Quote Originally Posted by Sheiky
Could you show me some great macro-photos with the use of a tripod? I can't understand what is so important about it. My subjects all move to fast to even consider using a tripod... Even the smallest movement on such magnification results in a blur, not to mention the wind blowing againts the leaves they are on etc. I could understand a IS-flash combination though, but a tripod looks to static to me.

The issue is depth of field. If you're ok with a shallow DoF, or you're shooting on a very bright day or with a flash, you can do without the tripod. If it's cloudy outside and you want to shoot something with some depth (f/8-11), your exposures push into the 0.5 s range (partly due to the light-loss resulting from close-focusing - at 1:1 magnification you lose ~2 stops of light). That's too long to handhold, even with IS.


Obviously, if you're shooting crawling buggies, then you need a faster shutter speed, so you have to go with a wide aperture (and likely get just the eye and maybe part of the head in focus), or add light with a flash.