ah! a sketchpad, some vine charcoal, or maybe just a $12 disposable point-and-shoot... A tripod is 'prolly the one accessory I've purchased that actually has a big positive impact on results. I just have a cheapie for field use. [I have an expensive Bogan studio version, but very heavy!]. I can see that the "boom" thingie could be really useful. I also see that these have relatively inexpensive "mounting plates." (If these are what I think they are) could be useful having one for the second camera. Thanks for the description about ball mounting. I've wondered about this. Seems like the 3-way pan is most useful for stuff I do.