Pistol Grip FAQs
A few quick FAQs about our pistol grip triggers.
Why shoot with a pistol grip trigger?
A pistol grip is a handle that attaches to the bottom of the housing. The handle is fitted with a button that triggers the camera’s shutter via a cable connected to the cameras ‘remote’ port.
Shooting with a pistol grip allows you to hold (and trigger) the camera with only one hand, which makes it easier to swim with your housing, and easier to position yourself into critical sections of the wave to get the best shot.
A pistol grip trigger is typically used with fisheye or wide-angle lenses, where you would not necessarily be looking through your viewfinder when shooting. You can still use a pistol grip when shooting with longer lenses, although some shooters prefer to use the top shutter button for a more natural grip when looking through the viewfinder.
What is the difference between the ‘single-stage pistol grip’ and the two-stage pistol grip?
The single stage pistol grip features a ‘one-press’ button. This button fires the shutter with one press.
The two-stage pistol grip features a ‘half-press to focus’ and ‘full-press to fire’ button. There is a tactile click at the half press and again at full press, making single-handed autofocusing with the pistol grip very easy.
Both grips look exactly the same, it is just the feel of the button that is different.
Why would I want a single-stage pistol grip?
If you shoot using back button to focus, or with a manual focus lens, the single-pistol grip is your best option.
It provides a very responsive shutter action, ensuring that you never miss a shot.
What happens if I use a single-stage pistol grip with auto-focus lenses?
If you have not deactivated half-press focusing (‘AF with Shutter’ for Sony’s) in your camera settings you may experience a minor delay in the shutter firing as the camera will seek focus before it fires the shutter. Alternatively, the camera may start firing, but take a couple of shots to find focus. It is a similar situation as pressing your camera’s shutter button very quickly without first finding focus.
If you prefer to focus with the back-button you have probably already disabled half-press focusing, as such there will be no delay in firing when pressing the single-stage button.