Intro

Although I am no David Bailey when it comes to photography, I believed that with modern, easy to use point and shoot, digital cameras there is no reason why amateurs like me, should not be able to produce some reasonably good photographs. So point and shoot I did and with a modicum of success.

That is until I tried to photograph close ups or zoom in on subjects. I remember my first real failure; it was of a fledgling blue tit hopping along on the ground, before resting; its mother, perched on a nearby clothesline, chirping motherly instructions. A close up of this little bird should have made a stunning photograph; the bird had not moved. I aimed the camera, zoomed in on the little bird, held my breath and took the photo.

However, it seems that holding my breath was not enough; the picture was slightly blurred due, I was certain, to camera shake. The moment had gone, and mum's warning of danger alerted the chick of my presence and off it hopped, to hide behind a bucket. All I was left with was a fuzzy picture of a blue-tit and a feeling of disappointment.

When I purchased my first digital camera it did not have, or as is more likely I was unaware of, an anti-shake mode. At about that time I spotted a mini tripod in Tesco or Lidls I am not sure where, but both have sold mini tripods.

It was inexpensive, again I cannot remember how much, but they are available today on Amazon for as little as £3.50 post-free.

This was ideal, for it held the camera steady and eliminated camera -shake when I photographed items at ground level, and meant that I did not have to suffer the indignity of lying on the ground and using my elbows as a prop, in order to keep the camera steady when taking photos.

It was perfect for photographing objects on the table for review purposes and even from ledges looking towards the ground, and because it was small, I often left it attached it to the camera, without it interfering with its use when the tripod was not needed.

I also used it on my desk when down loading, or is it uploading, pictures from the camera to my computer; not that it made any difference to the process. It just allowed me to stand the camera safely on my desk in a more stable position without having to move any clutter from the desk, the tripod just straddled pens, paper and anything else that happened to be sitting where the camera, minus its legs would normally have stood.

The Konig mini tripod
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The Konig is a silver, aluminium tripod weighing 4oz with a minimum height of 5.5-inches, and span of 5-inches between each foot. The maximum height when legs extended is 8-inches with an 8-inch span.
When folded, its length is 6.5cm, small enough to fit into the larger, camera carry-bags.

It has a universal screw attachment for the camera set into a robust ball and socket jointed, cylindrical holder, under which the three extendable legs are hinged. The ball and socket joint allows the camera to be positioned at whatever angle is suitable. On one side is a metal, screw mechanism to hold the camera at a chosen angle.

Each leg ends in a rubber foot to protect furniture. Unlike some tripods, this one is well balanced and refuses to wobble or tip, even when fully extended and accidently nudged, which I find particularly useful when taking close-ups of small items.

There is a narrow groove down each leg. When the legs are extended to their maximum length and twisted clockwise or anti clockwise, they will not retract until twisted back to their original position, with the groove in line with an indented triangle on the outer side of the leg casing; thus keeping the legs from accidentally sliding back to the minimum height.
The tripod is sturdy and stable enough to hold larger, non-digital cameras and also camcorders, yet small enough to carry in a pocket, handbag or camera carry-bag