Tripod help needed please

mrgas

mrgas

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hi

i'm in need of some tripod technique advice please

I've got a Nikon D60 and a velbon tripod , all seems ok but theres something that annoys me when using the tripod , I may have got this wrong , but everytime I use it do i have to cover the viewfinder with the supplied cover ? I get the shot framed etc and happy with it , i then have to clip the plastic cover thing on the viewfinder before taking the photo , i then have to take it off frame the next shot , then cover it again

total ballache or have i got it all wrong ?

thanks
 
they suggest you do this, but most people don't, i ahve only ever used mine once which was for a 2hour exposure for star tails.
 
I couldn't agree with you more! The Canon XXD range and everything else below 1 Series bodies, have that stupid little rubber cover on the neck strap which you're supposed to cover the viewfinder with. I Series bodies have proper viewfinder blinds built in, and it surely wouldn't be that expensive to add the feature to the range - it really is shoddy and tacky! :gag:

It is there for a reason though - if you take your eye away from the viewfinder with any strong light behind you, the exposure is likely to be affected by the light entering the viewfinder and over-expose your shot. The good news is you don't have to fart around with that stupid little rubber doodad, you can just stick your hat, or anything convenient over the the top of the camera to block the light.

If you shoot in manual mode you don't have to worry about it anyway, as you set absolute values for shutter speed and aperture. The meter display may be affected by viewfinder light, but the actual exposure wont be.


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I was just contemplating this the other day! I think I was re-reading my camera's manual and came to the section where this is mentioned.

I think that for normal use (i.e. less than a second or two) you'd be fine just holding your hand up an inch behind the viewfinder. I'm reluctant to actually touch the camera during tripod shots because the whole point of using the tripod is stability, but I think this would reduce the amount of light reaching the eyepiece by several orders of magnitude. I'm sure that if you do this then there won't be enough light entering the camera to make any difference at all over a short exposure, and I'm sure I've done this in the past just fine.
 
thanks for replies

i'm obviously not alone in this though !

its just a ball ache clipping the cover on every time , once I'm happy with how I've framed the shot i'm not keen on touching the camera again

Interesting point about it not mattering on manual mode , as i'm nearly always on this setting when using the tripod (light trails , waterfalls etc)


again thanks ..............
 
Just drape a lens cloth, handkerchief, or something over it, rather than fiddle about sliding the cover on.
 
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