What
tripod
by J. Ramón Palacios
tell
a friend about this article
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Even
if you already own -or by now have decided to own- either of
the tripod brands and models shown, they don't work alone. Tripods
benefit from all the help you can give them, even the very best.
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Photophil's
beanbag-over-lens trick to add stability
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PROVEN
GOOD TRIPOD TECHNIQUE PRACTICES
For
Added Stability:
- Make
certain you have planted well your tripod legs and they won't
slip, if spiked the better.
- If
you don't have to extend 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, pressing hard 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 an 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.
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.
.
- 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 300mm f/4 AF-S).
.
- For
vertical ("portrait") compositions with a lens
without rotating tripod collar, get an L
bracket. Besides
being a 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 the legs
of
the tripod.
All tripods, when not fully extended are at their
most stable positions and you can shoot seated
from a
comfort stool.
If
you still doubt all of the above is of critical importance,
take a look at this advanced study
on vibration.
Finally,
a not so often mentioned advantage of having a good tripod
is that one can lock a composition for careful study.
If there is one element out of place, or something else
that 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 the opportunity to think more about the
image and remember some good
tips to improve your photographs.
And
of course, don't forget to ....
Have
a great time 
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Nikon,
Manfrotto, Gitzo, Bogen, Vinten, Vitec, Kirk, Markins
& Wimberley
are registered trademarks of the respective companies
Product images courtesy of Nikonians members or the respective
manufacturers
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