Tell me about Tripods

[sublime]

The blurriness of my photos has suggested that I'm in desperate need of a tripod. What should I know when looking for one? I guess the question will be "what do you want to do with your tripod," so I guess all I can say is: carry it easily and take pictures with it - especially panoramic ones that will easily stitch.

I've seen many for 99 bucks. Is that the regular price for tripods? Are all tripods equal, where one does not differ greatly from the other?

Whaddayathink?

[Bob12]

First consideration, you'll want a tripod to match your camera. By this I mean, if you have a lightweight camera, you likely do not need a heavy duty tripod. But, you do need one that will securely support your camera. The other thing you need to consider is, as you suspect, what you want to do with it. For example, my tripod is a heavy duty one because my Canon SLRs and their attachments can get reather heavy. Because of the types of pictures I take, I chose what is called a "joystick" head for it. This device has a grip lock that I squeeze like a joystick then, when I get the camera in the position I want, I release the stick to lock the position. If you want to take stitchable pictures, you probably don't want this type of tripod because it does not pan (move side to side) smoothly without altering its vertical alignment. You'll want to look at one that has separate locks for vertical and horizontal movement. That way, you can lock the vertical and pan to take several pictures which can then be stitiched easily.

Another thing you might want to consider if you take "spur of the moment" shots is a monopod - a one legged tripod. It will give you the vertical stability while you concentrate on the precise framing of your shot. But, like my joystick tripod, taking stitchable pictures with a monopod could be a real challenge.

You'll also find the tripod or monopod to be much easier to use if you get one with a "coupling plate". This is a device that can remain on your camera and allow you to mount it on the tripod with a quick click rather than having to thread an attaching screw into the camera's tripod mount every time you want to use it.

Prices vary like anything related to photography but you should be able to get a very nice tripod for the price you mentioned.

And finally, I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but many digital cameras have a shutter lag. This means you press the shutter release and there is a delay before the shutter actually opens. If you press the release and immediately move the camera, you can very easily blur the picture.

[Jason Dunn]

You can afford to be less picky with tripods for cameras than for video cameras, because as long as the tripod is solid and sized properly for your camera, that's all you need it to do. As Bob mentioned, you should also consider using a remote control for your camera (if you have one) in order to avoid the shake that occurs when you press the button. It's usually not an issue in a brightly lit shot, but it can kill low-light pictures.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Strictly speaking, tripods refer to the 3 legs only, and does not include the head, which is where you plonk the camera on. Most cheap tripods (low end Sliks, Velbons) come with an integrated head, so you don't have to worry about buying a head as well.

Like most items, you get what you pay for, although in the low end tripod section, beware of markups by the store selling the tripod to you.

I suppose I should talk a bit more, so here goes.

Generally there are three types of materials used to make tripods; wood, metal, and carbon fibre. Wood is something of a classic now; few make them, and although they help in damping vibrations, they can be heavy, and are simply not popular anymore.

Metal tripods are the most common ones. From cheap flimsy aluminium to more sosphisticated alloys, these have the advantage of being not too heavy, and offer good stability with well designed tripods. Thing is, it'll still get awfully heavy if you need to support more than 8kg work of equipment, and metal is know to amplify vibrations.

Carbon fibre is the dream material; it's light, durable, and absorbs vibrations, however, it comes with a price. Typically they cost 3-5 times more than their metal counterparts. I personally think it's a waste of money for most amatuers, unless you do extensive hiking, or use extremely heavy equipment that you don't wish to lug an even heavier tripod.

Leg extension is normally done by unlocking the legs first, and on the market, the two most common kinds are the snap-lock variety (most cheapies, most Manfrottos, some Sliks), and the screw-knob variety (Gitzo, some Sliks, some Velbons). I personally prefer the snap-lock kind; it's faster to work with. I particularly detest Gitzo's locks; in addition to having to unscrew then re-screw the knobs the right way, there's an air pressure system inside the legs which you'll have to fight against when you're extending the legs out. Absolutely annoying.

On to heads, there are basically two kinds. The ones found on the cheapies tend to be the pan and tilt variety. These require you to unlock a control for each axis of movement before you can make adjustments. Hence the name (you unlock one control if you want to pan, and unlock another if you want to tilt the camera).

The other kind, and favoured by most (as well as myself), is the ballhead. It's usually a platform sitting on top of a ball, and requires only the unlocking of one control to make adjustments to both axis. Bob12's head is probably that (and I'm guessing it's the Manfrotto 222). Ballheads are favoured for their quicker operation, but the downside is that if you have heavy equipment with long focal lengths, a cheap ballhead will hardly do, due to slippage and wear issues. That means spending a good amount on a head, and you'll find that they get expensive real quick!

The coupling plate Bob12's referring to is known as a quick release plate. As explained, it's for fast mounting and dismounting of the caemra.

[Bob12]

yslee - Very Good :) It is a Manfrotto 222 mounted onto a Canon heavy duty tripod. It took some tension adjustment but it does hold my Canon EOS SLRs with 35-350 lens and 550EX flash quite nicely. I also added a Manfrotto adapter to my monopod so I can use the same coupling plate/quick release plate on both (I guess what you call it depends on the salesman who sold it to you :) ).

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I didn't know Canon made tripods! The only tripods I know with the Canon name on it are rebranded ones, but those are the cheapies meant for small digital cameras.

I'm not a big fan of the 222, it's got a too high CG for my liking. Still, it is convenient, and it's does increase the overall height of the setup.

Usually it's called a QR plate, maybe it's a location thing, heh.

[Gary Sheynkman]

Here comes my super noob question:

What is it with monopods? So you wont sway up and down, but what about side to side... :?:

[Jason Dunn]

What is it with monopods? So you wont sway up and down, but what about side to side... :?:

Yup, that's it exactly - but most people are able to not sway. ;-) The vertical is always the challenging part with most shots. Monopods wouldn't be a good solution if you're shooting night or long exposures. They're more for lining up the shot....and also for supporting large cameras and lenses to take the pressure off the photographer.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Most of the swaying is in the y-axis, ie up and down. With proper monopod technique you can minimise the swaying to the left and right.

Another thing is that they're meant to support heavy long lenses, where you can get tired quicker, and the increased focal length amplifies the shaking. I normally use my monopod on focal lengths greater than 200mm, and that also happens to be when the weight of my setup goes beyond 2kg.