Neat little tripod. I got a little tiny tripod made by Targus that will definitely only cut muster with lightweight point and shoot cameras. It's got the requisite screw on top to screw it into your camera (my big Nikon flopped over due to its heavy lens, but my little Canon P&S worked just great). It's got a tiny ball and socket joint with a knob to loosen it completely, position the camera, and then tighten it down. Its three legs don't telescope or articulate exactly, but they do move a certain amount in or out independently, giving you a couple inches of height compensation but more importantly allowing you to (in conjunction with the ball joint) make the camera perfectly level horizontally and tilted up or down as desired on even fairly uneven surfaces, like the craggy top of a boulder.

I tried to take a picture of the Canon with tripod attached because the colors match and it looks so cute, like a puppy, but alas the batteries on my Nikon were predictably dead. Soon though I will have mini-legged super-cam pics! Until then, the above shots will have to do. You can also see I wear the same hat a lot.

It does take some playing around with to get used to, and because it's so small, you'll still need to find a place of decent height to set the camera on, unless for some reason you want a ground-level perspective. And if you're stuck taking self-portraits because your a loner and/or loser, it will take that much longer to set the timer, run to spot you *thought* was in the viewfinder, wait for the click, then run back only to see you were totally out of focus or not even in the frame.

Here's, um, an example of that I did completely on purpose just to illustrate the potential pitfalls a less capable auteur might run into.


















Needless to say I got TONS of magnificent shots after that one but I don't have time to post them right now. Or I forgot to get them off the camera in my rush to write this article. I don't remember exactly but they're amazing, trust me. I'll show you them soon.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend a $7 investment in one of these little guys, or alternately a little beanbag made for the same purpose (leveling and steadying the camera for longer exposures, not so much for positioning it). The timer function or a remote would complete the experience so you don't have to move the camera at all once you've framed. These "toys" will make your little P&S that much friendlier and useful, and won't defeat the purpose of have a lightweight, compact camera by being a big and bulky accessory you won't want to lug around with it. Plus a tiny camera on a huge tripod would look gay.

If you want to see all those magnificent shots I was talking about, I just remembered I erased them all on accident. I know, I'm upset too - sorry about that. Next time, I promise.