use a tripod?

[ErnestoJL]

I´m used to carry allways two small (or table top) tripods of two diferent heights in a magazine holder in my belt. I don´t need them allways but if needed they are at hand.
I have three other tripods of different sizes (and weights!). The two heavier are usually sleeping at home, and the other one is usually going out for vacations or when I do expect to need it.
For RFs I prefer a light metal chain bolted to the tripod socket and the other end hold with my feet. it´s cheaper than a monopod and fits nicely in my pocket.

Ernesto

 

[rbiemer]

I use mine occasionally regardless of what camera/lens I'm using.
Most often, I'm carrying a camera around my neck and another lens in a pocket, as I do my day to day wandering. If I'm going somewhere specifically to photograph, I usually have one with me.
I've got a decent compromise between size and stability: Maxi 3437(I think it's that one--4 section legs, collapses small enough to fit itno carry on luggae, good ball head) that is in Italy now, I think--my dad borrowed it for his trip but I'm not sure that he actually tokk it with him.
At some point, I want to try a monopod.
Rob

 

[sepiareverb]

I've pretty much given up on a tripod these days. Years of shooting stock where nearly every shot was from a tripod, lugging a bogen everywhere I went, and years of 810 work both indoors and out has pretty much spent me on them (for now). I'm down to owning only 2 tripods- the workhorse Bogen 2301 and the biggest Bogen of all for the view cameras (an 1114 camera is HEAVY).
I tend to shoot no slower than 45th or 30th- those only when I have to. I usually have a body loaded with the next higher speed film in the bag if I'm shooting B&W, so just grab that when I'm somewhere darker than the rest of the day. With color, I'll pass shots if it's too dim, as I usually find 400 color film disappointing. A RF doesn't seem like a tripod camera to me- I think I'll add flash before I'll tie one of them down.

 

[Kameran Kashani]

Though I have several tripods, I rarely use them with the Leica. My working style with a rangefinder is based on Tri-X 1600 (with occasional exceptions) and f1/f1.4 lenses.

But, when I shoot 6x6cm and 4x5... that's another story.

Kameran

 

[Nikon Bob]

In some ways it is kind of a joke to agonize over getting the absolute sharpest lens you can find at an exorbitant price and then shoot it hand held. Having said that, I and as guilty of shooting hand held as the next person. I just chalk a lot of that up to personal laziness. I use them less than 50% of the time. Then too there are times when using one is just not allowed or practical to use one. I say use them if you can and it is appropriate to do so.

Bob

 

[gb hill]

My wife bought my first tripod for me at Christmas years ago. I'm 6' tall and the tripod only went up to maybe 54". Wasn't very good on the back. Also it was so lightweight the least bit of wind would shake the camera. Now I have a nice heavy duty tripod that I can crank up to eye level & higher if need be. And it's lightweight but plants firm on the ground and can withstand a nice wind. The cheaper one I still use for a tabletop. Works well if you don't extend it all the way. So it pays to get a good tripod.

 

[visiondr]

Leica M: the essence of fast, unobtrusive, spur of the moment photography.

Tripod + Leica M: deliberate, concentrated, slow.

I opt for the former every time. I carry my camera nearly everywhere. Obviously, a tripod defeats the purpose of small and quick.

 

[gb hill]

At some point, I want to try a monopod.
Rob

I too wan't to try a monopod. I would like to have one easy to tag along with no problem as i'm walking, & heavy duty enough to use as a ninja stick againgt dogs or would be robber. Any suggestions?

 

[richard_l]

I too wan't to try a monopod. I would like to have one easy to tag along with no problem as i'm walking, & heavy duty enough to use as a ninja stick againgt dogs or would be robber. Any suggestions?

I use a Tracks Sherlock walking staff with a Manfrotto 3229 quick release monopod head. The staff adjusts from 43" to 58" with the head attached. When collapsed all the way, it is about 35". I've used it for many years as a hiking stick for backpacking, and it is still as rigid and sturdy as when it was new. Also, there is a nasty spike tip underneath the rubber foot. The staff retails for $69.95 at Campmor. I don't recall how much the head cost, but it wasn't a lot.

 

[rbiemer]

...I love my dogs. My Rotty weighed 114 pounds at the vet a couple of weeks ago and he looks really mean, barks loud, but hes a baby. My Husky well thats a different story. She is the protector around here.

Could you train one of the dogs to stand very still while wearing some kind of harness or something to hold a small-ish tripod?
And the dog(s) could become a bigger part of your photography.
A lot silly, I know.
Rob

 

[Steve B]

Leica M: the essence of fast, unobtrusive, spur of the moment photography.

Tripod + Leica M: deliberate, concentrated, slow.

I opt for the former every time. I carry my camera nearly everywhere. Obviously, a tripod defeats the purpose of small and quick.

I also find that a tripod negates the things I love most about using a rangefinder. When I'm using my dslr I'm much more inclined to set up the tripod but with the M I'm more inclined to stay loose and move more quickly. When looking back at my pics I find that the ones where I had the freedom to move around quickly and easily in search of the perspective I was looking for are the most pleasing to me and are more likely to reflect the feeling that I had when I was there. And many times these are photographs that I didn't think too much about when I was taking them, or at least I didn't over analyze them. I just looked, thought, and shot what seemed intuitive at the time. If I set up the tripod I'm likely to over analyze until the light is gone and miss the thing completely. I wish I had the patience to plan, compose and wait, return and repeat but I guess that's not what I usually do. If you were to combine the very different approaches of Frans Lanting and HCB, for instance, what would you get? Richard Avedon or Walker Evans doing seemingly spontaneous photography with a tri-pod mounted large format camera? Maybe I'm carrying the analogy a bit too far but if you could do that it seems to me that you could make some very fine photographs! I hope it doesn't seem presumptuous to chat about these photographers who I don't know as much about as I'd like, but I've seen and admired their work and it seems to me that the tripod issue is one of the things that is indicative of and intrinsic to their different approaches.

 

[JonasYip]

I voted "never" though that's of course not entirely true... it's just a lot closer to 0% than 50% so it seemed like a better answer. In any case, it'd only be for studio work, or heavier medium/large-format cameras, or macro, etc. With the rangefinders I never use a tripod, except when I'm adjusting the RF alignment or something...

j

 

[rogue_designer]

for rf work - I never use them.

for me it's also not about raw resolving power of the rf lenses - so I buy for their signature, which is not as dependent on my ability to hold still. So, I would buy zeiss or leica if there was a particular signature I wanted... if I'm going for sharpness, I'm not dorking around with 35mm anyway. That's what the big cameras are for.

 

[PlantedTao]

The 35mm rangefinder does not seem to be a tripod camera and I use it for carrying around...street, indoors, spur of the moment action. I voted never.

I would and do use a tripod with my xpan and MF....mostly to get nice crisp landscapes...I just dont seem to be shooting that very often anymore.

 

[PeterL]

I dragged a tripod with me on exactly one trip abroad. It was so heavy it spoilt travelling around and I only used it once (and that was to have a try at stained glass windows, impossible without but I only did that to justify bringing the tripod).

Since then, I discovered that the world is full of tripod replacements: trees, poles, the ground, benches etc. Most work just as well and are readily available. The only limitation is that sometimes, they're not exactly situated where I want. Now, I use primes and sometimes with a prime, I can't do what others with zooms can, so I'm used to this kind of limitation. I consider it a challenge to carry a single prime and still get good framing despite the lack of tripod/zoom. What's my advantage ? A kit that is less than 1kg.


Peter.

 

[Xmas]

Joe

I'm old like you and I'm with Peter on the tree, fence, lamp,... post.
But I will pack a monopod on the Gbag straps, about 5% of time, and always in the car trunk(uk - boot). the mono pod is hard when hill walking (wilderness in Ca).

Noel

 

[Kin Lau]

With RF, I only use tripods for night shots or heavy RFs like my SG 4x5.

Otherwise it's a monopod when I'm shooting with my dslr + long lens.

 

[Max Power]

Usually only when doing MF, rarely with a RF.

 

[petebown]

Depends on the camera...

Rangefinder - almost never
SLR - sometimes for landscapes, studio work and when using long lenses
Medium format - (when I had one) nearly always.