Alastair Traill
April 29th, 2009, 02:55 AM
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I purchased an EX3 because of its potential for nature photography thanks largely to the ability to change lenses. Like many others I was disappointed with the tripod attachment point and the subsequent need to provide something better. As I had considerable success with a side –mount tripod head on a PD150 I wanted to do the same for the EX3. A big attraction of the side mount for me is the low level capability. Another is that if the camera is mounted so that the tilt axis is aligned with the camera’s centre of gravity the fluid head does not need compensatory springs etc, so the head can be lighter.
The pictures show a base-plate that includes the possibilities of: -
Side mounting from either above or below.
Control of certain lenses from the rear.
Easier handholding including a snap-in shoulder support.
Support for long lenses and the availability of a 1x gun sight to make it easier to find the subject when using long lenses.
As there was no mount available for Nikon G lenses I made a mount with an aperture control.
The stainless steel tube provides a mounting point for the lens mount, the gun sight and the “cotton reel”. When handholding some of the weight of the camera can be supported by the tube using the left hand – the “cotton reel” being positioned in the web between thumb and forefinger thereby leaving fingers available for tweaking focus etc. It is a setup that makes handholding much easier and easier again if the shoulder support is used.
The tripod is attached using a round section of stainless steel. This allows the camera to be moved closer or further from the tripod head, e.g. to accommodate the grip of the standard lens the gap has to be large. The camera can also be inclined forward or backwards relative to the head by rotating the camera on this bar before clamping. Thus a heavy lens can be compensated for by tilting the camera backwards or conversely forwards for a lighter lens. It saves the use of a hefty camera plate. Further adjustment can be achieved by selecting a different hole for the bar in the mounting block.
For my PD150 I used a flexible pan/tilt handle. This time I have done the same but the ability to use longer lenses has lead to further experiments. A piece of flexible tubing that extends past the handle end is showing promise. The more flexible the connection the harder it is to transmit vibrations to the camera. With the tube you can select the flexibility by moving one’s grip towards or away from the camera.
I purchased an EX3 because of its potential for nature photography thanks largely to the ability to change lenses. Like many others I was disappointed with the tripod attachment point and the subsequent need to provide something better. As I had considerable success with a side –mount tripod head on a PD150 I wanted to do the same for the EX3. A big attraction of the side mount for me is the low level capability. Another is that if the camera is mounted so that the tilt axis is aligned with the camera’s centre of gravity the fluid head does not need compensatory springs etc, so the head can be lighter.
The pictures show a base-plate that includes the possibilities of: -
Side mounting from either above or below.
Control of certain lenses from the rear.
Easier handholding including a snap-in shoulder support.
Support for long lenses and the availability of a 1x gun sight to make it easier to find the subject when using long lenses.
As there was no mount available for Nikon G lenses I made a mount with an aperture control.
The stainless steel tube provides a mounting point for the lens mount, the gun sight and the “cotton reel”. When handholding some of the weight of the camera can be supported by the tube using the left hand – the “cotton reel” being positioned in the web between thumb and forefinger thereby leaving fingers available for tweaking focus etc. It is a setup that makes handholding much easier and easier again if the shoulder support is used.
The tripod is attached using a round section of stainless steel. This allows the camera to be moved closer or further from the tripod head, e.g. to accommodate the grip of the standard lens the gap has to be large. The camera can also be inclined forward or backwards relative to the head by rotating the camera on this bar before clamping. Thus a heavy lens can be compensated for by tilting the camera backwards or conversely forwards for a lighter lens. It saves the use of a hefty camera plate. Further adjustment can be achieved by selecting a different hole for the bar in the mounting block.
For my PD150 I used a flexible pan/tilt handle. This time I have done the same but the ability to use longer lenses has lead to further experiments. A piece of flexible tubing that extends past the handle end is showing promise. The more flexible the connection the harder it is to transmit vibrations to the camera. With the tube you can select the flexibility by moving one’s grip towards or away from the camera.