Camera Accessory question!!!!

[RBennett]

OK, so I just bought the Pentax K100d and now I am trying to decide on 2 items: a tripod and a shutter release. I have no idea really to tell what type/brand I need on either of these, but especially the shutter release. I've seen so many shutter releases on the market, how do you know if one will work with your camera? Is there a section in the manual that I don't know about?? Also, on the tripod I'm not really big on how light it is, but I'm not really wanting to use it to pan right now. Just to hold my camera steady through the fireworks and such. So is there a tripod out there UNDER $100 that anyone could recommend? I know that sounds cheap, but right now that's what I have to resort to; CHEAP!! So to sum it up, I need help on picking a compatible shutter release and suggestions on a tripod that can just hold my camera steady, as well as anything I need to buy along with the tripod, like a ball head or whatever they're called. HELP!!!!!!

 

[ukcatfan]

The shutter release should say that it is compatible with Pentax DSLRs. Otherwise it probably is not. The ones designed for the Canon Rebel series will also work and are sometimes cheaper.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

If you're handy with a soldering iron, you can make your own remote shutter release for about $3 in parts... otherwise, just look for ones that say that they're compatible with Pentax DSLRs. They will have a submini headphone jack (like on cell phone headsets) on them.

For cheap tripods, the Velbon Maxi series is supposed to be nice and can be had for what you're looking to spend. Here's what it looks like. BobQuincy has a version of this, not that exact model but similar. If the search is working, you can try searching for it (it's been commented about here before), or maybe you can PM him.