Buying tripod - Part 2

So I started my venture to buy a tripod. My first take was that I need something with three legs on which I can put my camera. Right? Wrong!!!!


A good tripod is a must. Buy a cheap tripod and you will undergo immense frustration instead of the joy of photography. The problems with a bad tripod are:

• They are unstable, i.e., they move a lot.
• They vibrate so the shutter of the camera can result in a movement that can spoil a picture.
• The levers to adjust the camera angle on a bad tripod will drive you nuts. Just when you think you have the right position and your hand moves off the lever the camera dips.
• They do not offer too many features, i.e., angles in which a camera can be mounted.
• They do not provide the ability to change the mount/head, i.e., the part to which the camera is mounted and which swivels etc.

So basically a good tripod should shield you from all of the above. Then what should a good tripod have?

Stable and Light Weight

Most good tripods will offer great stability. Of course this stability comes at a cost. Not just $$ but also weight. I need a tripod that I can carry. I do not do potrait photography. Carrying a tripod on a long backpacking trip in the mountains can be a pain. So I needed something stable yet light enough to carry. This made my search tougher, though not impossible.

Changeable Heads

A tripod should allow you to change the type of head being used. To the best of my knowledge there are two types of heads that fit on a tripod. A ball head and a three way head. I ball head screws on to a tripod and then you attach the camera to the ball head. It has a singled knob used to tighten it once your camera is in position. The camera is positioned by simply rotating it on the ball head.

This is a Bogen Ball Head.

A three way head has three levers that allow you to move the head and then you tighten them when you find your position. With a three way, you can loosen just one lever that will allow movement in just one direction.

This is a Bogen three way head.

Low Min Height

Th tripod should be able to go very low. Almost to ground level. This allows you to take pictures of small flowers and insects.

Horizontal Camera Mounting

Another critical feature for me was the ability to mount my camera such that it is facing downwards. Some tripods offer this feature by letting you remove the central beam on which the camer is mounted and place horizontal. See picture below.

Having laid down my criteria I went looking for tripods and realized they were quite expensive. Then based on recommendations from several friends I ended up buying the following:

• Bogen / Manfrotto 3021BPRO Tripod Legs with 804RC2 3-Way Head & Case
• Bogen / Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head w/Rapid Connect System

The legs with the three way head and bag cost me $180 and the ball head about another $60. I got lucky as this was on sale. By no means is this cheap but its teh cheapest good quality tripod and head system I could get my hands on. I have to say this. I love this tripod. It is stable, the heads move with precision, there is no sagging after you take your hands away.

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.