Use of tripod

Provided exposures are determined correctly what would be the general guide or

thumb rule for use of tripods to get sharp pictures in the composition. Any

advice is appreciated.

To get started, make sure that you get a set of tripod legs that is sturdy enough to support the weight you are going to put on it. For Nikon SLR cameras, that essentially means how big a lens you will use. And you need to understand the differences among different types of tripod heads.

 

Once you have your tripod, try to use it whenever it is practical.

 

Maybe start with this link, although it is an old article:

http://www.photo.net/equipment/tripods/index

Here are some good guidelines for tripod use: 1) Always use a tripod. 2) If you can't use a tripod use a monopod. 3) If you can't use a monopod then brace your camera. 4) If you can't brace your camera then hold it as steady as possible. 5) If you can't hold your camera steady then try something artistic. 6) If you can't be artistic then refer to rule #1.

Weld your camera to the sturdiest tripod possible :-)

 

Seriously, use as much support as possible as mentioned. Otherwise the "rule" says a min shutter speed of 1/focal length. Remember that this rule can be improved upon if you practice good handholding technique, but then you won't be handholding if your camera is welded to the tripod, right?

 

-A

Excellent advice from the two previous posts.

 

When you buy a tripod, you should take into account the heaviest combination of camera and lens that you currently own or may get in the near future. It is obviously not the same supporting a camera and a small prime lens or standard zoom than a big telephoto in the 300mm f/2.8 range. If you own a lens with a tripod collar, then that is an indication that you should fix the tripod under the lens, otherwise you would put a lot of strain on the lens mount. The lens will then support your camera in place.

 

I chose a Cullman tripod (actually a model made for video cameras) as it was the right combination of weight and strength. A very lightweight tripod will be useless in windy situations and will almost always transmit camera shake. If you go for a tripod that is too heavy, you will swear at the thing every time you take it on a trip or need to set it up.

 

Be sure to get a tripod where you can quickly and easily adjust the height of the legs. This will be especially important if you do landscape shots and are standing on uneven terrain. Always adjust the legs to their maximum height before using the central column. With the central column fully up, your set-up can become a bit wobbly. My tripod also has a central column that can be removed, so the legs spread out and the head can be placed very close to the ground. If that is a feature you need is up to you. A bonus is to have a bubble level on the tripod, but you can easily overcome this by slotting a bubble level in the flash hot shoe.

 

As important as weight and size of the tripod is the choice of head. Some swear by a ball head, this means you adjust your camera position and lock it in place with one lever. I prefer to use a standard head with three individual levers: one horizontal (panning), one vertical to place your camera level with the horizon and one to flip your camera up from landscape to portrait format. I also use two quick release plates on the head, so I can have one plate permanently attached to 2 cameras during a photo shoot, this makes for quick changes.

 

Don't forget to use a cable release, as tripping the shutter with slower speeds may cause camera shake. If you don't have a thread in the shutter or the electronic cable release is too expensive, use the self timer. With my FM3a, this has the added bonus of flipping up the mirror just before the shot is taken.

 

Jan

Oops, someone else posted while I was writing mine. This should read "Excellent advice from the three previous posts".

There is another factor in determining when you can hand hold, that I have noticed over the years - age. I can't hold the camera as steady at age 66 as I could at age 61. When you're 35 it should matter much, but every year in your sixties makes a difference.

 

Steve

Steve makes an interesting point about shutter speeds and age. Many years ago I had the opportunity to hear Walther Heun, the head of the Leica School at a local lecture. As I recall, he made the comment that the standard advice of hand holding shutter speed equaling the focal length of the lens applied for people either twenty five or thirty. (Sorry, I don't remember the exact age number.....however, at 56, the question is academic.)

 

The use of a tripod offers another advantage not related to sharpness. The tripod holds the camera in place. That frees the photographer to be able to look more carefully at the composition.

 

A tripod should be substantial enough to do the job, and portable enough to be actually used in the field. That's a tall order, and perhaps the burden should be shared with two different tripods. Any tripod will perform better in the hands of a photographer who is practiced in its use.

 

The search for the "perfect tripod" may be a lifelong Holy Grail quest.

Competitive target shooters spend a lot of time on general physical condition. People in good shape are probably better at holding cameras still. IMHO, the 1/focal length rule for shutter speed provides usable results, but not critically sharp results. That's more like 1/5*focal length. Try shooting a series of shots using a normal lens and nothing less than 1/250 second. You should see unusually good sharpness if your focus is accurate. As for tripods, the above advice is good. If you're shooting at less than 1/250 for a normal lens, using a tripod will likely improve things. Remember, I'm talking about the difference between critically sharp and just reasonably sharp- many won't notice or care about the difference. If you print 4x6, you'll never see the difference. Balance is important. If you have a long lens cantilevered out from the body, the tripod will tend to oscillate and not be stable. That's why long lenses often have their own tripod collars. Do whatever needs to be done to get the camera system balanced on the tripod head. That often reduces the requirements for the stability of the tripod, and lets you use a much more portable pod. I sometimes have my pod set up in streams and the like- be sure to clean it well after such use, lest the legs bind up and become useless or fail to lock.

As a landscape/outdoor photographer for years I lugged around my Bogen 3221 legs and a nice Bogen head--up and down mountains, rivers, etc. A great tripod, but pretty heavy--especially when carrying all my other gear. I recently purchased a Bogen 724b--about half the weight of the 3221, and significantly shorter (i.e. I can easily pack it in carry-on baggage). The only downside is that it's lighter weight means it's more subject to vibration.

 

Then a friend shared a neat trick with me. He carries a small nylon draw-string bag with him (like you find in a camping store to hold your cookset, toiletries, etc.) and then when he wants to use his lightweight tripod he fills the small nylon bag with rocks that he picks up at the shoot sight and hangs it from the tripod leg assembly. This adds the needed weight for a stable tripod and a crisp image, without needing to lug a larger tripod around!

 

I modified the trick a little bit by using my water bottle. When outdoors on a camera shoot I almost always carry a Nalgene bottle filled with water in my backpack/camera bag. I've tied a short piece of nylon rope around the top/hinge section of my tripod leg assembly, and then I just hang my full water bottle from the tripod using a small carabiner--it works great!!

Lisa's post prompted me to post a comment. I still cannot believe that photographers mount their camera on a tripod and use no other anchoring of the combined mass before taking the photograph! Unless you are using overly heavy equipment, you can actually see tripods move around on most surfaces if there is even a zephyr blowing. And a bag/water bottle etc. swinging in the breeze still permits the structure to move around...and is time consuming to fill the bag, or carry and fill a bulky bottle.

 

Once ready to shoot, I use a shock cord loop of the appropriate length, hooked onto the tripod's hook at the top end, with my size 10 boot on the other end anchoring the tripod very firmly to terra firma, or as often happens, to terra not so firma - sand, soil, loose rocks, riverside grasses, etc. This technique generates a large amount of force, and the tripod *will not* move. Unless you shoot an 8x10, you may wish to give it a try. The cord, available from any hiking shop for peanuts, weighs next to nothing...

 

Basically one should try to eliminate all play and vibrations in the system, and all components count: shutter, shutter release (cable), wind-catching bellows if a view camera, camera to tripod head mount, tripod head to tripod, tripod leg segment tension, and most important, tripod to earth down pressure.

Once I bumped into <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=88027">Mike Spinak</A>. He doesn't even bother to use any rocks or water bottle. He has a rope that is connected to the base of his tripod, as the Gitzos usually have a hook there facing downward. On the bottom end of that rope, it forms a loop that he simply steps in so that the rope pulls the tripod base downward to increase its stability.

If you HAVE to travel light or are not allowed to use a tripod/monopod, a simple trick is to have a cord of a bit more length than the height of your eyelevel screwed into the base of your camera. <p>

Whenever there is no way to brace against anything, you simply attach the cord, step on it and draw it taut. This works somewhat like a monopod and is certainly better than nothing. And it is very lightweight and usually not frowned upon by museum guards.

This seems like an excellent idea, Daniel. I once tried to set up a tripod (a very small and lightweight one) to take a picture in a dark church, as my meter indicated up to 4 seconds exposure, and was thrown out by a guard who tried to confiscate my tripod.

 

Another thing I've seen on the web, but I forgot to save the link, was a modified walking stick. The guy would just walk around in a museum and when no guards were around, he would unscrew the top part of his walking stick, which revealed a screw that fitted his camera.