How often do you use a Tripod?

[Contarama]

Star D Davidson Conquest...sort of a Leitz Tiltall...Ive had it for years but only recently have I been using it. I would like to have the monopod leg

 

[css9450]

I like using the tripod... I'd use it more if I could. Long lenses, low light, indoor stuff, night photography. I do a lot of four-minute exposures under the full moon. If for some reason someone told me I had to use it for EVERY photo I wouldn't complain but obviously in a lot of places it gets in the way and/or attracts unwanted attention.

 

[roscoetuff]

I've preferred a monopod since aspiring to become a filmmaker as a teen (which didn't happen btw). That's still my 1st choice. Keep a minipod in my bag all the time. Use it regularly... but not all the time. RF's seem to have less shake and you can get away without more than with SLR's. But as has been said, "..a tripod is your best lens!"

 

[sreed2006]

Gitzo G2220 Explorer tripod, with an Acratech Ultimate Ball Head, and a Velbon Macro Slider. With this setup, the camera can be put just about anywhere from over 6 ft. (2 meters) high to about 6 in. (15 cm) above the ground (even lower if the camera is upside down). The camera can be set a considerable distance out from the center of the tripod which comes in very handy for macro shots of flowers. The tripod also can be put on a table and the camera arranged to shoot straight down, like a copy stand. I've had a lot of fun with this setup.

Well - can't get the pictures to display. Here's links.

IMG_3917 by sreed2006, on Flickr

IMG_1391 by sreed2006, on Flickr

 

[FPjohn]

Less than I should. FPJ

 

[ChipMcD]

I have a nice carbon fiber tripod though use it rarely.

But when I was much younger I took a week long seminar with a well-know photographer. He used a tripod to correct a bad habit I had developed. My assignment was to use a tripod for the week's various challenges. Needless to say today I'm the slowest street photographer you'll ever meet and after four hours I might have 70 photos on the SD card (some days I come home with 10-15).

There does seem to be something to the old cliche that stuff that makes you slow down (tripods, shooting medium or large format) also makes you think more about what you are doing, resulting often in better photos. I've got to take my hat off to a tripod street photographer, though. Good on you!

 

[ChipMcD]

I used to use one more than I do now and am trying to get back to it, particularly in medium format.

 

[Nokton48]

I have quite a few tripods and they are all useful at times.

Here is my Plaubel Peco Profia Camera Stand (my biggest!) in my home basement studio.

DSC05778 by Nokton48, on Flickr

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

One photographer - that’s me
One backpack
One camera
One lens
No tripod

I do have a beautiful Bogan carbon fiber tripod and a couple heads for it, but it sits in a corner gathering dust. Years ago when I was a nature photographer and digital photography was something we’d heard about but had never seen, my photo buddy and I would load up a van with our film cameras, long lenses, tripods, cooler full of beer and other things and we’d head to the mountains for a weekend of serious tripod using photography.

Nowadays it’s me by myself with a train/bus pass, lightweight rig in a backpack and I walk the city streets (for the most part) taking candid pictures of people and the surrounding cityscape. A tripod is not convenient for me.

Mike

 

[Emile de Leon]

Back in the day...I used to hate tripods..
Now...I luv em...
From teeny weeny Gitzo...to Linhof..to giant Ries..and even a cheep Chinese carbon fiber..
They all are a great benefit..!

 

[xmas_one]

Almost never. I usually find myself improvising by setting the camera on a car or whatever I can find and using the self timer.

 

[B-9]

I always hated using my tripods. Hated leaning over and hated using center column.

Im fixing that this summer and buying a tall set of legs with no column.

wish me luck haha

 

[chipgreenberg]

Always

Always

always, or at least a monopod. I have a waist level finder (TLR) and the TLR is so light and vibration free why not try and get the best image quality!

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

For large format, all the time. For medium format, rarely. For 35mm - macro. For general shooting, never.

 

[retinax]

I always hated using my tripods. Hated leaning over and hated using center column.

Im fixing that this summer and buying a tall set of legs with no column.

wish me luck haha

Yeah that's the main problem beside weight, bulk and time for me, too, being fairly tall. If I ever go back to using a tripod, only with a waist level finder or tilting screen.

 

[CMur12]

Yeah that's the main problem beside weight, bulk and time for me, too, being fairly tall. If I ever go back to using a tripod, only with a waist level finder or tilting screen.

This is why I use an angle finder with my SLRs on a tripod.


It requires less tripod extension and I find it easier to look down into the eyepiece than to line myself up behind the camera at eye-level.


I've developed a tremor in my hands as I've gotten older, which has made a tripod more of a necessity.


- Murray

 

[ChrisPlatt]

IMO use of a tripod is a rather antithetical to the raison d'etre for 35mm and other "miniature" cameras, i.e. fast handling.

I can count on one hand the number of times I used the Bogen Manfrotto tripod I bought 15 years ago,
so I sent it to my daughter's friend who said she could use it for video.

However I do have a nice Manfrotto monopod - with quick release - that I use occasionally...

Chris

 

[Michael Markey]

I have four types used for birding but have recently taken to using a Manfrotto monopod with a fluid head for my 400/4 .

It`s a lot easier having it resting on the monopod than hand holding it for hours.

 

[RichC]

All the time.

And not only a tripod... I spent three years and 500 miles walking through London, photographing a "lost" river - the Fleet - and carried a pair of kitchen steps to use with my tripod, to gain even more flexibility when framing.

A pain to carry - literally. My camera gear was bulky and weighed 12 kg (25 lb). I got a lot of peculiar looks...

Wish I'd paid attention to the following when I was starting out:

• Sharp photos are a lottery without a tripod, however fast the shutter.
• You get what you pay for. Any tripod costing less than £100 ($130) is wobbly and useless.
• And don't buy a cheap head either. A good head costs as much as a good tripod.

I went through too many tripods trying to save weight and money. In hindsight, an obvious fool's errand that ruined photos and cost more than if I'd bought a decent tripod in the first place!

I now use a Manfrotto 055 carbon tripod with a Manfrotto hydraulic ballhead - sturdy, and the ballhead is exceptional. Not thrilled by the weight (3.5 kg, 8 lb) but you can have a sturdy tripod or a light one - not both!

 

[michaelwj]

Reading the responses I feel the “occasionally ... when I need to” should be split into two groups:
2a. I occasionally need to but grudgingly do it because I have to but I still hate it.
2b. I see that a tripod is really useful sometimes so I happily use one occasionally.

I’m in the 2a camp.