Photos

The Problem with Large Tripods

Talybont, Powys, UK

There's always a sensible balance to struck, particularly with regard to tripods. This one was, in all honesty, a little on the heavy side and, ultimately, also proved to be none too stable. The increased quality of high ISO settings provided by modern DSLR cameras may (almost) have completely negated the necessity of carrying any sort of tripod at all, unless one is hell bent on using particularly lengthy shutter speeds.

For the record, when I do use a tripod, with ever decreasing frequency, it's a National Geographic Tundra TT1. This weighs in at just 1kg, fits inside my rucksack folded (44cm) and extends all the way from 17cm up to 1 metre 50 cm. It also has a ball head and costs about £40. That makes me both a cheapskate and a lightweight! In all honesty, it's not the very last word in camera stability, but it'll happily hold a D60 still for a lot longer than I can. Plus, when you lose it, break it, or watch it sail down the river or over a cliff, you won't feel the slightest inclination to sit down and cry.

This one was taken in a stream, with a D60 on a TT1 with wet feet. 3+2 = 5 wet feet.

Regards