Tommy&Tiky:FAQ – Tripod ‘exclusively tailored’ to camcorders

Hello, it’s Tiky again!

I have an exclusive news for you guys. I’ve reviewed a tripod for camcorder before. Remember that? It was about 8months ago. Title with “Camcorder with an unique active angle lens tripod” , check this article again! Now I have another tips for you. The thing I’d like to tell you guys is we have a tripod exclusively tailored to camcorders like HMX-S16! Let’s find out how this wonderful tool works and helps you ulimately.

Just like a camera, camcorders come with different handy accessories. However, only a limited number of camcorders can use accessories such as microphone. Samsung recently launched a high-end camcorder called HMX-S16, to which a wide variety of accessories can be attached. On top, HMX-S16 has an accessory shoe to connect to accessories. Then, let’s take a look at accessories that will be very usefully in filming way better quality video.

Tripod ‘exclusively tailored’ to camcorders

One of the most frequently committed errors of camcorder users is to use the tripod for cameras that you already have. Or, even worse, buying a tripod for camera to use for camcorder, failing to acknowledge the difference between the two! Having totally different purposes of recording snap shot vs. movement, the tripods for the two have fundamentally different shape.

Tripod head for camcorder (video camera)

What you see here is the typical head of tripods for video cameras. At a quick glance, you might not be able to tell the difference, but how they work is totally different. With the tripod for camera, the head is fixed and remains fixed at the desired location. However, for camcorder tripod, the head holds still even if you don’t fix it strongly. You can also turn the camcorder around sideways without shaking.

Meanwhile, as cameras record stand-still images, the head is fixed at the desired location, not tolerating an inch of movement. Even if you were to place a camcorder on top and tighten it to the middle, you are bound to have blurry images if you move it up and down.

Now, let’s take a look at what this means in real life.

Camcorder attached to a camera tripod and moved up/down and sideways

Camcorder (video camera) attached to a dedicated tripod and moved up/down and sideways

So, anyone thinking “That is why my image was so shaky!” rather than “I didn’t know camcorder tripods are so stable!”? If you surf the web or browse shops, you can easily find that such information is not clearly delivered to the customer. For a non-expert, it’s difficult to be aware of such information. If you have ever had trouble using a tripod, check if the tripod is fit for the purpose first. If not, I strongly recommend that you get a dedicated tripod for the best results!

If you guys want to learn active angle like SMX-C20, here’s the link of thread! ▷Camcorder with an unique active angle lens tripod.

Until next time, bye-bye!

Tommy & Tiky:FAQ – Camcorder with a unique active angle lens and Tripod

Posted by redbe on Mar 17, 2010 • (1)

Camcorders by Samsung Imaging with a unique lens launched in 2009 grabbed the attention of many. These are no other than the R10 and C10 (25degree) which were mentioned at the last posting, and U10(7degree) which joined the league a little later. Except for C10, both R10 and U10 support HD. Those who already own a camcorder and interested in this product line expressed strong interest on whether the camcorder could be used with a tripod.

Tripod seems to be an indispensable companion of camcorders! Many users including horse******* posted questions on the usage of tripod.

While existing camcorders all come with a 90 degree lens, Samsung developed a groundbreaking ergonomic lens to save our wrists from pain. Camcorders with embedded 7 degree or 25 degree lens, how will these fit with tripods? As my test turns out, there is no problem recording using a tripod. The only thing you have to make sure is to adjust the angle of the tripod to fit the degree of the lens.

In case you have a tripod that has a fixed head, place the camcorder so that the two feet are located at the back and one foot right below the camera lens. Simply shorten the one foot below the camera and target the object.

However, most of the tripods you find in the market have adjustable head, so once you place the camcorder on the tripod, slant it downwards by 25~35 degrees to focus in on the object. Please refer to the pictures below for details. You can also rotate the camcorder 180 degrees after attaching the camcorder firmly to the tripod. The LCD also rotates accordingly, so you don’t have to worry about recording upside down.

If you own a gorillapod or a minipod, you are free from the angle issue and using a table is a nice option, too!

All in all, the 25 degree camcorder, designed to address the wrist pain issue, can be used with a tripod with no problem at all!