Tripods - Do you take yours everywhere?

Pretty much these days although went out Saturday without it

Got a lightweight one for wandering, bigger model for short haul and windier days.

Shaky hands and less than steady hand held so seems pointless ruining photos for the sake of taking the tripod.
 
Only if I'm doing Landscapes or Long Exposures and I know I'm going to need the Tripod.
 
Tripod for a serious shoot, monopod for out and about with purpose and handheld when just taking the camera 'on spec'.
 
My tripod tends to come with me on every full on day I take the camera out because I very rarely know what I'm going to be doing until it happens, I'd rather carry the tripod and have it if I need it than really want it and not have it. That said carrying it is easier for me these days, I used to carry stacks of gear around but now I try take the bare essentials for whatever I'm doing so I've gained a bit of weight allowance back. :)
 
Badger8 said:
now that I've caught the bug of photography, I tend to take my tripod everywhere, but god its annoying. Is anyone else as sad as me?

:cuckoo:
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Your mention of "caught the bug of photography" seems to imply you're very new to photography? Don't worry, I am sure in the past, more or less half of everyone here, when starting photography, must've packed our camera bags with nearly every equipment we could think of buying and taking with us, nearly every lenses we could get, any pieces and bits of equipment, and tripods, even when we didn't really used some of them, hell, even most of us would include the kitchen sink if we have to.

I used to bring with me my 24mm lens, my 28mm lens, 50mm, and the 28-70mm zoom, when it would have meant a lighter camera bag if I just bring with me the 24mm and 50mm or just the 28-70mm Zoom instead of every lenses I have.

It just takes time, training, planning, and experience to get used to knowing if you do need to bring your tripod with you or you don't need it.

If you do have a car, you could always take the tripod with you, but leave it in the car, which would be better than leaving it at home. You can always go back to the car and get the tripod if you needed it, or be glad you left it in the car when you become aware you don't need it.

On the other hand, you could try for a monopod which would be lighter than a tripod, you could always try for mini tripods, or use a bean bag.
 
I do now since I got a Gitzo 1542T, along with a Redsnapper RSH-61 ballhead. This set up weighs half of my other tripod and head, which are Redsnapper and are now for home use or out of the back of a car.
 
Always in the back of the car; I should actually try using it more though
 
Tend to use the monopod section more off my TLR tripod rather than the tripod itself;got to get a better carrying solution for the tripod,might look for some straps for my Think Tank Retro.
 
I always take a tripod with me whenever possible, hands aren't as steady as they used to be and built-in shake reduction/optical stabilization aren't always the answer :)
 
Can i ask what you guys use a tripod for during the day (other than landscapes of course).
I'd have though daylight would be bright enough to hand hold most lenses, and even more so if you have IS.

Just wondering. I really should use mine more but cant find a reason to carry it around.

I tend to leave mine at home unless im shooting at night, and even them most of it is hand held if im wandering around.
 
I always have at least 1 tripod in the car as I use them a lot that said I've go three identical manfrotto tripods and often have two in the car and one in the house, so that I've always got one to hand when I need one :)
 
Same as most, I keep a tripod in the car so if I'm going out, I don't need to worry about carrying it. A lot of my photography requiring tripods is impromptu and often after work so it's easy to leave gear in the car.
 
For landscape treks: carry it bagless strapped to my rucksack.
For most other shots: carry bare minimal camera gear in messenger bag, tripod in its bag in the car.

I've learnt my lesson on carrying a kitchen sink everywhere. Now I carry 1 extra lens at most. Generally 24-105 + 35/2 or if UWA may be needed 17-40 + 85/1.8. Sometimes only camera + 35/2.
 
I was watching my daughter taking her first film photo's this week-end, armed with my old 'Brick', an ancient Zenith 35mm SLR.... that is one heavy camera. I'd forgotten just HOW heavy it was, TBH. And when she stopped to take a snap? Well after getting the meter out and waving it around a bit, twiddling dials, asking me if she had the ASA slide in the right place, then going back and fiddling with the shutter speed and peeking at the hyperfocus scale and re-checking aperture.... she was having to make a new meter reading, as the nice evening landscape had become a sunset ;) ... no not quite that bad... but when she was ready to press the button..... it was interesting watching some-one else use my equipment, and as she released the shutter, the clunk and wobble of the mirror mechanism going up.... even damped by all the mass of that brick-like camera! It was like watching the recoil on a pistol being fired!

But that is the sort of load and vibration that a 'good' tripod is designed to support and damp.

In years past, my Silk tripod used to live in the boot of my car along with my walkng boots... and in fact my M42 Fit camera; 'just in case'.... and hiking up the Penines; Snowdonian valleys, or Iron-Age hill-forts in the Vale of Evesham..... You know, I never saw a FAT photographer at the top of the hill:lol:

But, in years on, a certain ecconomy of effort was achieved... sort of followed this logic.....

I'd look up the hill, and think "There must be a fantastic view from up there" Then I would look around and see a neighbouring hil, maybe five miles awayl, and think "And over there".... then look at the tripod and gadget bag, and think hard about what I REALLY needed to lug all the way up..... Nope, dont need a bag full of prime glass.... certainly don't need the long lenses, maybe the 28 and the 50..... then after a few excursions lugging to the top of hills with loose lenses in my pocket and camera slapping on my chest..... further ecconomy of effort was found JUST taking the 35mm compact to the top!

And I'm looking through strips and strips of old negatives as I scan them now, and honestly.... so many landscapes I cant really tell whether I took them with fancy SLR and 28-70 or my little fixed lens compact!

Meanwhile.... using smaller lighter camera.... perching iddy-biddy little compact on top of big sturdy pro-tripod, seemed so..... rediculouse.

I got a little mini-pod. Pocket thing about the length of a biro! It's FANTASTIC!

Wont take the weight of that old Zenith, I have to say; but did prop up the compact well enough, and I have stuck modern DSLR on it.... its probably a tad big for it, but it holds it up and if you tighten the head up, steady 'enough'.

May mean laying down between sheep-droppings to see through the view-finder from time to time, but usually you can find 'something' to put it on top of, if you don't want it on the floor.... rock, tree-stump, stone wall, fence post, car roof. Imagination & a little improvisation.... what photography is all about isn't it?

So..... yes and no is the answer to the question.

No I don't always carry my 'big' tripod, but yes, I almost always carry a little one! Even with the compact, just slips in the empty camera slip with a spare set of batteries and an SD card.
 
dave_bass5 said:
Can i ask what you guys use a tripod for during the day (other than landscapes of course).
I'd have though daylight would be bright enough to hand hold most lenses, and even more so if you have IS.

Just wondering. I really should use mine more but cant find a reason to carry it around.

I tend to leave mine at home unless im shooting at night, and even them most of it is hand held if im wandering around.
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A tripod still have some uses during daylight, not just for taking landscape, but for other subjects as well. Set up a camera on a tripod, use a remote control, to take photos of wildlife, set up one of your cameras on a low tripod and place it near the goal posts, again use remote control for taking photos of football matches, use of monopods for supporting long lens for sports events. It just depend on the subject. A tripod isn't really just there so that the camera can be used with low shutter speed because of low light levels or to blur the movement without camera shake bluring background, like waterfalls, although that is mostly its main role, but the tripod can have many other roles such as for use with long telephoto lens because it is far too heavy for you to hand hold for more than a couple of minutes, or for you to allow your camera get closer to the subject without you getting in the way (football/wildlife).
 
Major Eazy, good points. I sometimes like to use a tripod even for general shots because I find it makes me spend more time thinking about composition. If I'm shooting hand held then I'll be more inclined to crop and tidy things up a bit afterwards, whereas if I'm on a tripod the whole process is slower and I find I pay more attention to what I'm doing. Obviously that doesn't work for general city wandering and stuff like that but if there are specific things I want to shoot it works quite well for me!
 
Mine is in the boot of the car, just in case there's something nice round the corner.

Of course this means if I'm not in the car when I see something nice requiring a tripod I am a bit knackered but for off the cuff situations I try to make do.
 
I rarely carry my tripod around although it's often in the car. More usually, I have a Pod in my pocket - a small beanbag with a tripod screw fitted.
 
PMN said:
Major Eazy, good points. I sometimes like to use a tripod even for general shots because I find it makes me spend more time thinking about composition. If I'm shooting hand held then I'll be more inclined to crop and tidy things up a bit afterwards, whereas if I'm on a tripod the whole process is slower and I find I pay more attention to what I'm doing. Obviously that doesn't work for general city wandering and stuff like that but if there are specific things I want to shoot it works quite well for me!
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I find the exact opposite, so much time wasted pratting about setting the tripod and adjusting minute things, much easier to get the exact angle you want handheld. Of course if it's going to need slow shutter speed then there's no choice.
 
I rarely take mine with me, only if I'm going to do something specific where I know I'll need it.
 
LeeRatters said:
I could really do with 2 bags split into 5D2/50/135 & then 17-40/filters/tripod :D
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Oooooooh. yes please! That would be ideal, and the tripod bag preferably be messenger style so I could cross wear them across my chest.

I've already found my perfect camera bag the Hadley Pro for camera and every-day lens. For tripod bag, it's only got room for a 10 stop ND. Would be great if there's more pockets for a ND grad kit and even an extra lens.
 
I have a slingback with the tripod permanently attached, goes everywhere with me, but the tripod usually stays on the bag and I find a handy post or lean against a tree, unless im doing some serious panarama's.
Most times its just to cold to bother faffing around getting off the bag !
 
Recently treated myself to a nice Manfrotto 055 but haven't used it yet, keep going back to my old monopod instead for general use. Sure I'll find a good reason to use it soon!
 
It depends where I'm off to. if I'm going to the deer park then the tripod is always used, if off to the zoo/wildlife park then either hand holding or on a monopod. I find a tripod is great in a hide or somewhere you are going to wait a while as it takes the weight and is already in a position to use. If I need to crawl towards the wildlife then hand holding is the way forward.

A tripod takes the weight of the lens but its also a nice stable platform too, my hand holding isn't great and I need to use a least 2x focal length to get a blur free image whilst hand holding. With our weather it can easily mean 1000-2000 ISO a lot of the time.
 
The only time my camera comes off the tripod is when I'm transporting it.
 
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