I’ve signed up for a landscape photography class with a girlfriend. The class is with Ian Plant, in Zion, the first week of November. I love Ian’s photos and am hoping to learn how he gets such vivid intense colors in his images. I don’t normally use a tripod and I know that this is a necessity for shooting landscapes. So I bought myself a SLIK Pro 400DX tripod, and took it on our July trip to Yosemite.
I think the only way to buy a tripod – if you don’t already know what you want – is to go down to the camera store and play with them. Pick them up to test the weight. Hold them to see how bulky they are. Some of the bulky looking ones aren’t that heavy. Some of the skinny ones are really solid and heavy. Test out the legs and see if you like how the mechanisms work. Some have latches and some unscrew. I prefer the latches – they are fast and less fussy.
The weight of your camera and lens is a factor in how sturdy of a tripod you need. That seems obvious, but I hadn’t thought about that myself when I went down to Georges Camera to take a look at the selection. Also you want to be sure that the tripod is tall enough and puts the camera at a comfortable height for you (you don’t want the center support extended all the way to the top or you risk having your camera fall off the tripod). I’m tall and hate to have to stoop down to see what I’m doing.
There’s a huge range of tripods in size and price. Sadly, the feather-weight tripods are made of graphite and run about $1000 and up (no – that’s not a typo). I would rather buy a lens or two, than plunk down that kind of money on a tripod. But I can see spending that if you are a pro, and use it every day – because the lighter weight might let you take another lens along for the hike (and who doesn’t want that?).
It turned out, taking the tripod on the trip to Yellowstone was an excellent idea. It was a good place to practice. You really should be using a tripod for some of the shots here, so I was glad I had it. Also, most of the trails aren’t that long so I got to test out carrying the extra gear around in short bursts. Even though I bought a fairly light tripod, it is a couple pounds. I’m going to figure out how to secure it to the outside of my pack to make it easy to access, but, easier to carry as well.
I’m learning to love my tripod. More of my photos come out in sharper focus when I use it. It forces you to think about your shot a little more – if you are going to go to all that trouble might as well make it the best shot you can. I think I have a good eye for composing my shots, but I think I could be better technically. The tripod slows me down, but in a good way. I’m thinking through the shot more when I’m working that way.
I started out hating using a tripod. I thought it would slow me down and be one more thing to carry – and both those things are true – but I found out that slowing me down was a good thing. And if you pack right, one more thing to carry, that you need, isn’t so bad. I’m thinking this is a good addition to my gear.
Dear Reader: I’m interested in how you do things, please share!
How’d you pick your tripod and do you love it or hate it? How has it changed your photography?