So what about Tripods in a high ISO World?

Various devices very like that exist.

If you carry a "bean bag," make sure it is filled with plastic pellets. Beans or rice are considered agricultural products, which can't be transported across international borders, or even into some states (e.g., California). Lead or steel shot would be effective, but much heavier than needed for stability. It would be illegal to carry a shot-filled bean bag into Washington DC, which regards ammunition components with the same gravity as a functional anti-tank cannon.

When using a beanbag - simply carry it empty. Buy beans or rice at destination, fill bag, leave contents behind when departing the country. I use an old English bank bag, one of several, which double as a shoe bags for travel. 12"X 16" Fold of fabric with a stitched seam up two sides.

After reading Ken Rockwell's ideas on tripods I thought all you gun toting Americans didn't need tripods ;)

LOL [from a proudly non-gun-toting American, whose tripod has a pink streak]. :p

 

Seriously, I don’t use a tripod much, so I really like the times when I do because it feels a bit unknown and allows me to experiment. Interestingly, with a tripod, I feel like I’m on shakier ground, often because it’s shooting situations I’m less used to.

 

I will probably never use one to blur water at the falls. Never say never, so that’s why I said probably!

Tripods are must-haves for trick photography, for very long shutter speed photography (water in streams, traffic lights), for pixel shift landscape mode in Pentax and Olympus cameras.

Then there's the law and over-zealous security "job'sworths".

 

You still need a permit to erect a tripod within the bounds of any of the Royal Parks in the UK, and this includes some of London's cemeteries.

 

I was once pounced on by security staff as soon as I put up a tripod and MF SLR at an English Heritage property. Apparently 'professional' photography is banned, but they let me proceed when I explained I had no intention of selling the pictures. I did think about posting full-size scans online though, just for spite. The most ridiculous thing was that the building was being restored, and mostly obscured by ugly scaffolding.

 

Don't even get me started on architects and developers that think they have the right to prevent you taking pictures of their naff 'works of art'. Like the sh*thead that parked a triangular greenhouse in front of the Louvre. It could take hours to Photoshop that bugger out!

Edited December 13, 2018 by rodeo_joe|1

Then there's the law and over-zealous security "job'sworths".

Generally speaking, security personnel don't make policy. They carry it out as part of their jobs, which don't often pay a whole hell of a lot.

Generally speaking, security personnel don't make policy. They carry it out as part of their jobs,

 

- Well, I was once categorically, and erroneously, told by one jobsworth that photography was totally banned in the Royal Parks, with or without tripod. I asked him to check in the regulations, and he refused.

 

It's all very well having the excuse of 'just doing my job' as long as the boundaries and legalities of that job are known and followed.

 

I'd read up on the law for photographers, the jobsworth obviously hadn't.

once

The operative concept here.

Just one instance that was tripod-related. There are others, but how many times does it have to happen?

 

Petty bureaucracy, and just plain ignorance, is everywhere, and plagues nearly everybody's lives. However, there's something about planting a tripod that brings out the "You can't do that there 'ere!" mentality in the nearest minor official.

Just one instance that was tripod-related. There are others, but how many times does it have to happen?

 

Petty bureaucracy, and just plain ignorance, is everywhere, and plagues nearly everybody's lives. However, there's something about planting a tripod that brings out the "You can't do that there 'ere!" mentality in the nearest minor official.

The glass is empty.

 

Ignorance everywhere, you say?

there's something about planting a tripod that brings out the "You can't do that there 'ere!" mentality in the nearest minor official.

Then again, planting a tripod on a little more firm ground sometimes allows for clearer vision.

It is understandable that tripods would be restricted in high traffic areas, where they would pose a hazard. It is not clear why they require a permit on the National Mall, even in the evening - some national security thing, I suppose. I had to check mine in museums throughout Europe and the US, because you might poke something with them (under US law, they can't take away my cane). Many cathedrals in Europe and the UK won't even allow cameras without a permit (plenty of pocket cameras and cell phones get through), because it is sacrilegious (i.e., competes with their gift shop). A docent at Christ Church College (Hogwarts), Oxford, made me keep the tripod folded, under my arm without a permit, and the permit office was closed on Saturday.

 

For a while, Mayor Emanual declared Chicago had a "copyright" on the skyline, and photography of "The Bean" in Millennium Park couldn't be photographed at all. Guess how long that held up.

 

In response, I simply don't go where "professional" cameras are not allowed, and in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and high ISO capability renders the need for a tripod indoors almost moot. Below is a hand-held photo, holding the camera over my head, in the old library at Trinity College, Dublin

 

Sony A9 + 24-70/2.8 GM,

Edited December 14, 2018 by Ed_Ingold

Many cathedrals in Europe and the UK won't even allow cameras without a permit (plenty of pocket cameras and cell phones get through), because it is sacrilegious (i.e., competes with their gift shop).

Because cameras sometimes cause people to push their way toward art and block others’ vision and are generally distracting in museum and cathedral environments, I recommend at least a couple of days a week designated as “no camera” days. I won’t second-guess the various reasons for churches to prefer no cameras, but I would imagine competition with gift shops would be fairly low down on the list. Tripods in museums and churches ought to require advance permission if allowed at all. They would certainly be prone to getting in the way. I’ve never met a cane, walker, or wheelchair that bothered me.

Here in the UK Midlands my local cathedral used to charge £5 for a photography permit with no mention of tripods. There was no restriction on obtaining a permit so it was a money making scheme, the permit is no longer required. But it is difficult to gain entry without being asked for a donation and walking past signs informing you how many tens of pounds per minute is needed for building upkeep costs. Being asked for a optional donation seems fair to me, the only restrictions apply during services.

My point being don't assume all establishments in any part of the world have similar rules, if in doubt ask (but maybe after you have tried a few exposures).

If you want to fence words; take 'em down the local pawnbrokers. I hope you get a good price for 'em.

If you carry a "bean bag," make sure it is filled with plastic pellets. Beans or rice are considered agricultural products, which can't be transported across international borders, or even into some states (e.g., California). Lead or steel shot would be effective, but much heavier than needed for stability. It would be illegal to carry a shot-filled bean bag into Washington DC, which regards ammunition components with the same gravity as a functional anti-tank cannon.

I have no idea what's in my bean bag. But I found it very useful when shooting video through the windshield of my car to show the roads I was traveling on. I'd manual set focus to infinity and drive away. The bag really kept the camera steady. Keeping the bugs cleaned off the windshield was the main problem.

The bean bags I've purchased are filled with plastic pellets. They're lightweight, hold their shape when compressed, and they don't harbor pests. "Squeeze bags" for precision (< 1 MOA) shooting are small enough to fit in a pocket.

 

A RAM device with a big suction cup and ball joints is better for holding a camera on the dash. It won't end up on the other side of the car or floor

Edited December 15, 2018 by Ed_Ingold

I don't shoot video, but have thought of a velcro mount or bracket on the dash, driving & using the camera with the little ML L3 Remote or MC -DC 2 Cable would be a snap! :D

I’ve never met a cane, walker, or wheelchair that bothered me.

That's because you haven't been misbehaving. Besides serving as a mobility aid, a cane can be 40" long, with a hook at one end and kinda' pointy at the other, solid hickory.

That's because you haven't been misbehaving.

Right you are. :)

 

I hope you haven't been accosted too often by people wielding canes at museums and cathedrals. That would be just awful.

 

Anyway, they can't make you check your cane at museums and cathedrals because most likely some physical need requires you to use a cane. They can make you check your tripod because it's not, in terms of their policy, a necessity for your ability to access their grounds. Makes sense to me.

Have your cake ...one of many. Versatile Walking Stick: Camera Monopod and Stylish Walk-Along

My most used tripod is a Tiltall.

functional anti-tank cannon

 

Now THAT's the ticket! I want open-carry for an RPG (РПГ)o_O

It is understandable that tripods would be restricted in high traffic areas, where they would pose a hazard.