Met a 350d on a tripod today.

Today I met a young Photo student using a Canon 350d on a tripod with a pan and tilt head.
I never realised how much better G series cameras were for tripod use.
You have none of the contortions needed to see what you are doing.
Apart from sports work I can't think why you would want to squint through a SLR viewfinder. which anyway, is no where near as bright as a Film SLR.
I hope that we are never forced to take that step.

Terry

And if the future DSLR cameras will soon be equipped with flip LCD with pre-preview... I guess that's another story. What I like about this compact digital advance camera (my G6) is that I'm not tempted to buy for new lenses and it's a learning process which is challenging at some point. One very common disadvantage for me is that since my friends are not really in photography, even the settings are already done - giving instructions for "half press" "still" "don't move the camera yet" "don't shake" "what takes you so long?" is also accompanied with blurry results. Tripod will solve this though.

I love my DSLR's.

Terry,
Oddly, I never thought about that, even though I spent an hour or so using my G on a tripod in the last two days. Most of that time, it would have been extremely uncomfortable, if not impossible to use the optical viewfinder. I remember one shot in particular where my head would have cast an ugly shadow across the image--I had to work a bit to keep my shutter finger out of the way. I should have used the remote, I know. As it was, it was dead simple to frame the images exactly. Did I mention I was outdoors, in bright sunlight? No issues with the LCD. Just twist it to make it sharp and clear again.

I will say that there are times when it would be convenient to squint through the optical viewfinder (dim as it is). Panning with a fast object (maybe a bird, instead of an athlete). Hmm--thought I had more examples. I'm sure others will pipe up. I would definitely want to upgrade to a camera with TTL in addition to twist LCD, no question. But like you, I hope I'm not forced into an eye-level only camera. I really don't think it will come to that.

I'm confused. I just got a new tripod - a rebel XT won't work with it?

Stacie

Quick clarification:
Your 350 will work fine. Terry was simply mentioning that he was struck by the flexibility a G-series camera offers on a tripod, compared to cameras with a fixed LCD, since it allows you to de-couple the direction/angle the camera is oriented with the direction/angle your head is oriented. It's an ease-of-use distinction.

I dont find it hard at all...I much prefer Using real optics over a LCD screen.
Plus cant compare to speed and ability of a DSLR.

Of course it will work.

Its just that you have to get your head in position to use it.
may be bend your legs and lean to one side.
If the head has a pan handle it will even poke you where you least expect it.

People have used SLR's on tripods for years.
It's just that flip screens are so much easier.

Terry

I have used SLR's for fourty years, on and off tripods
I have used large format even longer.
Flip screens are far easier than any thing else.

Try taking a shot with a DSLR on a tripod near ground level
Or over head high. Neither the slightest proglem for a flip screen.
And all with no mirror shake. Its horses for courses.

Terry

thats why they make angle finders you can stick on your viewfinder.

This seems to be a recurring topic (LCD vs TTL) on this forum. I do wonder how many folks who dismiss the use of an LCD have spent much time using one that isn't rigidly attached to the back of the camera. Certainly several folks who have moved from G's to DSLRs have, but they seem to be a minority voice.

Using a fully extended tripod for landscape presents no challenge, certainly, but I can easily position my tripod such that I really cannot put my eye up to the camera--especially when I mount the center column horizontally. In some situations, I could take a picture and try to view the results on a fixed LCD, but in others, I wouldn't be able to see the back of the camera either. None of that is even a passing consideration when I'm shooting with the twist/rotate LCD.

You are right I was brought up useing glass plates in large format.
The adjustments you had available by todays standards were amazing. for hand cameras I used twin lens Rolleiflexes. and later range finder 35mm and later still SLR's. Each of these gave advantagesTogether with technical disadvantages.
For this reason all these classes of cameras are still used by professionals.

It is strange that DSLR users think Only they have all the answers.
No one style of camera will ever be the best for every thing.

The SLR system cameras came out to cover the obvious shortcomings of the basic SLR ,. But you ended up carting around as much weight as a 5x4 Technical camera.

And I don't want to ever do that again.

Terry

Something else to carry
and how many people buy one.

Terry

well I went from a Sony F717 to my XT
I would never go back

Interesting--I'd never looked closely at the F717. Similar swivel to the old Nikon 9xx series, which I did get to use. The vertical swivel is nice, but doesn't compare to twist/swivel, since you can hit pretty much any angle. Coming from a 990, I had absolutely no idea how much more useful the G's LCD would be. I almost think I'd rather go back to film than give up the twist/swivel LCD.