Living With Stress Marta Merajver Kurlat
The main criteria for buying this tripod was that it had to be light and compact enough to fit in my Tamrac Velocity 8x Sling Bag (i.e. all the weight on one shoulder) and yet sturdy/stable enough to take low light / night shots with my Canon 7D with lenses as large as my EF 70-200 IS 4L. After taking this tripod to Prague/Salzburg/Munich I can say that this is a surprisingly good tripod and will be a part of my travel bag as long as you are aware its limitations (i.e. stability and vibration dampening) and work around it.
On one extreme end you have the tripod fully extended (including the center column) with a DSLR mounted with a long lens, then it becomes a little shaky and rather top heavy which puts the setup at risk of falling over. However, if you spread the legs out and hang your camera bag onto the center column hook then its stable and usable. In this configuration, it will take 10 seconds for all of vibrations to dampen out so you will need a remote release or rely on the timer for this to be practical.
Now if you don't extend the center column and extend only 2 segments of the legs, then it is significantly more stable and dampening time drops to about 5 secs if you are using a long lens. If you use a shorter lens than say the EF 24-105 4L then the dampening time is about 3 secs or less.
And of course, if you only fold it out and use it as a table top tripod then is extremely stable and dampens quickly.
PROs:
1) Compact size, less than a foot long
2) Built-in bubble levels and sturdy ball head
3) Legs don't rotate with twist locks
4) 3 angle leg positions
5) Strong for its size.
CONs:
1) The base plate is terrible as the camera moves when oriented in portrait. I plan on replacing this plate.
2) Aluminum construction doesn't dampen vibration well.
Although I own a nice carbon fiber tripod that is very stable and dampens extremely well, its size and weight makes it a pain to travel with. So if you know the limitations and workaround them, you'll be able to take sharp night and indoor shorts. And thats definitely more pictures than having the tripod stay in the hotel.
Ms. Merajver Kurlat seems to have a fervor for tackling complex subjects and she most certainly has a talent for it. Living with Stress is a purposeful and useful book for anyone living in today's world. Ms. Merajver Kurlat writes in a way that is not only understandable to the layperson, but also enjoyable. Her writing is efficacious and fluid, and her message, while professional, is supportive, encouraging, and hopeful. She offers practical and easy-to-follow strategies and exercises for overcoming real-life dilemmas that we all confront and experience. Everyone should have a copy on hand to read and reread periodically.
BalasHapusMarta is a talented and insightful woman, no mater in which of several languages she shares her knowledge and experience. Stress kills and we are all at risk. Living with Stress teaches lessons to help us cope with that which we all experience, killer stress. My advice: Buy the book and save a life.
BalasHapusWalter