Three Legged Friend Revisited

Yesterday morning at ungodly o’clock I was at the beach. With me was my Sony a7Rv, a 24-105mm lens, some nice magnetic filters, and of course a three legged friend, aka tripod.

Although it was an ungodly hour, 5 am to be precise, there were three other photographers on that beach with me. All of whom were using tripods.

That got me thinking about an article I wrote here at Light Stalking. It was about the pros and cons of tripods, and was called Talking A Walk With Your Three Legged Friend.

Tripods might not be a candidate when you think of technological advancements, yet the way we stabilize our images has moved on dramatically since the days I wrote that article. Today I want to revisit the pros, cons and alternatives to tripods.

Why We Dislike Tripods

It’s quite possible that your first experience with a tripod put you off for life. It’s also quite possible that the reason for that is that the tripod was cheap as chips. Often, budget camera kits from stores add in a camera bag or tripod. Either of these will be cheap and nasty and in the case of the tripod, potentially soul destroying.

The reason for this is that it will be made out of the same thin plastic used to wrap sandwiches, as sturdy as a chocolate lamppost in a heatwave and with a tripod head that seems glued in one position. The images we take without this monstrosity actually will look better than those with it.

Even beyond that, tripods are cumbersome, awkward and annoying, especially if you are carrying one all day. If you are travelling by air, they will most likely trigger the airline check in staff who will insist it goes in the hold, not carry on. Mine does as a matter of course.

They take time to set up and even with the very best head it can be finickity to get the camera into exactly the right position. As you tighten the ball head, the camera drops 1mm. That 1mm feels like 2 meters on any lens over 50mm.

Long Exposures on Marsden Beach, tripod needed. By Jason Row Photography

On anything other than a bowling green surface they can be a nightmare to set up and level, a particular issue when shooting video (without a bowl head socket).

The simple fact is that even the very best tripods slow us down.

But tripods are needed for some shots. By Jason Row Photography We Like Tripods Because They Slow Us Down

But, didn’t you just say we don’t like them because they slow us down? Yes I did, but slowing down is not always a bad thing. Using a tripod means we take a more controlled, considered and accurate approach to our photography. We can micro manage our compositions – remember to compensate for that 1mm drop – allowing us to more accurately assess the shot in front of us. The very act of setting up the tripod is incorporated into our photographic thought process.

Beyond that, if we shoot landscapes, seascapes, long exposures, blue hour, macro, architecture or any other genres, the humble tripod is an invaluable tool. Ever tried focus stacking handheld? It’s possible but ultimately unsatisfying. For many of us, the tripod is a necessary evil.

However, as I mentioned earlier, technology has moved on, and that includes tripods. But how can technology have moved on in what essentially is three sticks welded together at the top?

Tripods slow us down and that can be good. By Jason Row Photography Modern Tripods And Other Animals.

It probably started with the Peak Design tripod. Perhaps the first tripod in decades that was radically different. The legs dispensed with the empty space usually afforded by round legged tripods. This gave it the diameter of a water bottle rather than a rugby ball.

Those legs dropped out and locked easily using one hand, a real bonus when setting up quickly. Perhaps most importantly, the design allowed it to be both compact, light and yet very sturdy. There was and still a cost to that though, the cost. Peak Design tripods are significantly more expensive than their peers.

However, like most modern technology, it has been copied, modified and reduced in price by other companies. Perhaps even improved on. My humble Manfrotto three legged friend is looking decidedly dated, compared to more recent offerings.

Modern tripods are lighter and stronger, but not cheap. By Ronan Furuta on Unsplash

But beyond the traditional tripod we have had innovations like Gorillapod and its imitators. I bought one of these, odd, sticky mini tripods for my Asia trip last year and found myself using it much more than my Manfrotto even with a heavy Sony on it.

Since I wrote that article technology has also moved on in other elements of photography, to the point where very often we can do without a tripod. Better image quality at high ISOs is an obvious thing here. Cameras are so much better at controlling noise at high ISO that we no longer think twice about bumping up to 12800. Combined with AI noise reduction in software, extremely noisy images are a thing of the past.

Image stabilization has also improved immensely in the nearly 15 years since I wrote the original article. Not only can we get 5-6 stops of sensor stabilization but our cameras will combine it with lens stabilization to get phenomenal results.

High ISO and Image Stabilization negate the need for a tripod. By Jason Row Photography

The technological advance is even more pronounced when it comes to shooting video, not only do we have the camera/lens stabilization, but also gimbals.

These marvels of engineering will balance our cameras with an almost surreal stability allowing film makers to get shots that were the preserve of big budget productions just a few years ago.

Lastly of course there is our one legged friend, the monopod. These, like modern tripods have moved on immeasurably in the last few years.

We Still Need Tripods

Despite the advances, tripods are not going away anytime soon. My shoot this morning at the beach was for a YouTube video about shooting ethereal water. The two minute exposures I was using could only ever be achieved on a tripod. The same holds true for light trails, astrophotography, shooting using tilt shift lenses and also many macro shots.

If I were to leave you with some advice from this article, it would be exactly the same as I gave 15 years ago. Buy the best tripod you can afford. It will last you years and even if you only use it occasionally, it will improve your image quality significantly.

Further Reading

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