Hot Photo Accessories for the New Yearby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 24 Dec 2007 10:40 PM Can you guess what the most requested photo accessory is according to camera experts? If you answered a tripod you are correct. Most people buy into the misconception that tripods are only used by professional photographers. However, if you are an amateur photographer who owns one of these handy three-legged supports then you know that is simply not the case. I'm far from being a professional photographer yet I own two tripods--a mini tripod and a traditional bulky version that I inherited from my professional photographer grandfather. Truthfully, the larger tripod is a pain to carry around, which is why I invested in the compact one. (The larger one I use at home or take to other people's houses when I plan to take group shots using the self-timer.) If you own a digital camera then you have no excuse not to have a tripod. The market is inundated with compact, versatile, ingeniously designed tripods that can fit in your back pocket. One that stands out (it has gotten stellar reviews in numerous photography publications) is the UltraPod II by Pedco. Not only is the ultra sleek, ultra svelte UltraPod II compact enough to fit in your pocket or purse it also helps steady your camera in a variety of unusual shooting situations. For example, you can open the legs and set it on a traditional flat surface such as a tabletop or a rock. Or, you can employ its Velcro strap and attach your camera to an available pole or tree limb. And speaking of cameras, there are two high-tech photo devices that caught my eye, which you might consider getting to document your New Year's festivities. The DCC Leica M3 Plus from Minox GmbH looks like one of those tiny spy cameras used in international espionage movies. It's that small. Its body is a scaled-down version of the Leica M3 rangefinder film camera, but this one has digital guts. The 77 x 44 x 42 mm camera is 5.0 MP with both optical and digital zooms, AVI format video, and Minox's superior optics. And it can accept memory cards up to 4GB. Finally, given the amount of time I spend at the beach and pool I put this next camera on my Christmas gift list this year (though it might be out of Santa's price range). It's the Xacti E1 waterproof camcorder from Sanyo. The palm-sized unit captures both video (640 x 480) and six-megapixel photos on land or in the water. Perfect for documenting my daughter's beach adventures, but since it's only waterproof to five feet, it's a much better gift for snorkelers than scuba divers. Related Articles: All I Want for Christmas is a New Photo Printer The World's Slimmest Digital Camera Digital Photography 101: Choosing The Perfect Ultra Compact Camera Digital Photography 101: Picking The Perfect Camera Cameras: Knowing When To Upgrade Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantphotography tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags camera, photography, photo accessories, tripod, video camera Discuss this article
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