Using Monopod/Tripod etc with 35mm Rangefinder

Using Monopod/Tripod etc with 35mm Rangefinder

  • Full Sized Tripod

    Votes: 34 36.2%

  • Mini/Table Top Tripod

    Votes: 23 24.5%

  • Gorillapod or other articulated

    Votes: 6 6.4%

  • Monopod

    Votes: 23 24.5%

  • Bean Bag

    Votes: 5 5.3%

  • Other (Please elaborate!)

    Votes: 6 6.4%

  • Don't Use Any

    Votes: 34 36.2%
  • Total voters
    94
doolittle

doolittle

Well-known
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Apr 11, 2010
Messages
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Just to satisfy my curiousity: are there many of you using, on a reasonably regular basis, a tripod, monopod or other form of stablilisation aid with your rangefinder?

What do you use and why?
 
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I use a small table top Leica tripod sometimes....I always carry it when I go on trips...it is small, but heavy....but it comes in handy...I've also used my Domke bag as a "bean bag" when I haven't had my tripod...it works, but not as well as my tripod.....

Myanmar
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cheers, michael
 
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I regularly carry and use a Bogen 3021 full-sized tripod. If the light is there I can shoot hand held, but if the light is lower (perhaps the shade side of a building or as daylight turns to dusk) and I want a sharp image, greater depth of field, or wish to use a slow film like Pan F, the tripod makes the results worth it.
 
Monopod when I remember to bring it along gives me two to three lower shutter speeds. I should use it more; it works best on the Ms with either Rapidwinder or original baseplate because the tripod socket is right under the shutter button - when I shoot, I don't tend to wiggle the camera as much. Other tripods are used but less frequently.
 
I have a Hama Monopod/walking stick, that my wife found and thought would be a clever idea. I frequently have to use a stick so it kills two birds with one stone :).
 
Depends on the size of kit I carry what I bring. Big kit it's either the Minolta TR-1 or Leitz Table Top(with large head), medium size it's a small bean bag, just a body I use my wallet (smallest of all). In every bag is a remote shutter release camera no matter what the conditions.

B2 (;->
 
None for me, just a fast lens and my own hands. I start to use my resourcefulness when down to 1/15th of a second or lower, where my hit rate drops starts to drop from 100%.

With most slower speed shots, I tend to find something to brace myself against, or else pull in my elbows and brace them against my chest. Also I will only trip the shutter when breathing out.
 
I usually shoot hand-held, but occasionally I do come across situations where a tripod would've been useful.

Then, however, I realize that setting it up would've cost me way too much time, and being 188cm tall, carrying a tripod to suit my "usual" viewing angle would be unreasonably heavy for the occasional use it'd get. Although I do occasionally get the itch to pull a roll of Pan F to EI25 - the one roll I shot with it was painfully slow to get through (shot only in the brightest of daylights) but absolutely gorgeous.
 
I'll use a Manfrotto monopod with my Fuji 6X7 II rangefinder as it is so big. I have also just (recently) got a Gorillapod for same...but haven't use it yet.
 
Speaking of hand held, what about carry on? I am too scared to try carrying the Leitz tabletop tripod in my carry on luggage because of it's shape.
 
Cheap Me... Gaffers Tape

Cheap Me... Gaffers Tape

I always have gaffers tape handy and it's not uncommon for me to tape my camera to a tree, signpost or fence post and use a cable shutter release. :)
 
.

I posted this earlier in Roger Hick's Tips & Tricks:



Buy a nylon leash for a small pet at the grocery or discount store for $3.

Cut off the snap.

Assuming you shoot right-handed - Slip your left hand through the loop in the leash.

Now grasp your camera at the lens in the usual RF position.

Put your foot - or your knee, if you're shooting macro - on the loose end of the strap.

Pull up 'til you feel tension and focus.

Shoot even very slow speeds as steadily as when you used a monopod.

Stuff it back in your pocket and you are on your way.

ENJOY!

(PS - They come in a wide assortment of colors.)


PPS - Roger said it never worked for him! :(

.
 
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kuzano said:
I always have gaffers tape handy and it's not uncommon for me to tape my camera to a tree, signpost or fence post and use a cable shutter release. :)
Click to expand...

hey man, that sounds hardcore.....taping a camera to a tree or signpost........cheers to you mate....very cool
 
I sometimes stand the camera on a beer glass and just push it down with my LF index finger while I release the shutter with my right.

The glass has to be on a table, obviously ... and probably best to drink the beer first
 
Sparrow said:
I sometimes stand the camera on a beer glass and just push it down with my LF index finger while I release the shutter with my right.

The glass has to be on a table, obviously ... and probably best to drink the beer first
Click to expand...

It sometimes occurs to me that, after quite a few beers, I must use a tripod - better two - to stand up!
;-))
 
It depends mostly on what I'm shooting and with which rangefinder. I use my Leica as a light carry around camera for more spontaneous photos and situations that don't suit tripod setup. Fast lenses are available, and walls don't mind being leaned on for stability.

If I'm carrying my Bronica RF645 I often take at least a monopod and for serious landscapes a tripod is a must; lenses are slower and the best light is usually in mornings and evenings.

Steve
 
doolittle said:
Just to satisfy my curiousity: are there many of you using, on a reasonably regular basis, a tripod, monopod or other form of stablilisation aid with your rangefinder?
Click to expand...

I have not used a tripod or monopod with a 35mm camera for many years.

If I am going to carry / use a tripod or monopod, I am going to put a medium format camera on it.
 
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