durability of a 1/4" screw attached to the base of my camera. Most mounting plates only have 3-4 threads. That is it! I am now way too paranoid to not have some sort of secondary safety measure. I will wrap my strap around one of my handles when shooting on a tripod for the time being. Rob 'aka the vest guy' can make anything. He is looking into designing something as more of a safety strap for the camera. Maybe something like a small strap that attaches to one of your camera's eyelets and then clips onto your tripod or neck strap. We'll see how that goes and I'll report back.
-Doug
Comment
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Comment by Mark Coleman on October 21, 2009 at 5:13pm - This is why I'm hanging on to my D50...just in case.
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Comment by Rusty "Sidewinder" Sessions on October 20, 2009 at 4:30pm - Wow, good to hear that it all went well. If my camera were to take a hit for the worst I think I would just be out of a camera for quite a while and that would be like having no limbs with an itchy nose. And yes Rob "the vest guy" can do wonders! I have a new vest that he made and it solved soooooo many convenience issues that I wanted to take care of all with one vest. Even though I don't shoot something nearly as expensive as you and most other people do I still should look into a 2nd safety measure, with as paranoid as I am always I am surprised that I have not yet lol.
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