The Break of Dawn

Still Getting it Straight–

It really works best to do some research first or at least have someone who did along when you try to buy yourself a tripod. Remember, we said here that this should be a real investment move and this means not getting a tripod that will not serve your needs in the long run. Having a tripod for the sake of being able to say you have one while knowing fully that it really cannot hold your equipment still, especially in vertical shots, is just not smart.

Erick Lirios

Yes, it is very possible that because of financial constraints you end up buying something that may serve at least some of your needs. That’s to be expected. I went through at least two crappy tripods before I ended up with the two great ones I have now. They were crappy not in the sense that they were totally useless. They might have been better suited if the camera they were to hold up were a lot lighter. It was the Canon New F1 with a power winder FN and the lens normally on it was the Canon 35-105 f/3.5 FD. Take note, this wasn’t an L lens but it had an all-metal construction and had a constant maximum aperture throughout its zoom range. This was the reason why it’s big and heavy. People who have it normally don’t let it go. Another heavy lens that shared the F1 was the 70-200 f/4 FD. Again, another constant maximum aperture lens with a body of mostly metal. Body and lens were metal and the combination was thus quite heavy. The first tripod (which eventually had a broken crank for the center post) couldn’t hold it up at all in the vertical position. The camera would just start sliding down slowly. When shooting in very low light, that was a very, very big problem. The second tripod wasn’t so much better. It was secondhand and cost just Php1,000 and seemed like a good deal. When it got lost, it wasn’t missed much.

It was in 2000 that the first Manfrotto came into the picture. It was heavy and was up to the task of holding up the F1 combo or the new EOS that was about to take its place as the workhorse camera. It could even easily hold the medium format cameras thrown at it – A Yashica 124G twin lens reflex, a Bronica SQ system, and a Mamiya RB67.

Forward to late 2007. Shooting alone in Cebu, I was lent a 190XProB. It was less heavy, light actually, and a joy to use. A few months later, I bought my own and it’s been a usual partner in shoots. It’s a nigh perfect travel tripod. Forward to 2009. Caught unprepared for a shoot in Singapore, another tripod had to be purchased. Since my wife wanted something very easy to carry, that’s what we got. This is the first Slik we have and there are some very interesting differences from the Manfrottos I’m so used to. First, I thought it was more a video tripod and that I had to take the plate off and change to a different position to get to the vertical position. That was until it became apparent that a switch to turn the plate with the camera on it was actually there to facilitate such changes. Amazing really. It still wouldn’t be the first choice when the big guns have to be used but with some thought, this is one hell of a good tool. Since it has a removable tripod plate, you can order extra plates so that all your bodies and lenses with tripod collars can have them on all the time.

That little tripod plate is there to keep things convenient for your shooting but always make sure you have it on tight. If you don’t, things will slide to other positions without your knowing it and your shots may suffer.

Please be careful if your tripod has feet that have spikes. There are usually rubber feet that can adjust to cover them anyway. The spikes are these to help keep things stable when outdoors but when shooting indoors specially with wooden floors, make sure you have the rubber feet out.

Some tripods have screws that will help keep the removable head from moving. Some don’t have these though so always check if the head is secure before you start shooting especially when you like to move from left to right a lot. You don’t want to have to catch your camera as it suddenly succumbs to the universal law of gravitation. The tripod is not only there to hold up your camera so that you can take a shot but it’s also there to keep your stuff safe. But if you tend to be a worry wart (like me), then do this: Keep the camera strap around your neck and just make sure you have enough slack so that you don’t get strangled. This keeps you from worrying and focused on shooting.

This seems self-apparent but if often is not: Make sure you read your tripod manual. The basic tripod is just three legs that hold up a camera but there are other features that come in handy. Tripod manufacturers like to give a new feature but if you’re not familiar with these, you end up having something that you don’t use but can certainly benefit from. For example, some center posts are removable to allow you mount them upside down for down and dirty shots. Yes, you can just get on your belly and shoot like that but since this is an uncomfortable position, you will most likely have difficulty keeping things steady. Tripod to the rescue! Oh, and this is the main reason why you should seriously consider a tripod with a removable center post over one that doesn’t.