pennsy wrote:Hi Mike,
I've posted this several times before, but it is worth repeating in this case.
If you find yourself in a situation where a tripod is necessary and you don't have one, try this Monopod solution. This has been used by professional photographers for years.
Tape a spare film cassette holder onto your camera strap. Into the cassette holder you place a length of string, long enough to reach from your camera to the ground, so you can step on it. You take the string, attach it to the bottom of your camera, the tripod mount screw will do fine, and drop the string to the ground. You now step on the string and pull it taut. As long as the string is taut, under tension, the camera will be steady and you can take time exposures with it. You now have a do it yourself portable monopod at a moments notice. Good luck.
Alan,
thats a cool idea!
of course it wont be
as steady as a tripod, and you will still get some shaking just from your hands..
but its certainly better than just regular hand-holding!
Would probably work great for an exposure of a second or two..
but probably not so good for 5 seconds or more..
for exposures that long, you pretty much need a tripod.
(or sit the camera down on a steady surface..car roof, bench, etc..
then set the camera for the long exposure, set the self-timer, and step away from the camera..)
Scot