[ASheffield]

I look at it like this.... you are only using half of your camera if you do not own a tripod ! Look at how many shutter speeds you have, and look how many of them you can not use hand held

There have been times I'm standing with my camera waiting for the right shot, it's not easy.

[ASheffield]

Tripods are very useful, I bought a small used one some time ago (non-collapsible, it uses a weird system). Just make sure all its hinges and joints work, that its not too flimsy or bent in any place. And that the little screw at the top where you mount the camera is of correct size for your camera. This is pretty standard now, but if its an old tripod it might be different

Also, you can just sell those cameras and get a trendy K-01

Thw Pentaxes and Ricoh were my choice, the others were gifts or whatever. On the cameras I chose, I only spent 6 dollars total.

[ASheffield]

Tripods are very useful, I bought a small used one some time ago (non-collapsible, it uses a weird system). Just make sure all its hinges and joints work, that its not too flimsy or bent in any place. And that the little screw at the top where you mount the camera is of correct size for your camera. This is pretty standard now, but if its an old tripod it might be different

Also, you can just sell those cameras and get a trendy K-01

Thw Pentaxes and Ricoh were my choice, the others were gifts or whatever. I only spent 6 dollars on the Pentaxes and Ricoh.

[ASheffield]

I've ordered a subscription to Popular Photography through a school fundraiser, so that may have recommended tripods.

[littledrawe]

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/45466-tripod-reviews.html

Try this link as well.

[Ratmagiclady]

OK. Those do sound like a bunch of point and shoot cameras, but that needn't stop you if you can find film for one you like.

If the tripod is heavy, it is a good heavy tripod. Weight is good if you don't mind carrying it.


It sounds as though it is a very cheap tripod if it's not heavy. (Carrying handles are not often found on tripods that are anything but cheap things you could take or leave. There's really very little need for a carrying handle on a tripod: it's already shaped like one. )

A cheap tripod is sometimes better than no tripod. Just don't raise it very high, and be sure it has either a camera mounting screw or a plate with one. (Very cheap tripods were often made with cheap quick release plates which make the whole thing pretty useless. If it's heavy, ignore my concerns there. If it's a bunch of rattly thin aluminum with a plastic head, don't pay more than a dollar or two: it's better for a light stand or maybe a painting easel.

If it's heavy and has a mounting screw, it could well be worth buying. The thing about tripods and weight is, the heavier, the better a tripod it is as a tripod, all else being equal. The only reason they make carefully-engineered lightweight tripods is because heavy things are heavy. And you have to move them around. Being not a rich photog, I simply have a relatively-heavy tripod with a smooth head on there. Poverty tax is carrying that.

I'm not really sure what you're talking about or how much money is involved, here. A few dollars? Substituting for another car? To put what on?

[ASheffield]

OK. Those do sound like a bunch of point and shoot cameras, but that needn't stop you if you can find film for one you like.

They are point and shoots. My parents probably had one or two of them when adopted me in 1999.

[ASheffield]

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/45466-tripod-reviews.html

Try this link as well.

People who make tripods must think it's funny to make them too tall for Chinese people. I'm 5' and my growth plates are closed.

[Ratmagiclady]

People who make tripods must think it's funny to make them too tall for Chinese people. I'm 5' and my growth plates are closed.

That's actually a happy thing if you ever want to buy a good tripod. Shorter is stabler. The question is just what you're talking about buying and for how much.

[LFLee]

This is an interesting thread....

You can get a pretty decent tripod, that is the Proline tripod Amazon.com: Dolica AX620B100 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head: Camera & Photo

Typically sell at $39, but from time to time they sell at $29 shipped. Check Newegg and Amazon. This tripod last me several good years.

[ASheffield]

If we're on a fishing dock (which moves with the water) in a channel, will the camera rock with the water? This is the trip I'm questioning which cameras to bring.

[interested_observer]

When I first returned to photography, I won an auction on evil bay for a tripod (plastic wonder) - 11 cents, $7 shipping. I used it for about 4 years before it fell apart. Plastic 3 axis pan head, aluminum legs, plastic interconnect parts, with flip leg locks. I learned quite a bit with it, especially what I liked and what I hated. I liked the size - it fit into my carryon luggage and the flip leg locks, hated the 3D head. It got me started in evening and night photography.

A few months before the plastic wonder fell apart, I upgraded to a travel tripod - Benro Travel Angel. Perfect size for my carry-on, good size, and also twist legs (that I find that I really do not really like). All together - it works pretty well. It came with a cheap ballhead that I used once, then immediately started on the great ballhead hunt. I won't bore you with the details - another thread, but I decided on an Acratech GP for very specific reasons. Ballheads can be expensive, but this combination has worked very well for me. Also, I find that a lot of personal preference goes into the head - either ball, 3D, Cube or whatever.

Prior post was on the old beater Manfratto I picked up to reside in the backseat of the pickup, so that I would have a tripod with me, and also be able to shoot two bodies at a time for sunsets, etc. Actually its a really nice tripod - that I like a lot. Flip lock legs, very sturdy, too big/heavy for my carry-on luggage. Ballhead works on both, and I have a leveling head for a panohead that I also use (Nodal Ninja 3). I do a lot of stitching.

To tell you the truth, I would check the Black Friday sales (day after Thanksgiving) and the Cyber Monday sales - Amazon, etc for the Dolica. For the price I do not think you can beat it, unless you can find something similar on Craigslist. I have read a lot of good things about them. The nice thing is that they come with a reasonable head (ball or 3D depending on the model).

[interested_observer]

If we're on a fishing dock (which moves with the water) in a channel, will the camera rock with the water? This is the trip I'm questioning which cameras to bring.

Yes it will. The tripod will use the fishing dock as its reference plane (it will sit on the reference plane), and as the reference plane moves - so moves the tripod, and in particular the plane of the head (or thus the camera). It's all plane geometry. I think that they still teach it in high school - don't they?

[ASheffield]

I think that they still teach it in high school - don't they?

I'll find out in two years, I was wondering if they had "shock absorbers".

[interested_observer]

I'll find out in two years, I was wondering if they had "shock absorbers".

Interesting question. In a word for tripods - no. This is because it would be too big and bulky along with being too slow to respond. You also need to tune them to the environment that they will be expected to operate in - high frequency or low frequency along with the amplitude of the shocks expected. That is why on a car you have a coil spring with a shock absorber in side it, along with a set of leaf springs. This is designed to cooperatively address a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes induced by the conditions. A high school physics class would help here - and in college statics and dynamics, along with engineering mathematics.

That said, Pentax in their camera bodies K100D and on, have in body image stabilization (or SR - shake reduction), that accomplishes a similar function. A boat dock is rather large and the waves on the lake are very low frequency (you can actually see them in the form of ripples on the surface, toss a pebble in a pond). Folks getting in and out of a boat - getting on the or off the dock, will induce a greater shock to the system (bounce the dock unexpectedly).

Normally with a stabilized camera body (or lens), you would disable it (turn it off) when using a tripod. I doubt that it would have any difference on a boat dock, but leaving it on would dampen out the environment that it was able to see. Consider a freeway bridge with a lot of large truck traffic. You would get a lot of vibrations from that (shaking the surface the tripod was sitting on and therefore shake the tripod and camera). Having SR enabled when on a tripod would certainly help in this case.