It Has Got To Be The Camera

 THIS IS a thought (probably qualifies as a rant) that has been simmering for the past several months. Everybody who knows anything about me knows I am an unapologetic "gear" guy. There are a lot of us out there. But we are not all the same. We all have reasons. In my opinion, some (mine of course 😏) are valid. Some are not.

I OWN (currently) 2 different camera systems (3 if you count my smartphone). Over the years, I have owned several others. On numerous occasions here I have attempted to articulate my reasons for each system and what works for me and what doesn't. I don't think I have ever said - or even (intentionally) implied - that my choices of systems made "better" images than others. We will each have our own needs and preferences. That's o.k. It is what make the world turn for photographic equipment sellers and manufacturers.

I don't care what you shot the image with

FOR EACH system/camera I own, I have often sought, and joined (these days mostly FB) "Groups" dedicated to those cameras/systems. I do it expecting to glean some wisdom about how they work and what little nuances might be hiding in the software or hardware. I do it to see what accessories are specifically matched up to them. I do it to see what kind of new "capabilities" (focus "stacking," computational photography capabilities, etc.).

WHAT I don't expect from them is photos posted to imply (or even demonstrate) that this camera takes "the best" photographs!  Or even just "takes good photographs." Yet I would judge that at least 50% of the posts on many of these group sites are such photos. Sometimes spectacular and sometimes . . . well . . . not so much. But that really doesn't matter. I see spectacular photos on all of them. All of the time. Just as I see spectacular photos on many other sites and in many other places. Every time I go to one of these pages and see a photo posted with a shot with my [insert any brand] I roll my eyes. Why? Because I don't care what you shot the image with! I mean, really, if it is a great image, it is a great image. If its not? Then its not. I have made my share of not so great images - sometimes with some pretty high end equipment.

. . . photos posted to imply (or even demonstrate) that this camera takes "the best" photographs!

VIRTUALLY EVERY knowledgeable photographer (if s/he is being honest) knows that it is not the camera that makes or breaks an image. It is true that technical components like "noise," image size, etc., are affected by the camera (or perhaps more accurately, the sensor). It is also true that a models mechanical capabilities (i.e., autofocus and things like subject recognition are definite improvements in technology that assist the skilled shooter. If the posted image is made to show the use of these things, or even how well the image stands up to pixel peeping, that is one thing. But most of the time they are posted to show how good they are and that they were shot with the poster's concept of "the best" camera.

I SUPPOSE the other thing about an on-line rant (in any form, including a blog), is that by posting it, we are really just "tilting at windmills." People won't stop posting photos on camera-specific sites with the implication that it is a better photo because it was shot with that camera model. But they should. There are plenty of sites for that. There, I said it.  I got it off my chest. And mostly wasted a few hundred bits of space and time I can never recover. But seriously folks. It is not the camera!

More Brackets and Stuff

I MAY have an obsession with camera brackets, LOL. I know this is the third blog in a row on the topic. The immediately prior blog was about my newest "bracket-discovery," the "i-bracket." Unless extensive use of this one in the field reveals otherwise, I think I have stumbled upon the best solution for me. But it reminds me that it has been an interesting and at times meandering, journey. After this, I'll stop. For a while. 😆

I SHOOT from a tripod 95% of the time when I am out shooting landscapes. At one time, it was probably 95% for all images of any kind, but my last 10 years of travel has made me change that approach, engaging in a lot more handheld shots. But when I can, I am going to be using that tripod. So these "bracket" gadgets occupy a fair amount of my attention. In the beginning, we all screwed our camera directly onto the tripod with the socket in the camera base. Pretty inconvenient, and depending on the tripod head, difficult to change from landscape to portrait orientation.

Arca - Swiss style QR

THEN, SOMETIME in the 1990s, the Arca Swiss company introduced (what I believe to be) the first "quick release" (QR) system for cameras. It was (is) disarmingly simple and secure (my father was a professional engineer and was fond of saying that the most effective design was usually the simplest - I have begun referring to these designs as "elegantly simple"). It is a dovetail arrangement consisting of a machined, dovetail "v" plate that secures to the camera base and a reverse "v" receptacle clamp. This arrangement can be firmly tightened down. There are some other QR systems, but frankly, I don't know why they bothered. The perhaps most common was the Bogen/Manfrotto system which involved a hexagon shaped plate that snapped into a spring-loaded receiver with a lever release (they later released an alternate, smaller "consumer" square plate and receiver). Bogen was kind of the "everyman" tripod for many years (especially before the carbon fiber boom) and I don't know anybody who didn't own at least one of them over the years. Gitzo tripods (now also owned by Manfrotto) - which had their own quirky QR setup - was the "gold" standard for tripods. But the Bogen models were the workhorse and much less costly. The QR system on them, however, was their achilles heel, in my opinion (though they doggedly continue to use that system for most of their tripods). Because I owned several Bogen tripods and heads, I felt "stuck" with their system. It was heavy, bulky, and I never really trusted it to securely hold. I probably could have used the Bogen legs only and attached an Arca Swiss style head. I never did, and when the opportunity presented itself, I moved to a carbon fiber tripod and the Arca Swiss system. For a very brief period, I owned the Bogen L-bracket pictured below, and, while it served the intended purpose, it was - anything - worse than their standard gear. It was large, heavy, clunky and certainly didn't engender thoughs of secure clamping any more than the original stuff did.

Bogen QR Systems

AT THE same time, tripod heads were undergoing an evolution and today, the former 3-way adjustable head has been mostly replaced with the ball head. One of the problems with the ball head for landscape photographers was the versatilityy of the ballhead that was so championed, was also the downfall of something a lot of us landscape shooters value: precision. It was difficult, if not impossible, to change the orientation from landscape to portrait on a ballhead.

Arca - Swiss style L-bracket

THE L-BRACKET, which became popular in the 2000s, solved that problem. It fit my definition of an elegantly simple solution. The solution was only partial and and short-lived, however. As camera bodies became more complex, the "traditional" L-bracket began to interfere with the movable rear LCD panels that have become popular. Not to mention the numerous electronics and memory card ports that now adorn modern bodies. While L-bracket makers have partially addressed this problem, they have not been entirely successful. Seems like there has to be a better solution. There are some contenders out there, to compete with the L-Bracket. I think my own newest discovery - the "i-bracket" may be the best one. It certainly fits the "elegantly simple" description.

Bogen L-bracket

THE OTHER approach that has rapidly become a thing - at least on the online accessory market - is the camera-mounted, rotating tripod collar. To the best of my knowledge, the first of these was introduced by a company named Atoll a few years back. I reviewed it (and for the life of me, cannot find the blog where I did that) and concluded that it was a nice idea not yet ready for prime time. They were originally designed and released for a limited number of camera models (Sony, Canon and Nikon). I personally didn't think the model I tested felt very durable or sturdy. Following up on them, several competitors have released their own copies, including Neewer, Ulanzi, Smallrig, iShoot and Nisi. Each has its pros and cons (not the least of which is incompatibility with certain popular lenses). And now, more recently, Atoll has released its newest model, the AtollX, which purportedly is more of a universal design and is said to fit most camera/lens combinations. For articulating LCD screen lovers (I am one), these all appear to rotate the wrong way, rendering the screen pretty much useless. 😒

New Atoll "X" collar

NOW, THERE is another variation, the 90 - degree 1/2 lens collar, which looks like about a 1/2 cutaway of the circular collar and essentially performs the same function (moving from landscape to portrait orientation). I like the idea with these collar arrangements because once mounted, there is no need to remove the camera and re-orient it (much like the lens collars on many telephoto lenses). This makes the transition back and forth smooth and seamless. I am just still concerned about the shortcomings and the potential lack of sturdiness of the arrangement. Time will tell.

FOR THOSE who may have tried one or more of these devices, I would love to hear your feedback on them in the comments section below. And now, having beat brackets to death, I think you will agree: it is time to move on to a different topic. 😏

Revisiting the "L-Bracket"

Recommended

IN THE last post, I wrote about the L-bracket for my M4/3 Olympus EM-5iii. Over the past several years, I have blogged a few times on this (or closely related) topic. These days, given the leaps and bounds forward with image stabilization technology, one could easily conclude that mounting a camera to some kind of standard (for most of us, a tripod) has been relegated to only special purpose uses. Virtually every FB or other social media page extolls the virtue of the camera's great IBIS ("in body image stabilization"), implying or even outright suggesting that a tripod is just no longer needed. But that conclusion would be wrong, in my opinion. I don't discount the virtue of image stabilization. Nor do I deny that it has made handholding in some situations the choice of preference. But there are still many circumstances where using a tripod is either completely necessary, or highly recommended. At least for now.

I SHOOT the majority of my landscape images from a tripod. I still remember the frustration of trying to line up my composition on all three axes - especially with a ball head. And then, when you wanted to look at the 90 degree perspective (landscape vs. portrait orientation), re-calibrating that composition was sometimes nearly impossible.

design of these erstwhile simple brackets has become increasingly challenging

IN THE 2000's I was introduced to the "L-bracket." What a simple, yet elegant solution. In the beginning. But as camera technology has expanded and manufacturers have added more and more accessory ports, along with the very handy "articulating" rear LCD screen, design of these erstwhile simple brackets has become increasingly challenging. With that, I believe that in many cases, the engineers have simply not even seriously considered camera-stand attachments as part of the design, and bracket manufacturers just don't design and sell them for many of the most modern cameras. On my last two "camera upgrades" I have run into this vexing issue.

"Rube Goldberg" modification of the RRS Bracket "designed" for my Olympus EM--5iii

FOR MY Olympus EM-5iii, I ended up modifying the very expensive RRS L-bracket with a grinder, some emory paper and some black spray paint. It works, but it is definitely "Rube Goldberg" material. For the newest "Full Frame" Sony A7CR, That didn't appear possible and I was close to simply giving up, when I found an ingenious new solution. It restored my faith that good engineering could overcome some of these issues. And believe it or not, the new solution is even simpler than the now venerable L-bracket.

Slik "i-Bracket"

WHAT COULD possibly trump the L-bracket? The "i-Bracket!" I have long praised the Arca-Swiss style dovetail L-bracket for its elegant simplicity. The i-bracket is even more elegantly simple. My dad, the professional engineer, had a favorite theory. Most really well-designed and durable mechanisms have a single concept at their heart: simplicity. It is hard to image a simpler design than a straight, flat dovetail bracket. That dovetail on the end, though, is the genius. I am actually surprised that some enterprising inventor or engineer didn't arrive upon this sooner.

THE LONG-time tripod manufacturer, Slik, sells these things for a very reasonable $50 price, either directly on their own website, or through Amazon. Since I am a many-years Prime member, and I like the free shipping and fast turnaround times, ordered mine from Amazon. One thing that might give you pause when looking at this thing is the small size of the "portrait mode" dovetail on the end of the bracket. You might be skeptical that there is enough there to give the tripod dovetail clamp enough "purchase" to feel that it is secure. Machined from fairly thick aluminum, the dovetail is about 1/2 inch wide on the narrow end. I can assure you from testing. It is plenty secure (barring user error). There is at least one other manufacturer who has now introduced a similar bracket: (Leophoto). I have never owned a Leofoto accessory of any kind, but I know they are one of the well-thought of newcomers to the tripod and lens accessories game. It looks like it would be similarly useful, as it also has the same "i-bracket" design. It looks a bit bulky to me, though it touts that that very bulky design is a positive, slightly extending the bottom of the camera's grip. Personally, I think the A7CR feels fine in hand as is. If you have larger hands, you might look at this Leofoto model. I wasn't able to find it on Amazon, but it did come up as a direct purchase (I presume, shipping from China) from the company with a Google search.

Leofoto i-bracket

THE i-BRACKET from Slik is slightly more complicated than my explanation of it as a simple flat bar. It is actually two precision-fitting, indexed bars that slide on top of each other. But that's a good thing, because it gives the bracket some adjustability. On Amazon's site it also specifies compatibility with Canon EOS R, Sony a7, and Nikon Z Series cameras.

I HAVE previously noted (in prior blogs) that these brackets (both "L" and "i") must be designed as a camera-specific part in order to be useful. The primary piece is the anti-rotation lip machined or cast integrally onto the bracket, which prevents the camera from rotating forward or backward when mounted. The Slik bracket provides a couple slots and holes, which should allow for placement of the camera base tripod sockets being different. The fit on the A7CR (and a presume the A7C and A7Cii would be identical) is perfect.

I AM very happy to recommend this accessory - perhaps as highly as anything I have recommended here.

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