Things to Consider when Selecting Your New Tripod

Art Model Christina, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

I get asked on a regular basis about choice of camera...Nikon or Canon? Mirrorless or DSLR? Can a micro four-thirds system compete with larger sensors? Do I need to be full-frame? These are questions I tend to address on my blog quite often, but I haven't paid the same attention to tripods, so maybe its a good time to get into that now.

I have time allotted to tripods during my One-on-One photography course right before I get into night time photography. I also cover this material just about every day I work at B&C Camera, which isn't much nowadays. I've elected to reduce my time there to concentrate on my own photo business. Somehow, I still end up there more than the time I actually clock in. Hanging out at camera stores and all that gear can be addictive.

Art Model Christina, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

Costs
Anyhoo, in selecting a tripod budget is the primary concern with most people. Too often, amateur photogs are willing to spend $1500 to $3000 on a good camera, but are totally content to put it on a $30 set of legs. Personally, I'm not letting them do it. You can go cheap with a lot of things, but a tripod ain't one. You don't have to get all Gitzo, but finding the cheapest Sunpak on Amazon is NOT the right answer.

Load Capacity
Next factor? Consider two things: the weight of what you're going to put on it and whether or not you'll be traveling (carrying on your back or flying with a carry-on) with the tripod or not. I've got 3 or 4 tripods and 2 of them are my work horses depending on what I'm doing. I have a heavy duty Manfrotto for the majority of my work, but I also have a Promaster XC525 series for travel when I need to hike or fly with smaller by sturdy support.

Art Model Christina, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

If you are not having to carry your tripod around on your back or in luggage, then you can stand to get something sturdy and durable. I'd say a good target budget can get you a good kit (legs and head) for under $300, and likely around $200. Look up the weight specifications on your camera and the heaviest lens you have. Consider a good system that can handle at least triple that weight. You never want your support system to be straining. And you want to consider the possibility you may rent a heavier camera and lens in the future for a special project. Both my tripods have a max load of 22 or more pounds. In addition to all that, think about how tall the tripod extends up to. The taller you are, the more consideration you'll need to give to how much you want to have to bend over to see through your viewfinder.

Tripod Head
Next, consider the head. Ball heads are most commonly used, but pan/tilt heads can be less costly. Feel out what's most comfortable and natural in your hands. You also need to think about what quick release plate your tripod uses. I have had plenty of people coming in asking if we have quick release plates for their tripods for a lesser known economy brand. Unfortunately, those guys can thrown their tripods away. Get a tripod that has either a standard Manfrotto quick release system or one that utilizes the Arca-Swiss style. Vacation anywhere in the country and realize you forgot your quick release plate, you can visit just about any camera store and you can get replacements. That's not true of the proprietary brands. They usually have a plastic plate made strictly for its own head and if you lose it, you can either contact the manufacturer or trash it. A good head simply can't be taken seriously enough. In fact, you can get two different ones for different reasons. Get a ball head for your primary photo work, but you can do a fluid head for video.

Art Model Christina, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

Tripod Legs
Sturdy support is the main consideration here. Everything else is convenience. Do the legs wobble at all? Do they look and feel like they'll hold up for years to come? Do they spread out a full 90 degrees and lay flat? Consider which locking mechanism you prefer. Tripods will either come with twist type or clamps to lock the legs in place. Do they feel like cheap plastic? They'll have to hold up to repeated locking and unlocking. What are the legs made of. I prefer carbon fiber legs, but expect to pay likely twice what the aluminum legs run. (HA! I said "Legs Run"!) They are lighter than aluminum and stronger, but the main reason for my choice is that they look better. I confess that. Carbon Fiber will also not get as uncomfortable to hold in cold environments as aluminum does. Good legs are hard to beat.

Art Model Christina, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

Features
Everything here is mainly convenience, although you can make an argument for some pros or serious enthusiasts that some of these features are necessary requirements.

Many of the good ball heads come with three separate controls for locking the ball head, adjusting the tension/friction for the ball head when its not locked in place, as well as locking your panning position. The tension control is good thing to have, especially if you have a heavy camera system. This way the ball can be adjusted so that when you unlock the ball head, it doesn't suddenly tilt forward. Economical ball heads might eliminate this feature all together.

Tripods might also come with built-in levels, sometimes as many as 3, which can be handy. However my main feature I look for is a quick release plate assembly with a Double Locking mechanism. For me, this is absolutely essential. I don't want to bump or snag my camera and unlock the quick release accidentally and then watch as my takes a spill. A double locking mechanism require two actions to unlock the plate. So ask for this, dare I say, insist upon it!

Lastly, the center-post or neck of a tripod can be a feature. Most tripods allow you to use the center neck to adjust the height and raise the camera. I personally do not use this feature and will traditionally keep it locked in the lowest position. I don't like raising my camera up and thereby alter the center of gravity. I like it balanced and stabilized. However, on my main Manfrotto system, the center posts can be adjusted to lay horizontally. This has proven to be a true added benefit in this feature when I do macro photography. Some center posts have a hook on the bottom to attach a weight of some sort for more stability. There are also reversible center posts that hang your camera upside down. Other tripods like the Gitzo Ocean Traveler can withstand sea salt with its anti-corrosion feature, but it'll also run you north of $1100. Some might have spiked feet or padded ones depending on the surface you'll be shooting on.

Art Model Christina, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

So while there's lots to consider, its basically getting the fundamentals down and then choosing specific features that may benefit you. Here are a few extra tips. Make sure you have the lens pointed out over a tripod leg for stability. Use a cable release connected to your camera as well as the mirror lock-up feature on your camera for those long exposures to help eliminate blur. If the situation you wish to shoot in forbids tripod use, consider a good monopod. My Promaster XC525 has one leg that's detachable to act as a monopod. Got questions, thoughts, gripes? Leave'em in the comments.

Eleven Ways to Reduce Camera Shake

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

"A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they’ll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won’t do a thing for you if you don’t have anything in your head or in your heart." 

~ Arnold Newman

How many times have you had to throw away a shot because of instability or camera shake. I just picked up the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with Vibration Control. Tamron is the only lens manufacturer that makes a stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (surprisingly) and its significantly cheaper than both Canon's or Nikon's. As for this post, I'm not getting into who's got the better lens. This one is on methods to reduce camera shake and options to stabilizing your camera. I'm having to assume you understand terms such as stops, f/stop, aperture, and so forth. You may have to Google some of them if you aren't familiar with the terms of ask me in the comment section. So here we go. Eleven methods to reduce camera shake:

1. Fast Glass - Usually we're talking a lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or wider, such as an f/2, f/1.4, etc. Remember, the smaller the number, the wider the aperture. A wider aperture lets in more light, which allows for a faster shutter speed.

2. IS, VR, VC - Image Stabilization (Canon), Vibration Reduction (Nikon), Vibration Control (Tamron). These are additional features that some lenses have that allow more steadiness, especially when you are hand-holding the camera. Most of the lenses with this capability will claim 3 or 4 addition stops of control using an internal mechanism that compensates for lens movement and shake.

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

3. High Shutter Speeds - This may sound obvious, but nonetheless its the main thing that allows you to get a sharp image when photographing a moving object. Movement has to do with time and the shutter controls time. A shutter speed of 1/60th or faster will usually allow you to hand-hold your camera to shoot a slow moving subject. If you are trying to freeze the action of a passing car, you'll need to be at 1/250 or better. Try freezing the action of a baseball as it comes off a bat and you better be at 1/500th or better.

4. High ISO - ISO regulates the sensitivity of the sensor to light. High ISOs means you are increasing the sensor's sensitivity to light so it takes less light to get the same shot. This is going to depend on the quality of your camera. If you have a Canon 40D, you'll max out at ISO 1600 before the image starts to look grainy. However, if you're shooting a Canon 5D Mark III, you can go upwards of ISO 12,800 with ease. That's a 3-stop improvement. Shoot the lowest ISO you can get away with, as a general rule, but make sure you get the shot.

5. Use a Tripod - This is the easiest way to stabilize your camera. You simply take it out of your hands and put it on a tripod. Just don't go cheap. I'll talk bad about you if you spend $2000 on a camera and put it on $60 sticks. Expect to fork over $200 on a good set of legs and decent ball head, but there are definitely deals to be found. I personally like carbon fiber tripods and use this Manfrotto as my main tripod.

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

6. Flash - Shutter speeds get slow because there is not enough light coming hitting the sensor. Flash fixes this by flooding the scene with light thereby allowing a faster shutter speed. You can have flash guns (speedlights), or mono-lights on light stands. Your camera will usually sync up to 1/250th of a second with flash, but if you need to go faster, the latest flashes will have some sort of high-speed sync feature built in. I use Nikon SB-700's and Paul C. Buff Einsteins.

"I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse."

~ Diane Arbus

7. Rear Curtain Sync Flash - Wait...what?? Its called rear-curtain sync which is another feature on many flash guns. You're basically telling the flash to fire just as the rear-curtain (or second curtain) of the shutter begins to close. In the normal mode, flashes fire as soon as the shutter opens. The problem is that on longer exposures, that freezes the image initially, but since the shutter doesn't close right away, movement is still being captured on top of that frozen image. With rear-curtain sync, the flash fires right before the shutter closes, so the frozen part of the image is on top of the movement.

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

8. Cable Release - Or Remote Shutter. This keeps you from having to touch the camera at all. When you REALLY need a steady shot, even hitting the shutter release button can cause camera shake and make you miss that clean shot.

9. Mirror Lock-up - Okay so you have a cable release. If you're doing some night time photography with pin-point stars in the skyline, you can still get camera shake simply via the camera's normal operating mechanisms, specifically the mirror raising and lowering. Mirror lock-up makes you have to hit the shutter button, (or cable release button) twice. One to raise the mirror and lock it in the open position, and then again to actually open the shutter and take the picture. The mirror comes down again after the shutter closes and the operating cycle ends. This is a menu function on most digital cameras.

10. Intentionally Underexpose - This is very interesting and goes against most rules. Its often frowned upon to say, "I'll fix it in post". But essentially, that's exactly what you want to do here. If you're sitting on a shutter speed of 1/30 and you need at least 1/125th of a shutter to stop the action, you're talking about a 2-stop difference. I'll take that. By manually going to 1/125th, you are cutting the light and underexposing the image, but the action is frozen. Okay, if you're shooting RAW...no problem. You can increase that exposure those two stops again in Adobe Camera RAW or Lightroom. The important thing is to get the shot, so if it takes fixing it in post, then so be it!

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

11. Photoshop CC Camera Shake Reduction Feature - And finally, speaking of fixing it in post...this is exactly that. The latest version of Photoshop, Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud) has a feature that does an excellent job on camera shake compensating. Whatever algorithm this thing runs to make a determination on how the image should look is phenomenal. It doesn't perform near as well with an image that is simply out of focus, though. So if you're manually focusing or if the camera auto-focuses on a point other than the spot you intended, its not going to fix that so well. But if you have good focus, but simply can't be still, its got your back. So movement issues...yes. Focus issues...not so much.