Tripod, an Indispensable Camera Accessory

There are situations in friends or family gatherings where the photographer needs to have himself in the pictures of the group that he takes. His simplest way to do it is to mount the camera on a tripod and set the self timer to release the shutter. He then rushes to position himself in the group and wait for the shutter to click or the flash to discharge. By using the tripod he is able to frame well the position of the group in the LCD monitor, and by using the self timer he is also able to press the trigger release button even when his hands are off the camera thereby reducing the likelihood of having a camera shake that causes a blur in the picture.

The right combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO in relation to the ambient light is the basic elements of proper exposure of a picture. In addition, choosing the appropriate white balance setting, focusing the subject on, and holding the camera steady while pressing the shutter release button result in the production of vivid and tack sharp pictures. A fast shutter speed reduces the chance of having blurry pictures. But there are many situations when one needs a long exposure to get the desired effects on the pictures that he is taking. 

   

 Low light or night photography subjects such as moon, fireworks, light trails need long-duration shutter speed, low ISO and mid range aperture such as f8 to f11, the sweet spots of many interchangeable lenses, to have sharp pictures with less noise. In that type of photos it is extremely difficult or even impossible to hand hold the camera without shaking the hands. That is a situation when a tripod comes in handy. It is even more of help if the photographer uses the self timer or a remote control via the infra red wireless signal transmission of the camera where he can release the shutter without depressing the shutter release button. Tripod is also a useful tool in enhancing the quality of image of subject in daylight in such photography genres as portrait, nature and macro among others.                                                                                                                                                              

It is fortunate that some modern digital cameras come with built-in shake reduction feature. DSLRs which do not have it use interchangeable lenses that have image stabilization capability in them.  However, the built in shake reduction feature in the camera body or lens is not a fail-safe guarantee of blur free image in all situation. The best remedy for a camera shake is the use of a tripod. However, there are many situations where tripod is not practical to bring along with or not convenient to use.     

               

Tripods come in variety of maximum height, weight, load capacity, leg sections, type of head and the metals used in legs and other parts. Those with carbon fiber constructions are more expensive than the aluminum ones. The ball type of head is usually a feature of the more expensive tripods. In choosing a tripod, one should consider its weight capacity in relation to the camera and the available lenses that he uses. It should be able to support the weight of his camera and other accessories mounted on it. He should also consider its maximum height and weight. A short tripod that is not proportionate to the photographer’s height or a very heavy one may hamper or limit his movement during his photo activities.                                                                                                        

Regardless whether a point and shoot, bridge, mirrorless or DSLR camera is used, a tripod is an indispensable tool to photographers whether he is an amateur or professional.  A tripod will definitely widen his experience and improve his skill as a photographer. The good thing is that tripod, unlike interchangeable lenses, is one of the cheaper camera accessories.

Bridge Cameras, the alternative to DSLRs

Updated October 2, 2025

Modern point-and-shoot camera can take quality pictures that are suitable for printing and posting in blogs and social media site such as Facebook. The good thing about most of that kind of cameras is that they are cheap, compact and light so that they can fit in one’s pocket. Because it is compact, it can be easily brought anywhere when one wants his activities to be taken picture of. Point and shoot cameras are ideal for taking family, landscape, portrait and other pictures. However, they have limitations such as having a small sensor and a small, fixed all-around lens. Digital Single-Lens Reflex Cameras (DSLRs) can take better quality pictures than point-and -shot in different shooting situation such as the brightness of light and the distance of subjects from the photographer. To satisfy his desires, a DSLR user should have an array of various lenses such as prime and zoom lenses that can take wide angle, macro and telephoto shots. But DSLRs are not for everyone because they are more expensive, bigger and heavier. Some camera lenses are even more expensive than a DSLR body. Moreover, it will take a little longer for a total beginner to familiarize himself with the use and operation of a DSLR than he does with a point-and-shoot camera.

In between the point-and-shoot and the DSLR is the bridge camera. However, there is another camera type which is called hybrid or Mirrorless, Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC). But like DSLR, MILC uses interchangeable lenses. Maybe bridge cameras are called as such because it is some sort of a “bridge” between a point-and-shoot camera and a DSLR. The main characteristics of bridge cameras are that most of them have a DSLR-type body with no viewfinder, and a fixed all-around lens. Because of its powerful lens the term bridge camera is often used interchangeably with mega zoom, super zoom and ultra zoom. Bridge camera’s image quality may not be on par with the DSLR’s because of its small sensor size. But its small sensor size enable it to have an extremely high crop factor, thus allowing it to achieve zoom range that are physically impossible on DSLR cameras utilizing large sensors. This makes the bridge camera much more compact and versatile than either DSLR or MILC.

I had a bridge camera which was an Olympus SP-800UZ with a fixed lens of 4.9-147mm and maximum apertures of f1:2.8-5.6.  This is equivalent to 28-840mm in a 35mm film lens. It had a powerful 30x zoom lens that was indeed very effective in taking photos of distant subjects.  Its drawback was that it was weak in taking pictures in low light so that at ISO 800 or higher the pictures were noisy. Another problem was that it had no built-in viewfinder so that it was difficult to see the subject on the LCD screen on a bright sunlit day. I liked my camera for its small, light and sturdy body and its powerful fixed all-in-one lens which was highly effective in taking pictures of distant subjects. I also used that camera as a backup to my entry-level Pentax K-r DSLR. 

As the years passed I replaced my Pentax with Canon EOS 600D together with a few compatible Canon lenses. That Canon is still my go-to camera at present. My reliable and loved Olympus had since broken, and I replaced it with a Sony Cyber Shot with 63x optical zoom which I still use today. My Sony bridge camera has an electronic view finder and a PSAM (program, shutter, aperture and manual) modes in taking pictures.

Above are sample pictures taken with my Olympus camera

Over the years camera companies have made improvements on the features of some of their bridge camera models. These include having an electronic viewfinder, a sensor size similar to entry level DSLRs, a hot shoe for external flash, and a PSAM mode (program, shutter, aperture and manual) in addition to the auto. The PSAM mode means that the photographer can manipulate a bridge camera to take picture similar to a DSLR. In addition latest model bridge cameras have the ability to enhance the macro, telephoto and other features of the primary lens by attaching secondary lens to it. This can be done by screwing the secondary lens onto the front of the primary lens either directly or with the use of an adapter.

There are many good bridge cameras available in the market that the buyer can choose from. And the good thing is that their price has gone down and their qualities and features have improved because of the competition of camera manufacturers. Some examples of these bridge cameras are Nikon Coolpix P500, Canon PowerShoot G15, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, Fuji Finepix HS20 EXR, Sony CyberShoot DSC-HX100V, Olympus SP-820UZ and others.

With the advancement of technology smart phones have significantly improved image quality taken by their built-in cameras. Some picture qualities from high end phones are even at par as those taken by DSLRs. It is one of the reasons why some ordinary people don't see the need of having a stand alone camera because their phone can also get satisfying result on taking pictures with their phone. 

Even though smart phones can now take good pictures, it cannot replace DSLR or mirrorless cameras because of their limitations such as their small sensor and their fixed lens. And the bridge cameras, because of their capability to take pictures or even videos of distant subjects without spending huge sum of money on expensive telephoto lens can still be relevant for use today. 

     

Related post:

Are Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (MILCs) the Wave of the Future in Digital Photography?