Buying a Tripod

So I decided to hit my next step. Buy a tripod. Why? Well, there is always that time when your hands are just not stable enough. Your camera on a stable tripod allows you to take pictures where the slightest shake would ruin the capture. Then there are those long exposure shots that you may like to take. I am not a studio photographer nor do I have any current interest in that arena so I am not even going to discuss the advantages of a tripod from that point of view.

Everything in photography eventually comes down to light. How much light you can get. There are several factors that determine total amount of light received:

• Aperture (size of opening in the lens that determines how much light gets through)
• Shutter speed. Time the shutter remains open.
• Speed of the film (sensor nowadays)

Longer exposure, larger aperture (smaller f number) and faster ISO gives you more exposure to light. However not all are possible at all points in time.

• Higher ISO usually results in lower quality pictures. So there is a limit to how much you can push this to get more light or exposure.
• A large aperture (small fnumber like f2.8) will give you plenty of light but no depth of field. So when very close to an insect you will get its head but its body will be out of focus.
• A slow shutter speed will give you plenty of light but the slightest movement of eth subject or of your hand will result in a blur.

Usually a combination of the three is used along with artificial lighting such as a flash. However, there are situations when these are not enough. You are always restricted by the capability of your lens with regards to its speed (maximum aperture) and hence you are limited to one option, i.e., increasse the exposure time by reducing shutter speed. Which then exposes you to the risk of blurry images.

Now a tripod will not stabalize a cheetah running at 100 mph on a dark cloudy day, but it definitely helps when what you need that one additional step.

So anyway, I need a tripod, big deal, just go buyone, right? Well not exactly. Buying a tripod can be a complex process. More about that in my next post.