Tripod for landscape photography. The main point to concern.

Don Haines

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Jun 4, 2012
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ethanz said:
But isn't it rather cumbersome and shackling to have to carry a tripod around as opposed to just a camera?

There are some very easy to carry 3 and 4 section carbon fibre tripods out there.... and don't forget monopods! Not as good as a tripod, but better than hand held and can double as a hiking pole.
 
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Jul 21, 2010
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ethanz said:
Ok Neuro sure its great to have one at night, do you use one during the day too?
And does the TSA allow a tripod on carry on?

Yes, I often shoot architecture when traveling, and in the daytime I use a 10-stop ND to blur out people, capture cloud motion, etc.

I've traveled frequently with my RRS TQC-14 in carry on luggage.
 
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JPAZ

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FWIW, my own experiences with TSA and tripods has been OK. BUT, you never know. I've traveled with a tripod in my packed bag (TVC-34) and also in carry on (TQC-14). I usually don't use a tripod while walking around but there are times it seems essential. If I don't really plan to use one, I will still bring a table tripod in my camera bag because invariably, there will be a use for it (water features, selfies with family, night exposures).
 
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ethanz

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neuroanatomist said:
ethanz said:
Ok Neuro sure its great to have one at night, do you use one during the day too?
And does the TSA allow a tripod on carry on?

Yes, I often shoot architecture when traveling, and in the daytime I use a 10-stop ND to blur out people, capture cloud motion, etc.

I've traveled frequently with my RRS TQC-14 in carry on luggage.

Do you have any pictures using the ND to blur out people or clouds Neuro? I looked on your flickr and didn't see any that looked like that from daytime.
 
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Jul 21, 2010
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A busy area of downtown Boston, the reflecting glass is side of the Hancock Tower, the tallest building in New England, dwarfing the Trinity Church across the street. Shots are with the 5DII + TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, +10 shift.

The first shot is a 1/6 s exposure, the second is a 30 s exposure during which several pedestrians walked through the scene, along with cars passing between the buildings. Thanks to the long exposure, they're not visible.

Like my B+W 77mm 10-stop ND, the 82mm Schneider 10-stop filter does warm up the color temperature a bit - I didn't correct in post because in this case (dull gray, overcast day), I think it's beneficial.

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Here's one on Flickr that's a 30 s shot (10-stop ND + CPL).
 
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Jul 21, 2010
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ethanz said:
Thanks Neuro, or John if I may. If I could get just one ND, would you recommend a 10 stop?

The shot from Lucerne is nice (I was there in May and it was overcast for me). It does mostly blur out the people, but the clouds almost look too heavily edited with them blurred like that.

Depends on your goal. For waterfalls, 10-stop may be too much and a 6-stop may be a better choice. For knocking down the ambient light for outdoor flash balancing to Xsync or to shoot a fast prime (f/1.2-1/4) wide open in sunlight, a 3-stop ND is a good choice. I have 3-stop and 10-stop, and find the 10-stop most useful, so much so that I have several sizes...77mm, 82mm, and 145mm.

Below is a screengrab of a pair of shots of the Kapellbrücke in Luzern, 8 s (with a gull flying through lower right of the frame) vs. 30 s exposures which shows the difference in the cloud motion and the smoothness of the water.

Also below is a shot of the Basel Münster with the TS-E 17mm and the 145mm 10-stop ND. That was in mid-February and right at sunset, so the exposure was over 3 minutes (as you can see from the 100% crop of the clock face), and during that time there were several pedestrians and bicycles going by.
 

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I almost always have my tripod when I go out with my gear. Though it adds weight and bit of time to setup but it allows me to spend sometime composing the shot. I mount my camera onto the tripod and leave it for a few minutes to compose my shot without the added weight of the gear. Since I love doing low light/night landscapes/cityscapes that is a must but I now do the same even on a bright sunny day for the same reason. Plus if I decide to use ND filters I will need it. I have the RRS TVC 34L and the BH 55 which is lighter than most but still quite heavy depending upon how long you carry it for. I have thought about buying a travel tripod but balk at the additional cost since I do this recreational only. I always have it as carry on when I fly. Does anyone have any experience if airlines give any hard time with carrying on the spikes?
 
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ray5 said:
Does anyone have any experience if airlines give any hard time with carrying on the spikes?

I suspect that's one of those things that's at the discretion of the screener. You can carry on scissors with metal blades shorter than 4", so I expect the RRS foot spikes would be ok. I would not have them installed on the legs, because then your tripod may seem like a bundle of spears.
 
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The issue of whether or not to carry a tripod is up to the photographer and is a separate issue (though most of us agree it is absolutely necessary in certain situations).

The original post has to do with accessory spikes for the feet. The necessity of this depends on your style of photography. For city scenes where you are on concrete or the like, rubber (non spiked) feet are of course far better. Since this is what I do a lot of, I have a Manfrotto carbon fiber with fixed rubber feet (no extendable spikes). For landscape on hard ground this works well too. If you do mostly or exclusively landscape and a lot of soft ground, then accessory spikes will make sense.

My work involves direct interaction with TSA and in my experience a stock tripod is fine in carry-on (even with screw out spikes, though I would keep them screwed in during screening). However looking at the accessory spikes on the video I am virtually certain they would not be allowed in carry-on. In checked luggage they are fine and ever since 9.11 I have always put my tripod in checked luggage anyway (and it has never been stolen after dozens of flights both within USA and to Europe).
 
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neuroanatomist said:
ray5 said:
Does anyone have any experience if airlines give any hard time with carrying on the spikes?

I suspect that's one of those things that's at the discretion of the screener. You can carry on scissors with metal blades shorter than 4", so I expect the RRS foot spikes would be ok. I would not have them installed on the legs, because then your tripod may seem like a bundle of spears.

Yes, not that that's the reason I don't have them but that would be my concern. Many times I don't have checked baggage. That's the concern. Once I was not allowed to take allen wrenches, I was forced to throw them! :eek:
Would be VERY upset if I had to throw RRS spikes!
 
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Don Haines said:
What about those tripod feet with both. The spike is there permanently, and you screw in/out the rubber to change the contact point from rubber to metal and back....
If you watch the original video, he says those do not work in tall grass because the spikes are too short to reach the ground. In some terrain I am sure he is correct.
 
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