Library of Congress, Washington, DC, ISO 800, 1/60 sec at f/2.8. Canon EF 15mm fisheye lens with Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera
I saw an ad in Rangefinder Magazine yesterday for the Steadepod, a sort of monopod/tripod replacement. It’s basically a retractable stainless steel cable – you put the base of the cable under your foot, pull it to whatever height you want, trigger the locking mechanism, and it’s supposed to somehow give you a steady platform for shooting. Since it’s simply a retractable cable, it’s very small – it looks like it could fit in your pocket. If it works, it would be very useful in setting where monopods/tripods aren’t allowed. A few months ago, I did some shooting at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and tripods aren’t allowed there. It was OK, but I had to boost my ISO to 800 or 1600, which made my shots a bit noisy. (I usually like to keep my ISO at max 400, and preferably below.) For the shot shown here, I was using a Canon 15mm fisheye at f/2.8. Had I been using a slower lens or wanted to zoom in, ISO 1600 wouldn’t have cut it. The Steadpod would have been useful there. You can order the Steadepod for only $24.99+shipping here. If you’ve heard of it or used it, I’d like to hear your thoughts, and what shutter speeds you used it at!!!
I ordered one last week and got a chance to play with it this weekend. I tested it in a few places around the city, one being inside the Smithsonian. I mainly tried it in the Smithsonian to see if anyone would say anything, and thankfully nobody did! Anyway it took a little while to get used to, but it was a lot of fun once I got the hang of it. I think it’s perfect for shooting dimly lit spaces and creating light trails while on the go.
It works really well when you need to expose for about 1-3 seconds. With a little practice, you can probably use it for slightly longer exposures. Either way, it’s a great tool to have in your kit and well worth the $25 price!