The BEST table tennis equipment is...

BryanY · Nov 30, 2019

A Tripod !!!

Especially convenient are the phone tripods with bendy legs that can clamp onto barriers and other objects. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07837W5NX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In lieu of Dan's post about the top 10 ways to improve (which included filming), I'm posting this reminder. Buying a tripod and filming yourself will probably help your game more than buying a better blade and rubber. Even with a coach I wasn't quite grasping some of the problems that they were pointing out to me over and over again until... I watched the film and was horrified. But then I had a moment of enlightenment and fully understood what they were trying to explain about my technique and various bad habits. I even posted a video of myself on the TTD technique forum a while back and received constructive feedback.

Bottom line: Whatever your equipment budget is, make sure to include ~ $18 for a tripod to film with. Bonus points if you record using a high frame rate!

(No. I'm not receiving a commission on tripods! lol )

(Side note: I saw a video of Adam Bobrow playing at a club in Japan and they had a camera / monitor setup with a 6 second delay on the screen. That way a player could turn and watch themselves immediately after they swing. I think that's a really cool idea.)

lasta · Nov 30, 2019

Pff, go pro or go bust! Everyone needs a Manfrotto 190!

Upgrade with the 222 trigger ball head will put your camera at the perfect height with quick adjustment capabilities.

Carl Zeiss 50 1.4 stopped down to 5.6 will give you perfect corner to corner sharpness while still maintaining natural "perspective".

For video, mirrorless allows for simultaneous video and still capture. Fuji X-T3 is a good start. But for the descerning, you won't do justice to Zeiss optics without full frame...Eventually, the Leica mystique WILL take over. Like 968, it's far from the "best", but since you paid for it, your mind forces you to defend its honour at every impasse.

BUT, the truly enlightened will stride beyond Leica hocus pocus. A drum scanned 6X9 low ASA film still outresolves modern digital. Embracing film opens the doorway to the world of vintage camera collecting. Dodging and burning turns you into a true photographic conductor, who needs Lightroom levels adjustements when you've mastered the "zone system".

One day, you stroll through a gallery and realize that true artists do large format. 6X9? Pff!!!

Hahahahahaha

EJ never ends.

lasta · Nov 30, 2019

On a more mature note:

Equipment is part of every hobby. The progression and associated learning brings understanding and while indirect, feeds the passion for whatever hobby you engage in. There is no need fight it.

But as much as a shiny new toy brings a grin to your face, there is a limit to what YOU can do with it. You can't take a picture of what isn't there, in the same way, a blade will only determine how much power is taken away, it won't add any more speed than what you can generate.

I use 30 year old table tennis blades and I walk around with an old 135 camera with a 50mm manual focus lens. Both work fine for me.

splasher78 · Nov 30, 2019

lasta said:
Pff, go pro or go bust! Everyone needs a Manfrotto 190!

Upgrade with the 222 trigger ball head will put your camera at the perfect height with quick adjustment capabilities.

Carl Zeiss 50 1.4 closed down to 5.6 will give you perfect corner to corner sharpness while still maintaining natural "perspective".

For video, mirrorless allows for simultaneous video and still capture. Fuji X-T3 is a good start. But for the descerning, you won't do justice to Zeiss optics without full frame...Eventually, the Leica mystique WILL take over. Like 968, it's far from the "best", but since you paid for it, your mind forces you to defend its honour at every impasse.

BUT, the truly enlightened will stride beyond Leica hocus pocus. A drum scanned 6X9 low ASA film still outresolves modern digital. Embracing film opens the doorway to the world of vintage camera collecting. Dodging and burning turns you into a true photographic conductor, who needs Lightroom levels adjustements when you've mastered the "zone system".

One day, you stroll through a gallery and realize that true artists do large format. 6X9? Pff!!!

Hahahahahaha

EJ never ends.

Wow Lasta! Good to know other film enthusiasts in the TT world. Im a “photographer” myself (I hate labeling myself that) but all I shoot is film. Black and white in particular and mainly LEICAS. ! Small world. My instagram is : @aciel78. It’s LEICA spelled backwards.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

splasher78 · Nov 30, 2019

Agreed! I've owned M2/M3/M6TTL and my current is an M7 0.72 finder. I love it to death but to be honest it's my least used camera. I'd rather compact point and shoot cameras i.e. contax T2/T3. Ricoh GR1s/v. or a "regular" slr Olympus OM1/2n. Contax RTSII is a very underrated camera. Cheaper IS better. My favorite camera at the moment is a medium format plastic camera the HOLGA. It's super light and durable and if you know it's limitations like I do you can get surprisingly good results! The best part about this is that I can relate this to table tennis! Expensive gear does not equate to good results. Skill is king. Gear cannot, and will not trump skill..... It's nice to have quality equipment though!.

lasta said:
Not only did you label yourself a "photographer", but a Leica fan, and me a film lubber! The world just got smaller haha.

Just to keep things diplomatic, I have nothing against Leica, actually owned the old M3 years back. But I'm just too much of a skeptic to convince myself to live with rangefinders. Can't get used to "feeling" the perspective which is every bit as important as frame lines. Also, I never focus from the center...

Also, I've lazy. I need high magnification viewfinders with TTL convenience AND exposure lock AND compensation for aperture priority. If you don't mind branching out, the Contax 159MM is a nice little ergonomic gadget with all the conveniences, not very talked about. RTS 2 is also good with a step up in build quality. Much cheaper than Leicas!!!

BryanY · Nov 30, 2019

lasta said:
Pff, go pro or go bust! Everyone needs a Manfrotto 190!

Upgrade with the 222 trigger ball head will put your camera at the perfect height with quick adjustment capabilities.

Carl Zeiss 50 1.4 closed down to 5.6 will give you perfect corner to corner sharpness while still maintaining natural "perspective".

For video, mirrorless allows for simultaneous video and still capture. Fuji X-T3 is a good start. But for the descerning, you won't do justice to Zeiss optics without full frame...Eventually, the Leica mystique WILL take over. Like 968, it's far from the "best", but since you paid for it, your mind forces you to defend its honour at every impasse.

BUT, the truly enlightened will stride beyond Leica hocus pocus. A drum scanned 6X9 low ASA film still outresolves modern digital. Embracing film opens the doorway to the world of vintage camera collecting. Dodging and burning turns you into a true photographic conductor, who needs Lightroom levels adjustements when you've mastered the "zone system".

One day, you stroll through a gallery and realize that true artists do large format. 6X9? Pff!!!

Hahahahahaha

EJ never ends.

Maybe I opened the wrong can of worms here. LoL.

Photography EJ-ing is on a completely different level.

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The BEST table tennis equipment is...

BryanY

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lasta

lasta

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lasta

lasta

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splasher78

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splasher78

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BryanY

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