Tripods essentially come in two parts: the tripod legs, used for support and height, and the tripod head, which is used for positioning and pointing the camera. Often, a tripod is sold with a head as a single item, but with more upmarket tripods the legs and head are usually sold separately so that you […]
Pan axis (tripod)
On a tripod head, the pan axis is the one that allows horizontal movement only, so you’re turning the camera to face a different way without altering its angle of tilt. All three way heads have a separate pan axis, and some ball heads too.
Lens aberrations and what you can do about them
No lens is optically perfect. In the ideal world, every lens would produce a sharp, undistorted, evenly illuminated image that’s sharp from edge to edge. Some lenses come close, but the fact is that lens designers have to work within the limitations of the laws of physics and the glass materials they have available, and […]