In the southern China boom town of Shenzhen last month, four young women started up their own reporting team for a "shanzhai television station" that spoofs local news and uses a camera tripod fashioned from a fan stand and a toilet plunger.

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This year, they'll give a camera case or tripod.

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Gazing toward a hazy bank of clouds, her back turned to us in the manner of a Casper David Friedrich daydreamer, this anonymous diva stands surrounded by truncated plaster columns and lights on stands, as well as a view camera on a tripod.

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When using these devices, the camera can be triggered remotely, making it ideal for group shots, remote applications, or to reduce shake when the camera is mounted on a tripod.

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Beck was able to get his equipment down to about 30 pounds with the new dry-plate method, needing only an assistant or two to help carry the camera and a big wooden tripod up a mountain.

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The idea was to pop the D3200 into manual mode, force the shutter to stay open for 30 to 60 seconds while on a tripod, and use the camera to trigger the shutter as to avoid camera shake from mashing the button on the body itself.

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An optional tripod bracket is available to securely stabilize the camera system when longer lenses are attached.

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The next step in moving this technology to the field is to develop a portable tripod-based system that houses both the laser source and the IR camera.

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Shaped like an oversized hockey puck, the Radian works with any camera that has a trigger-release input and can be used with or without a tripod.

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Many advanced amateurs and hobbyists had commented that it was difficult to use when shooting close-up photography on a tripod, for example, because the sensor is on the front of the camera. so we included a remote port on the left side of the camera so you can plug in an optional electrical cable release with a locking switch.

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