Sun 04 Oct, 2020 2:02 pm
Sun 04 Oct, 2020 6:55 pm
Sun 04 Oct, 2020 8:23 pm
Mon 05 Oct, 2020 5:55 pm
keithy wrote:It's really stable. You can see how haphazardly I loop the cordage around the poles in my pictures. As long as they grip around part ofof the poles - in my case the octopus tripod - and don't slip down and you have them staked out taut, it is rock solid.
Previously I'd loop the cordage through both poles' wrist straps as well as around the handles, but I've been using this system for about two years without fail. The tension from the pegged out cord keeps it in place. If the ground is too hard or rocky, I've looped the cord over heavy rock.
If using a heavier DSLR, it can get a bit shakey if it's very windy, since my poles are under 170g each. But I have set it up to take long exposure shots with my compact camera quite nicely.
Showed it to the mate who hiked with me down in Patagonia, and initially he wasn't sure about it, but came around after seeing how quickly I could set it up, and how stable it was.
I do try to use two of the silicone bands at once just for redundancy, in case one snaps, but I've gotten away with one band. Alternatively you could use a velcro strap (like those cable keepers) to hold the mini tripod to the handles.
I've also got one of those mini tripods with a velcro strap built in (like the Ultrapod) but I found those to be less flexible than a Gorillapod type tripod.
I also prefer doing this with the handles up and pointy ends in the ground, as opposed to other ideas there the pointy ends go up and the handles are on the ground. I experimented with this when coming up with my system, and found I preferred the pointy ends sticking into the ground for more stability.
© Bushwalk Australia and contributors 2007-2013.