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View Full Version : Tripod Musings from The Online Photographer


Lee Yuan Sheng
06-22-2010, 07:30 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/06/tripod-technology.html' target='_blank'>http://theonlinephotographer.typepa...technology.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"First of all, the Gitzo is heavy. I felt sure the hammertone gunmetal main leg sections were steel&mdash;they look like steel, they feel like steel, they seem to weigh like steel&mdash;until Bryan Geyer disabused me of that notion by suggesting that I test it with a magnet to see. What do you know&mdash;he's right. They're aluminum.&nbsp;The Gitzo is solid as a rock, but light it is not. It tilts the bathroom scale at better than 7 lbs., unofficially. I was kind of surprised at that, too&mdash;it feels heavier. I would have guessed ten pounds. All collapsed, it's an imposing 31" long."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1277145283.usr15670.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p><em>Whoa there, now that's a classic.</em></p><p>Mike Johnston of the excellent The Online Photographer talks a bit about this feeling most of us photographers come to at least once: Why did I buy that tripod, and would a smaller, lighter, more expensive but less stable carbon fibre actually make me carry the damn thing out when needed?</p><p><MORE />For me, I have always thought that the tripod is an important part of most photographer's toolkit; a few types of photography don't really warrant it, but I have heard of street photographers using it as a prop to make them look more official and less shady. For me, landscapes, cityscapes, and anything that uses my larger lenses means the tripod is generally present, and I generally make the effort to bring it out. So, do you feel like what Mike feels about tripods?</p><p>Oh, and I value tripods and camera supports a great deal. While the subject is simple, most photographers tend to underestimate its importance. It's a subject I'll come back to fairly often!</p>

Reid Kistler
06-23-2010, 01:32 AM
My daughter uses a remarkably inexpensive Dolica aluminum tripod with her Pentax K10D (as well as with my old Spotmatic kit!). This unit probably would not hold up to "Professional Use," but it has served her (as a Photography Student) rather well.

"Lost" my good tripod some years ago, but seldom use one now unless Absolutely necessary - image stabilization is a wonderful thing ;) - in which case an Ultra Pod II is the unit of choice (fits nicely in the camera bag!), although also have an old Goldcrest hanging around if greater height is needed & there are no convenient tables, chairs, fences, Whatever sitting around.

Lee Yuan Sheng
06-23-2010, 07:02 AM
Image stabilisation is no tripod replacement; I find that loss of resolution is still possible even within the 2-3 stops they advertise.

I tend to not dividing gear into "professional" and "non-professional" use. I prefer to use the terms "casual", "serious" and "critical". If you're a casual user, yea, tripod's probably not a big deal. But the moment you go past that, you'll want something sturdy for the times you want to wring every bit of detail out from your photographs.

I had a quick look at the Dolica site; it seems they're selling the Manfrotto knockoffs made by the Chinese. :D