DIY camera/flash mount

Ok, so I half cheated, I bought the ball mount. It was from ebay and cost less than £5 so there is no way I'm going to build one. I'll also confess to cheating with the other half as well, I didn't make the clamp. I already had it but I had to drill the hole a bit bigger to fit the bolt through. So yes all I really did was bolt one to the other.

It's not perfect, a DSLR is too heavy and moves about a bit, but it will work fine for a compact camera or for a flash. I was thinking about drilling a new hole further up the clamp but there is supporting plastic on the inside that I don't want to drill out, I think it will weaken the clamp too much. Instead I'll keep an eye out for a better clamp to use.

Hahnel Triad 90PG tripod review

I have been bought the Hahnel Triad 90PG tripod as a Christmas present, i'm not sure what was paid for it but they are selling for between £75 and £100, I'm reviewing it as a £75 tripod.

The basics
It's a three legged tripod (you can get 5 legged ones, and I know tri = 3)
There are two adjustable centre columns - long and short
It has a pistol grip ball head - you squeeze the trigger when you want to move the head.
It also has a hook on the bottom of the centre column that you can attach a weight to increasing stability in windy conditions.
It also comes in a fairly robust case with shoulder strap

I have used this with a Sony A450 and a variety of lenses. the heaviest so far being the Tamron 10-24, the tripod had no problems with this, it's rated at being able to hold 7kg and this camera/lens combination weighs about 1.5kg. 7kg is quite some weight, considerably more than I will ever need to put on it and more than most tripods in this price bracket are rated at.

Overall I'm very impressed with this tripod, it's very well built, sturdy and holds the camera very still. I would very happily recommend this tripod, not just to those on a budget.

I'll add more to this review over the next few months including some photos.