Tripod or no?

[DisneyFreak06]

Originally Posted by Gianna'sPapa

This is my travel (aka Disney) tripod. I also have my heavier duty home tripod and the DSLR Zoom Gorillapod. I bring the travel and gorillapod to WDW. Because I fly to WDW, I need to be lightweight, but when I hang my bag on the tripod, it is rock steady. Because the travel tripod is on my bag, I don't even know its there (weight-wise) and closed its only 13.5 inches. It opens to about 55-56 inches. When the camera is on it, for me, the viewfinder is almost at eye level. This system works great for me.


IMGP0299 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr


IMGP0300 by Terry McGraw Photography, on Flickr

I had seen these pictures when I did a search... I think of that tripod as an ET tripod. I see ET when I look at it. It looks very secure and useful though.

Originally Posted by 2Tiggies

I did the same as the one I have at home is pretty solid and heavy. Like you, I struggle to find the time to get out with my camera as often as I'd like to during the year and the bulk of my photos are taken indoors, usually portraits. THerefore, when I go to WDW I am more than happy to carry extra stuff around (or do pretty much anything for that matter ) if I think there is the slightest possibility that I may get more/different/better pictures.

If you do get another tripod specifically for your trip, make sure you test drive it with your camera and its heaviest lens first. Don't fall into the trap of getting the lightest one you can. If it's not stable and 'solid' you're playing roulette with your camera. Some camera bags are designed to carry a tripod and a comfortable bag is a huge must, tripod or not.

On a few occasions when we did the same park from rope drop to closing I just rented a locker and left my tripod in there. It's only $7 after the return of your deposit, so a nominal fee for convenience.

Thank you! I never thought of test driving a tripod before. That makes a lot of sense.

Originally Posted by rdunative

Always have your tripod! I feel lost without mine since most of my photography is HDR, sunsets, nights and fireworks. It also helps you put a lot of thought into what you're going to be taking a photo of.

Just picked up the Really Right Stuff TVC-33 and it's so much lighter than the Manfrotto I was using. Looking forward to trying it out in a couple of weeks at WDW.

If nothing else, try the GorillaPod SLR-Zoom. I took it to Universal and the Osborne Lights with great results.

Those are great shots! Thanks for sharing them. Did you set it on a garbage can and on the ground?

[rdunative]

Originally Posted by DisneyFreak06

Those are great shots! Thanks for sharing them. Did you set it on a garbage can and on the ground?

Thanks! Used a trash can for the Hogwarts pic and was on the ground for the Osborne Lights. Use the recycle container if you can, you will get less interruptions. = )

[MolonLabe]

I brought mine in November and left it in the room 5 out of 7 days.

We had a stroller still and fitting it underneath wasn't that big of a deal.

It did come in handy in the room, since we were overlooking MK from CR. I couldn't have done those shots without one.

I also brought it for the morning we had our CRT breakfast and used a remote shutter release, which wasn't working for crap BTW, and at least got a couple of shots using a delayed timer.



Crazy bright sun that morning, I would have loved to had more time to setup the shot, some sort of nice fill flash ect. ect. but there was a horde of people coming behind us and I really rushed to try and get some shots with no one, or only one or two people in it.

Everyone was tired and this was the only really decent shot of all of us together.

So, definitely bring a tripod, just decide on a day by day basis if you want to bring it into a park.

Also at the moment I was setting up the shot I realized... "$%^& ! I can't rotate this tripod mount for portrait, I *have* to do landscape.

[rossb]

If I was going by myself I would probably bring one into the parks. I travel with someone who has no interest in creative photography and feels that stopping to setup a shot is a poor use of valuable vacation time. I have to admit that she makes a good point. I leave mine in the room and sometimes use it at night to shoot HDRs around the resort. I don't even carry an SLR in the parks anymore. I have been using a smaller and lighter mirrorless camera.

[Stitch1231]

Have you ever thought of using a mono pod. its easy to use and easy to move.

[wbeem]

Originally Posted by Stitch1231

Have you ever thought of using a mono pod. its easy to use and easy to move.

A monopod doesn't serve the same purpose as a tripod. It's there to support the weight of your gear, but not to provide a stable platform like a tripod. If you watch the sports photographers at football games, you'll see they use a monopod to hold those big 600mm lenses.

If you want to leave your shutter open for a few seconds to get a fireworks shot, a monopod will let you down. Likewise for HDR photos, since each shot will be slightly off from the others.

[boBQuincy]

There is nothing like a tripod, that is a fact. However, I am rethinking the idea that a monopod is useless for longer exposures and for HDR. Recent photos of fireworks at 2 seconds worked ok and are making me wonder how this works when in the past I would not have tried it. Here are some of the photos:







These were all taken at 2 seconds using an ultralight monopod. Yes, they would have been sharper with a good tripod but they are acceptable (to me). I was going to try 3-4 seconds this time but did not get the chance.

I also have some HDRs (5 exposures) that worked well with a monopod, here is one:



This is not what I expected from a monopod. One reason why it works could be IS but that should not help with multiple exposures. More research...

[Stitch1231]

Originally Posted by boBQuincy

There is nothing like a tripod, that is a fact. However, I am rethinking the idea that a monopod is useless for longer exposures and for HDR. Recent photos of fireworks at 2 seconds worked ok and are making me wonder how this works when in the past I would not have tried it. Here are some of the photos:







These were all taken at 2 seconds using an ultralight monopod. Yes, they would have been sharper with a good tripod but they are acceptable (to me). I was going to try 3-4 seconds this time but did not get the chance.

I also have some HDRs (5 exposures) that worked well with a monopod, here is one:



This is not what I expected from a monopod. One reason why it works could be IS but that should not help with multiple exposures. More research...

Great pictures with the mono pod Sometimes at Disney I use a trash can with a mini tripod to get some pics.

[Jonasphill]

I got a lot out of my Manfrotto 561bhdv. It has mini flipdown feet and a sticking point in the balljoint that allows it to stand on its own ( i haven't trusted it with more than a T2i and a Tamron lens ) It would require more stones than I have to put a larger camera on it. Its best features are in its use for video.

[2Tiggies]

I would worry with a small or lightweight tripod that being less stable, it is more likely to take a dive if it gets kicked or bumped by accident. I take a lighter one on vacation than I use at home, but it's fairly solid and to me it's worth the nominal cost of hiring a locker if we are doing RD to shut down in a park and worth the effort carrying it around for a few hours if we do a quick stop at the resort between parks. We can rant all we like about folk being careless or not looking where they are going, but it won't change anything. Having waited for over an hour, set up for the fireworks at Epcot in September I actually had a lady next to us approach me to warn "We cannot guarantee that our kids won't bump your tripod" Even with two of the feet stuck through the railings, I wasn't too happy about that!

[wbeem]

Originally Posted by 2Tiggies

I actually had a lady next to us approach me to warn "We cannot guarantee that our kids won't bump your tripod"

I cannot guarantee that I won't bump or otherwise step on your kids. What's fair for the goose is fair for the gander.

(not that I'd do it. I'd step on the parent's toes.)

[2Tiggies]

Originally Posted by wbeem

I cannot guarantee that I won't bump or otherwise step on your kids. What's fair for the goose is fair for the gander.

(not that I'd do it. I'd step on the parent's toes.)

Had I not had my own daughter with me at the time, I probably would have been a bit vocal about it. I was far from happy. This lady and another guy (probably in his late teens) had come and stood next to us about 10 minutes after we arrived and it turned out that they had another 6 or 8 (I don't recall exactly) others joining them. The reason I mentioned it goes back to the stability of the tripod; had I had my usual tripod with me I would have worried less, however it just seemed pointless standing and arguing with them and not worth the risk of having it maliciously kicked. I doubt I would have exhibited model behavior if that had happened!

[mamaCta]

I have one of these little guys that I will leave attached to my camera and fold down when I need a little more stability. It's not much, but it's a lot faster than setting up a full tripod.

[Pooh2]

Originally Posted by mamaCta

I have one of these little guys that I will leave attached to my camera and fold down when I need a little more stability. It's not much, but it's a lot faster than setting up a full tripod.

Where did you get this?
Looks like a handy gaget to throw in the backpack.