Long
Lens Technique
by J. Ramón Palacios (jrp)
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Tripod
- Long Lens Technique (LLT)
Whether
you already own -or by now have decided to own- a good tripod,
they don't work alone. Tripods benefit from all the help
you can give them, even
the very best; more so if there is some wind.
-
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Photophil's
beanbag-over-lens trick to add stability
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PROVEN
GOOD TRIPOD TECHNIQUE PRACTICES
I.
For Added Stability:
- Make
certain you have planted well your tripod legs and that
they won't
slip. If spiked the better.
- If
you don't have to extend one or any leg sections of the
tripod, don't.
.
- Place
the palm of your hand on top of the barrel of a long lens
and lean on it, gently pressing down with the hand above,
where the tripod collar is attached.
.
- An
alternative is to place a bean bag -as shown above- instead
of your hand.
.
- Add
weight to your tripod, either by using a tripod apron
with rocks
or hanging your camera bag from it, especially if there is
wind.
- Never
ever extend the center column -if you are still carrying it-
it makes it a monopod over a tripod and very unstable.
- Add
an eyecup to the camera viewfinder and press it hard against
your skull, creating an additional point of contact for added
stability.
II.
For Vibration Reduction:
- Always
use a cable release. If your camera can take an electronic
one, prefer it over a mechanical.
.
- If
you cannot use a cable release, at least use the self-timer.
.
- If
your camera has mirror lock up ("MLU") use it by
all means.
.
- If
your lens has a tripod collar, use it to attach your camera-lens
setup to the tripod instead of through the camera body tripod
socket. Avoid a "front-heavy" setup.
.
- If
you still have a budget after all of this, get Kirk
improved tripod collars for your long lenses. Otherwise,
in the meantime slide an empty plastic film canister in
between
the foot of the tripod collar and the lens barrel when feasible
(like with the popular 300mm f/4 AF-S).
.
- For
vertical ("portrait") compositions with a lens
without rotating tripod collar, get an L
bracket. Besides
being a speedy convenience, their use keeps the center
of gravity of the whole setup at the center of the tripod
legs.
- .If
you don't have a bean bag or an apron to load
up additional weight
when under strong wind, just don't extend all of
the legs of
the tripod.
Even good tripods, when not fully extended
are at their most stable positions.
- If
you buy a Mountaineer
Gitzo carbon fiber set of legs,
reduce weight and make it go down almost
to ground level by eliminating the center
column. Then adding
a Markins ballhead, a Markins
TB-20/21 or TB-30 plate (depending on
our tripod model) for vibration reduction,
titanum
spikes for everlasting
firm grip
on soft ground and Nikonians leg wraps. Then
you'll
have
a MAGICA
tripod.
-
Again,
if you can sit when using your tripod, do it. It not
only gives you comfort, it
can give you better, sharper images. You will also
be more relaxed to compose better.
Since
you can open the tripod legs wider or won't be needing
to extend all of the legs extension, you will be adding
stability
to your camera and lens. Important with all lenses, most
critical when with long guns.
If
you still doubt any of the above is of critical
importance, take a look at this advanced study
on vibration. |
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Finally,
a not so often mentioned advantage of having a good tripod
is that one can lock a composition for careful study. If
the horizon is not at level or there is one element out
of place, or something else should be included in
the frame, you can see it and change it. If
it looks great but should be polarized or filtered, now
you can do it without changing the composition.
A
tripod gives you the opportunity to think more about your
vision and the image, giving you time to calmly
remember some good
tips to improve your photographs
And
of course, always, don't forget to ....
Have
a great time 
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