Mini review of camera stores in Harvard Square

[prog]

...from the point of view of a novice video hobbyist looking for his first tripod.

Ferranti-Dege
A general camera-stuff store, but they have a clear emphasis on printmaking. The whole place smells strongly of photo chemicals, and so reminds me of the Maine Campus offices in the basement of Lord Hall at UMaine. Tight quarters, they was, so the photogs' pungent odors always won the day.

Seemed overstaffed (esp. compared to Hunt's). The guy I asked about tripods said that while the ones they sold would work OK with camcorders I'd probably be happier with a video-specific one, and advised me to go check out Hunt's. Bonus points for this place unless he was trying to eject me for being ugly or something.

Hunt's Photo and Video
This store has more of an emphasis on equipment sales, though they have a little darkroom in the back. They also had a self-service kiosk up front where you could insert digital media (in a variety of formats) and money, and have some prints spat back at you. I'll have to remember that.

Chronically understaffed. I got attention only when I started huffing out the door after waiting for help for half an hour only to be skipped over. (Note: it was Sunday. Maybe there are more people there on other days.)

Epilogue
I ended up getting a cheap tripod from Hunt's. It's not really video-specific, but it's suitable for beginning hobbyists such as I. Which is to say, it's cheap. Nice that it works with both my cameras, though.

Comments

[keimel.livejournal.com]

Tip:

Some tripods already have a hook, but if not, rig something up so that your camera bag will hang (to the ground mostly) form the tripod and serve as extra weight, thereby steadying your shots even more than just a tripod. This tip is good for stationary camera work and helps with reducing wobble from wind. You might even try using a bungy cord to save from adjusting the length of the camera bag strap.

Good luck.