It's hard to exaggerate how much tripods contribute to what I photograph. The most limiting thing I face is how to get the camera stable and unmoving, where it needs to be, to get the image I'm previsualizing. Getting a new tripod, like the SmallRig CT-200
I recently acquired, for me is as exciting as any lens or new camera body you've ever gotten. The 90-degree angle of view
EyePA 30 was chosen for a field test.
My pinhole practice is also defined by surveying the city from my bicycle. This thing is big. It reminds me of professional video tripods. At 2 kilograms, it's twice as heavy as my old Manfrotto. Collapsed, it's 60cm, compared to the Manfrotto's 45cm, so it sticks out the back of the bike rack more. The old tripod was already long enough that it took some care to swing my leg over it when getting on and off, so the extra length doesn't make much difference. The extra weight is noticeable, but not that hard. I'm not about to admit that I can't handle what would be one of the smaller hand weights at a gym. It's still less than your digital SLR. Getting it on the rack under the bungee cord didn't seem too different.
In addition to massive strength, that extra weight gives you extra height: 185 cm. Very handy for keeping verticals parallel. In this kind of situation, I used to collapse the legs to the smallest base that they would balance on to pick up a few extra centimeters of height, which was not always exactly stable.
With one-story compositions, it can get high enough that there is no need for a rising pinhole to manage converging verticals.
It's always frustrating when there is a composition with interesting lighting behind a chain-link fence. With a narrow-angle camera, you can point through the links, but with a 90-degree angle of view, they'll still be in the corners. With the "lateral" center column that sticks out like a boom, and the long legs, I could just get the camera over the fence. Composing the image gets to be a little more guesswork like that, though.
Another example of not needing an off-axis rising pinhole and its resulting exposure gradient to keep the verticals parallel. In this case, less exposure at the top would have been a good thing.
Of course, there's no trouble when the camera needs to be a bit lower to frame the composition.
One tricky situation is to get a level view of an object sitting in the middle of a table. The lateral center column that extends out gives me access to the middle of the table. The problem is the tripod head has to be between the camera and the table. With this one, that means the pinhole is at minimum 130mm up. The head has additional adjustments to swing the camera upside down, getting the pinhole to 50mm off the table, with the camera sitting on its winders. With my square format cameras, I could just position it on its side if that was more convenient.
I have been known to stick a tripod into Elwood's pond, but it's less messy coming in from the edge with the extended center column. Upside down camera again for an almost water-level view of Elwood's quartz and amethyst mute, using the legs spread to a lower angle.
Looking straight down at the Chrysanthemums. It wouldn't be impossible with a tilted, leaning tripod, but this is really easy and really stable.
My old technique of a leaning tripod to get inside a Monstera Deliciosa for the reflections on this particular leaf would have likely disturbed the arrangement. Easy to come in from the side with that arm. The camera is stable, but even in the protected lanai on a calm day, a big sail like this is going to flutter a little. I would guess it was moving for about twenty-five percent of the exposure, but it always returned to this position between breezes.
Another deployment of the lateral center column to avoid putting the tripod in the kitchen sink.
In this case, the tripod was just in front of the love seat with the lateral column extended back over the couch, then the camera swiveled back in that direction.
Finally, using the new gear to get over myself.
I was initially a little freaked out by the size, weight and plethora of adjustments and locks, but I'm warming up to the freedom to put the camera where I need it. I still intend to do a detailed review, partially just because I want to photograph kind of a nice bit of product design.
The EyePA 30 has two, hand-drilled pinholes, on the axis and 11mm above it, 30mm from a 6x6cm frame. The film is Kentmere 400 semistand developed in Rodinal 1:100.
