13/09/2016: Going MacGyver on this b****
One of the reasons I want an SLR, or just a more professional camera in general, is to learn how to make cool shots with varying shutter speed, such as this, or this. For that, having a tripod is near crucial, especially with the slower shutter speed. If you set the shutter speed to three seconds, it causes everything that remains still in those three seconds to be clear (like the car interior and person in the second shot), and everything not moving to be blurred, giving that cool effect. So if you have even the tiniest bit of sway or movement, it ruins the shot.
Tripods are expensive though. Except I have one.
*This was taken on my phone, which for some reason wanted to focus on the chairs instead of the tripod itself. One of the reasons I want a better camera. Manual focus.
I got this for free. About ten years ago, my dad wanted to get into photography (it didn't last long, but while it did he took some pretty cool photos), and needed a tripod. One day he was at the tip throwing some stuff out from work, and found this one, in practically brand new condition. There was nothing wrong with it. Granted it is probably a very cheap one, and isn't very durable (it's made of very light aluminum), but it still worked well as a tripod.
Anyway, Dad stopped using it and it wound up in my cupboard. However there is something wrong with it. Did you pick up on it? The screw is missing. Hence my mission today. To buy a new screw. I thought it'd be easy. I was so wrong.
I drove to Doncaster Shoppingtown, the closest shopping center with a Teds (Teds is a chain of camera stores here in Australia. I figured if I needed any camera accessory they would be the place to go). I parked as close as I could and made my way in with the tripod, asking the bloke at the counter if they sold the screws. He said they didn't and said something about a shop in the city that might, however he didn't seem to know what he was talking about. I ended up driving a bit further out to Greensborough Plaza to the Teds there, figuring that they might know what they were talking about a little more. I was right. Even though they didn't have it, they told me it was no special bolt, and that I could find one at Bunnings (Hardware store).
I made my way to bunnings, and managed to find what I needed. Even if it wasn't as good as those that come with a tripod, it'll do.
"But Jacob, I thought you just needed the bolt?"
Well you thought wrong. See...
The purpose for the washer and nut is simple. On a standard tripod, it has a similar setup to that. Granted the bolt has a head that is easier to handle, and the nut is a lot wider. The reason for this is that if it doesn't have the nut, the bolt will go into the camera, and then they will both swivel in the tripod, which is a pain in the a**. Hence the nut. It basically pinches the tripod between itself and the camera, causing the camera to sit tight and not swivel. Then the washer is just to stop the nut from rubbing against the tripod and damaging it.
This is it with the camera I am currently using. It works pretty well, except the fact that the nut is not wide enough. An easy fix for that is just to carry a 1/4" spanner or two with me to tighten it properly. Doing it by hand means the camera still swivels slightly.
As for the camera, I have an update on my situation. Usually this week of the month, I'd have 3 lots of income coming in. My fortnightly pay from the fertilizer factory I work at, my monthly pay from church for the paid sound work I do, and my fortnightly income support (because I am a student and I only get 16 hours at the factory a fortnight, and four hours a month at the church). The income support is weird. My stepbrother has the same thing, and it is dependent on both our incomes and our parents (his mum and my dads) income. Basically because we are both on it, we get paid more (as it costs our parents more having us both living at home instead of just one). One of the conditions is that he and I report our income once a fortnight, so that if we earn heaps, they adjust how much they give us accordingly. However the last few weeks, mine has dropped to about 1/3 of what it should usually be, because he keeps forgetting to report his income, and they boot him off. Then I have $50 a fortnight taken from that to pay off a Public Transport fine from years ago (long story that I am sick of thinking about...). Basically it means that the last few fortnights I have gotten nothing, and only just figured it out.
Basically, my pay from church hadn't come through yet. I knew that the factory pay would come through Friday, so if the church pay came through as well, I could afford to get the camera I want on Friday. However today my stepbrother went and got the income support sorted, so they're paying me properly again, and back-paying me for what I missed out on. My church pay and that come through tomorrow, so I will have more than enough to get the camera I want! By this time tomorrow, I will have a DSLR, with enough money left over to cover my bills for the month, and cover costs until next payday! I am so stoked. Part of me even wants to ditch uni tomorrow morning and go straight to the shops to buy it. Granted, I won't because I missed a bit of uni because of placement, but hell, I will be hanging for 11am when my class finishes tomorrow!
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