My guy is recovering from a carotid arterial transplant in his leg. His balance is not quite where it needs to be for my comfort. We’re taking a music cruise at the end of October and he loves taking photos of the bands. But I worry that without his cane, his balance will be off, and aside the fright of him falling, the photos are not so good. He’s not going to use a scooter or a chair, neither would help shooting over the crowd, he’s 6’8" tall, I’d love some suggestions. Thanks
Selfie stick (assuming a cell phone camera)? He can be seated and put the camera up above the crowd.
Also, many modern smart phones have image stabilization built in. Some mechanical and some software and some both. YMMV on that depending on the phone (they can vary a lot in this regard).
thanks, no, it’s his Sony SLR, I should have made that clear. .
I cannot imagine using an SLR with one hand. It needs two. Which means he can’t be hanging on to anything while standing (and seated seems a non-starter). At best, find a pillar he can lean against.
Maybe you could help support him or balance him by standing close but if he is 6’8" he’s not small so that may be difficult.
I found this…maybe you can get some ideas from it:
Interesting, thanks
I used to occasionally use a monopod with my camera when I was much more into amateur photography. It provides some of the stabilization that a tripod would, but is much less bulky and more portable. I imagine it could be used to some extent as a substitute cane to help stabilize the person as well as the camera.
They do sell separate stabilizers for cameras, like this one.. It’s $279 so I’d say it’s in your budget.
Given the balance issues and need for a cane, perhaps the answer is not to use the Sony SLR but instead a camera that needs only one hand?
It needs two hands to adjust settings. I shoot one-handed on a somewhat regular basis; anytime my camera isn’t in front of my core, whether that’s holding it up over my head (ie. to not have a fence in my photo) or standing on some platform & holding on with one hand while shooting with the other, or even getting a low, ‘puddle’ shot. Once the settings are set, I can hold it with one hand, use the screen on the back for framing & leveling & only need one finger to depress the shutter.
Two other options
A gimbal of some type, like what ratatoskK suggested. Just do your research & make sure it works with your camera & can control the functions (shutter) that you want. Some of them are better for video where you only press the shutter before you begin & when you end & it’s basically keeping the camera level for you, but you would need two hands to take a photo, one to hold the gimbal & one to press the shutter.
Get a (preferably wireless) remote. You hold the camera up for him & when you have it positioned just right, he presses a button in his hand which will trigger the shutter, whether that’s paired with a gimbal or not.
But that seems 99% of the reason for an SLR…adjust the settings. Get your f-stop right. Shutter speed. Not to mention focus. I suppose you could do all of that and then use it one-handed but you are locked on that one subject and need two hands to adjust for a different subject.
All that seems quite unnecessary for taking pictures of the entertainment on a ship. I would venture to say a modern cellphone would even take better photos than a Sony SLR in that situation. Worth looking into.
I agree that this seems like the ideal solution. With the left hand firmly holding the top of the monopod (right hand on the camera), it forms a stable tripod with your legs, stabilizing both you and the camera. Wildlife photographers commonly use them even with a heavy big prime lens, because they are much easier to move around than a tripod. For a very tall person shooting at their eye level over a crowd, I think the setup would work well. Obviously make sure you get one that’s long enough.
Only if you need to zoom or manually focus, and you’re not going to be manually focusing on band members moving around.
I agree but people with their SLRs are a different bunch. Good luck telling them they get better shots with their cell phone. To be sure, an SLR can do better but it takes skill I don’t think many have. Maybe the OPs SO is one such person…I have no idea.
My BiL is a person who LOVES toting around his SLR. He’s pretty awful with it but no telling him that. Just anecdotal though. I am willing to bet the OPs SO is better with his (because I can’t imagine worse 
)
Then why use an SLR? A point-and-shoot is sufficient (e.g. your cell phone).
I’m not sure what you’re asking. Specifically about focus? You’re not manually focusing because you are autofocusing on moving subjects. You control autofocus (the target subject) with your right hand.
I agree that it’s hard to beat a high end cellphone for landscapes, but for moving subjects in low light, not so much.
I can adjust shutter (thumbwheel) & aperture (forefinger wheel) from the grip, though white balance & ISO I do thru a menu so they need two hands. I can also adjust the focal location square with my thumb for the autofocus to be where I want it to be although I have an idea as to where I’m going to focus (left vs. mid vs right) before I lift the camera up so at most it’s small movements.
Just last night I was doing some nighttime long-exposure / light trails. All of my setting were preset, including auto-focusing on my desired point & then changing the focus mode to manual so it wouldn’t attempt to focus again when I pressed the shutter (remote) & having trouble finding it the focal point in the low light, granted it was on a tripod instead of being handheld but I only needed one finger to take the photo since all settings (& filters) were applied in advance.
solost, we’re going looking at monopods, I think that may be the ticket. Thanks
That makes it more difficult… I was going to suggest looking into the “shoot on voice” commands of many modern smartphones, so maybe he could steady himself with one hand, hold the camera with the other, and say a word to trigger the shutter.
@Dewey_Finn sort of ninja-ed me on it.
I guess the question is whether or not he’s taking spiffy artistic photos or professional photos (i.e. is he a pro photographer?) that need the control a SLR provides, or is this just shots of the band that are going to go into your own pictures folder at home?
If it’s the second, definitely go for a one-handed approach. Modern P&S and phone cameras are VERY capable for normal photos. As in, I don’t notice a lot of difference in the well-lit ones between the two. Yes, the glass is better on the SLRs, but considering the circumstances this may be where you have to compromise.
I believe there exists a cane that has a little folding seat attached.
I am correct. Here’s one.
Don’t know what cruise concert venues are like; if they’re stadium style seating you may be alright; however, if you’re in the ‘floor’ seats your standard monopod likely isn’t high enough to shoot over everyone’s heads. If people are standing, you’d get a great view of the shoulder in front of you. OTOH, if they’re standing, you might be able to put it on their seat to raise it up a bit. I would not try holding the monopod up like a periscope as every little movement of your wrist is going to translate to more movement at the camera end.
Some monopods have foldout feet. While not nearly as stable as a tripod they will (usually) support themselves; this is good as you don’t constantly need to hold it &/or for ‘groupies’ shots, although they, obviously add weight. This kind will have a pivot point so that your camera at the top stays level. Some have a bottom pivot, by the feet & some it’s up top by the camera. Pros & cons to each but if you get to go into a bigger camera store, try one of each before buying.