Tripod Usage?

[Dave Throgmartin]

It's great to see the wide variety of responses to the tripod question. My intent going forward is to plan to use the tripod more often, specifically when taking landscape photos.

I was primarily curious to see who else falls into high % tripod use category. Most seem to have typical use. If it is low light then most use the tripod. If it's a general landscape then maybe yes or no.

I was also interested to see for those who use tripods often how heavy they are. I'm presently using a Manfrotto 055XPROB with the 498RC2 ball head. It's fairly heavy at 6.8 lbs. It's heavier than the typical person wants to hike around with. But, it'd be light for Pat with his combo at 7.7 lbs! Brant's tripod is just 2.2 lbs. There's a lot of variety and I like to see the different approaches.

Dave

[Kayaker72]

for Pat with his combo at 7.7 lbs! Brant's tripod is just 2.2 lbs.

And Gitzo just released updates that are even lighter.

Of course, intended use is one of the first things to consider. I wanted a good trip that I could travel and hike with. I wanted it to fit into a couple of different suitcases. After much deliberation, I bought the GT1542T with no regrets. It does exactly what I wanted it too.

The larger/heavier tripods not only support heavier gear, but also give more stability. So, it is a trade off. At some point, I'll likely have a heavier set up as well. But that is a few years off.