Tripod and Ball Head - Don't Waste Your Money

OK. I bet you're thinking I'm going to tell you not to spend the money on a tripod and head. You're thinking that with all of the Vibration Reduction (VR) technology and the higher ISO it's just not necessary to buy and carry a tripod. WRONG! What I'm going to tell you is to spend MORE money than you probably want to on that tripod.

When I write "Don't waste your money" I mean don't go for something cheap that "will do an OK job." THAT is wasting money. I know this from experience.

Like many people, I went to a discount store, browsed around and bought the typical cheap tripod, usually a video model with pan/tilt for less than a hundred dollars or so and felt like a pro. Now, it DID help steady the camera - as long as I was using small, light lenses and not paying attention to how the wind caused it to shake it a bit. It was better than hand-held but only marginally so.

Then as I got a bit better and more conscientious I thought I needed a better set up and went for a $200 tripod with a built-in ball head and added a $50 quick release. That lasted a while but still wasn't really as steady as it should be.

Another iteration of all of this - now spending maybe another $350 for a reasonably good travel weight/size tripod and head. This was actually working OK until I finally put a 300mm f/2.8 lens on my camera and tried to use that tripod. NO WAY it would hold it up and keep it steady.

So, where are we right now? Let's see - I've spent about $650 or so and still I don't have a tripod that works properly.

It's that $650 I want you not to waste. Here's what I recommend instead. Just go ahead and get the RIGHT tripod, ball-head and quick release up front; before you waste the $650; before you finally come to the conclusion that to do this photography thing right you really DO need that pro-level tripod. Do it right up front. Spend your money wisely instead and you'll never look back.

Here's what I recommend: (2007 prices and models)

1. Gitzo GT3540LS Carbon Fiber 6X tripod - $650
2. Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR ball head - $455
3. Really Right Stuff L-bracket for your particular body - $140

(The L-bracket is not absolutely necessary but once you've used one you'll never be without one on your camera.)

This equipment will hold your camera and heavy lenses rock solid. Yes, it's heavier than a small travel tripod set-up but it's not so heavy that you can't hike with it. I do.

Stop and look around when you are at a spot with other photographers. Look at what the serious guys are using. Notice what looks like a really sturdy tripod. Odds are it will be similar to what I've described in my list. Ask them about what they're using. Get their advice and suggestions. That's what I did and made notes, came home and did my research on the net and selected the gear above.

NOTE: When you've settled on what seems right for you, take some measurements from your eye-level to the floor/ground while you are standing upright. Then measure the height of your camera from its baseplate to viewfinder. Next, look at the specs for the ball-head you've chosen and see how high it is. Add the ball-head height to the height of the camera from its baseplate to the view finder. Then subtract this total measurement from that eye-to-floor measurement you took. This will tell you how high your tripod should be when fully extended so that you don't have to stoop over to use it.

Bottom Line: Don't waste you money on a tripod; rather, spend it wisely on the right equipment. It will last for many years. And when you're ready to get the equipment you need, and if you're in North Texas, head over to Fort Worth Camera where you'll find the right gear, great support and good prices.

Snake River Overlook

Snake River_BW12221
Originally uploaded by webbimage

Grand Teton National Park, WY - Snake River Overlook

When Ansel Adams photographed from here in the 1940's (I think) he didn't have the stand of evergreens blocking his view of the Snake River below. It is still a great photo opportunity spot and next to Oxbow Bend, probably the most popular photo spot in the Tetons. It is a very easy location to get to with a large paved parking area, concrete walkways and a nice stone retaining wall that can provide a few feet of additional elevation.

For a sunset shot get there a hour or so before sunset so you can get a spot up next to (or on top of) the wall. Walk to the right (the North) along the wall from the parking lot to get the best view.

To keep detail in the clouds, this took a cir. polarizer, 2-stop GND and -1.0 ev compensation. Next time I am there I will work on a bracketed set of exposures that I can use with Photomatix Pro and Adobe Photoshop CS3.

This was taken with a Nikon D200 using a Tokina AT-X Pro DX 12-24 mm ultra wide zoom.

Snake River_BW12221

Comin' Out

Comin' Out
Originally uploaded by webbimage

Saturday Night Rodeo at the Stockyards Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.

This bronc had a different idea about what was supposed to happen. I like the expressions on everyone in the scene, especially the horse. Due to the skill of the wranglers, neither the horse nor the rider were injured; which is remarkable when you look at how the horse's foreleg is caught between the slats of the chute.

This shot is a good example of how the more expensive f/2.8 lens can get an image when a lesser lens just can't do it. This was taken with a Nikon D200 using a Nikkor 300 mm f2.8 lens, 1/125 @ f/2.8 and ISO 1000. The distance was all the way across the rodeo arena, using available light. No VR on this lens so 1/125 is pretty darn good for a 300 mm lens and no tripod. (I was using a monopod and trying to brace against the railings but it was still not too stable. I pushed everything I could to the max to freeze action as best I could. With a D300 or D3 or D700 I might have been able to push the ISO a bit higher but those weren't around when I took this shot.

McKittrick Canyon Trail

McKittrick Canyon Trail
Originally uploaded by webbimage

Guadalupe Mountains National Park - If your image of Texas is flat, hot and brown, then just check out how it looks in this canyon in the Fall. Located about 100 miles east of El Paso and about 30 miles south of Carlsbad, NM, this is an area not to be missed.

It was a VERY windy day so I boosted the ISO to allow a small aperture for DOF with a fast enough shutter speed to eliminate the blur caused by the wind blowing things around.

Glenfinnan Monument at Loch Shiel

Glenfinnan Monument at Loch Shiel
Originally uploaded by webbimage

This is a shot of the Jacobite memorial at Glenfinnan, Scotland on the shore of Loch Shiel. This spot is marked in history as the place the final Jacobite rebellion started from, after the defiant raising of the Royal Standard on August 19th 1745. Prince Charlie managed to inspire the confidence and support of the loyal clansmen and it was here they rallied in support of the Stewart monarchy.

I've posted this as another example of what HDR can do to allow us to render a scene with way too much dynamic range (too wide a range from the darkest to the lightest parts of the scene). HDR lets us combine a bracketed set of exposures into one image that more closely matches what our eyes can see but cameras just can't record.

I've read that our eyes can see a range of about 23 f/stops or exposure values while a camera can record only 6 to 7. The pupils of our eyes adjust to the light level as we gaze across a scene and we see the detail in the shadows and in the highlights. The camera sensor just can't adjust the way it records the scene from pixel to pixel but must pick an average value for the entire sensor to use. HDR processing takes a range of exposures and combines them to allow a wider range of values to be captured. For instance, to record the hills, the sky and clouds would be blown out or to record the clouds properly, the hills and trees would be almost black. HDR takes the best exposed parts of the images and uses them to construct one final image that matches what we see.

5-exposure (2/3 ev step) HDR via Photomatix Pro

Luckenbach, Texas (Pop. 3)

Luckenbach, Texas (Pop. 3)
Originally uploaded by webbimage

Luckenbach is an almost mythical (and mystical) place not far from Fredericksburg, TX. Made popular in the song by Waylon Jennings.

The chorus sums it up:
Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs and blue eyes cryin' in the rain
Out in Luckenbach Texas ain't nobody feelin' no pain.

It's worth the trip to the area to visit Luckenbach and spend some time in the store/post office/saloon/etc. The day I was there an impromptu song session started up back in the saloon part of the building. It made for a very enjoyable afternoon.

This photo is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) processed image created by running a 5-shot (2/3 ev step) bracketed set of exposures through Photomatix Pro.

After the Click - Screen and Print

OK, we've been to the great location, used that gear we bought, weathered the cold and wind waiting for the light to enfold the scene, framed, focused, pressed the shutter release and captured that sunrise shot. Now we want to share the image with friends and possibly clients. How do we best take advantage of the viewing options?

On-Screen:
Even if we print some of our photos, most of our images will be viewed on a computer screen; either our own or someone else's via our blog or website or photo-sharing sites like flickr, Webshots, Photo.net and others. The thing to remember with screen images is that you really don't need all of those 10 or 12 Mega pixels for the image to look great on the screen. Computer screens just don't have the resolution to use all of those pixels so don't waste upload time and storage space for those shots that are going to be viewed on screen.

Use your favorite post-processing program to save the photo at 72 dpi (no more than 150 dpi), with a maximum height of 680 pixels (let the width scale accordingly) and use a JPEG quality of 8 - 10 and the screen image will be sharp while keeping the files size manageable. Even free programs like Picasa2 have the tools to reduce the file size of your photos. Save the reduced size image with a new name so you preserve your original. I usually just append "-scrn" to the original file name so I can locate the original (full-sized) image and the screen image easily.

Print:
(A future post will go into how to set up to print. This one is at a much higher level.)

Here's where all of those pixels come into play. Now we need to use 240 to 300 dpi (or pixels) resolution and go for the best we can get.

Do we print at home or send the photos off to a lab or use a local print house? That depends upon how you're going to use the prints. (Confession - I rarely, if ever, print at home.)

Snapshots - For many of us, using WalMart or Costco to print those snapshots we took is the most cost effective way to do it. It may be fun to see them coming off your own printer but it's going to cost you more that way.

Display prints - I find that the commercial print houses do an excellent job. I use Mpix for most of my prints that I mount, mat, frame and sell. They have always done an excellent job; prices are reasonable; packaging is the best anywhere and turn-around time is immediate. There are various papers, including metallic (great for some landscapes) and other products are available. One downside to Mpix is that your stored photos "expire" from their database if not printed regularly. That means yo have to upload the original again before you can order. Minor annoyance but an annoyance , nonetheless.

Another good printer is Costco. Costco's prices are REALLY reasonable for large prints and I can get 11x14's in about an hour after uploading from my computer to their printer at a nearby store. I have been very pleased with their prints and really like that I can download the printer drivers for the exact printer at the store I use and for the type of paper, as well. These factor into the proofing process within Photoshop and make for a better final product.

Proof print - If you are working directly with a professional commercial printer and have a good large format (13x19) printer then it makes sense to make your proof print so that you can show the printer what the images should look like before they do a print run. Most of us don't fit into this category but that's the main instance I see the need for a really good printer of my own.

What are your thoughts?