This unit is both stylish, practical and very solid. I have 2 at present and find them ideal for storing my vinyl in a relatively small space.
Shakespeare Salt Deluxe Beach Rod Rest / Tripod Telescopic 7ft + carry Case
25 Apr, 2019
Best tripod ever!
Versatile and solid, this tripod can be adjusted to adapt to just about any situation.
Particularly good on slippery concrete and stone. Rock solid when set up.
The top rod holders hold the rods really securely, and space the rods the correct distance apart so that the handles on large fixed spool reals (such as Shimano Ultegra 14000 XSD and Akios Airloop R10) don't foul the centre beam.
Comes with a quality carrying bag and looks pretty sharp on th beach.
2 of 2 found this helpful
09 Apr, 2007
Classic Digital
PROS:
Built like a tank (cost nearly £4K when it first came out)and very hard to wear out! Autofocus is deadly accurate and faster than many consumer cameras like D70 - viewfinder is also a huge improvement over any consumer Nikon digital that I've looked through (D100, D70 etc). Total lens compatability allowing older AIS or AI manual focus lenses to be used. Very customisable - though it takes a while to learn! Metering is superb, with choice of Matrix, Spot, or Centre-weighted. The 6 megapixel sensor records more detail than you would think, and responds superbly to interpolation when shooting RAW files - producing excellent 10 megapixel images via Nikon Capture 4 or (my choice) Bibble Labs software. Colour is superb (best skin tones I've ever had!) and very film-like. Camera is fast and responsive, with manual focusing being easy and positive (AF focus assist light useful with fast lenses like 105mm F1.8) With AF lenses it's very speedy indeed. Auto fill flash with accessory SB80DX flash unit is relaible and versatile. Shoot RAW for the best from this camera, interpolate to 10MP and the results (in my view) compare very well with current 8 to 10 MP cameras. Ergonomics are superb with vertical shutter release, AF switch and command dial - wonderful for portraiture and studio work in portrait format (which is what I mainly use it for).
CONS:
D1X is BIG and HEAVY! - not a camera to stick in your pocket....It's also quite noisy, though the weight works well for handholding at slow speeds. Battery technology is a bit old (NiMH) and batteries vary. Some will do 300 shots, some only 200. I always carry a spare battery. Good news is that they go on Ebay for about £18-22. Digital noise on higher ISO settings (above about 500 ISO) is much higher than the latest cameras. However the noise is very linear (unbanded, much like film grain) and software such as Neat Image filters it out really well. Your can get D1X custom noise profiles for Neat Image which work very effectively. If you buy a D1X make sure you get a manual. The camera is very customisable (you can store 4 profiles, each almost a different camera, and switch between them) but you have to read the book! If you're used to an F5 or F100 Nikon film camera you'll find the controls very intuitive - but the Custom Settings Menu is complex and you need the handbook to fully understand what you're setting. Reaction times on playback are a tad slower than the latest cameras (zoom playback, for example, may take 3 or 4 seconds).
The D1X was replaced by the D2X in Oct 2003 so it's now an 'obsolete' camera - however this is the second I've bought (I like to work with two bodies with different lenses on each) and I would still recommend it. I rate it for print sizes up to 11" X 14", but I've seen 20" X 16" prints that were superb. The colour and detail are still excellent, and with current prices falling I regard it as a real alternative to the mainstream Nikon consumer cameras - especially if you work cameras hard or have a collection of manual focus lenses.