Is there a wrong way to use a tripod?
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- Опубликовано: 7 июл 2024
- In this video I'll share with you all the mistakes people regularly make when using tripods, as well as some common myths. Understanding this will help you get better wildlife photos using steadier tripods. This is how to use a tripod for wildlife and nature photography. I'll also share with you the photos that I've taken whilst recording this video.
My Tripods:
3 Legged Thing Winston 2.0: amzn.to/3IXmHQx
3 Legged Thing Bucky: amzn.to/3vbOk2K
Tripod Feet:
Stilettoz: amzn.to/3zB3nWp
Clawz: amzn.to/3v896A0
Links to videos that I mentioned:
How to set up a gimbal head on a tripod: • How to set up a gimbal...
Using a gimbal head on a monopod: • Gimbal Heads on Monopo...
@NickPage 's great video on tripod maintenance/cleaning • Camera and Tripod Clea...
Sign up to my newsletter: walksonthewildside.co.uk/subs...
See my photography gear : walksonthewildside.co.uk/my-c...
Chapters:
0:00 Is there a wrong way to use a tripod?
0:37 Tripod leg position
2:28 Barn swallow
3:41 Hills and levelling your tripod
7:20 Black headed gull
8:33 Tripod centre columns
12:25 Jackdaw
13:00 Tripod without centre column
14:13 Ringed Plover
14:48 Wider tripod legs
15:52 Hanging bags from the tripod
17:31 Tripod feet
18:35 Other photos from today
19:10 Varying the centre column height
20:22 Birds in the grass
20:57 Common questions about tripods
Actually, the most stable (in terms of resistance to flexure and/or wind-induced vibrations) orientation of your tripod is to have one of the legs not upwind but directly *down*stream of the wind. (This is simple physics.)
@marc this is correct, and I was coming in to these comments to say the same :-) @Scott, great video, and much appreciated, except for this one single incorrect assertion on your part (apologies!). An additional comment about hanging a camera bag from legs: one thing I do, if a camera bag is on the under-tripod hook but doesn't reach the ground, is bungee the bag to _two_ of the legs, extra weight for stability, and no chance of swinging in the wind (and, if you're on a hill, this can also be done in order to move the centre of gravity uphill a bit).
That's what I was thinking and I can't even spell pfisyics!
Hi Scott, I really enjoy your video's, great technical details given, thanks very much. I'm not a pro photographer, in fact i'm hardly an amateur, occasional at best, but I am an engineer and the 'one leg into the wind' isnt right. The critical thing is the distance from the central axis, i.e. where a central pole would extend to the floor. The greater the distance, the more stable.
Please keep the video's coming, and I love your photo's. I'm just going to watch your Red Grouse shoot as I live in the Peak District and walk past them all the time.
Some great tips Scott, thank you very much! And that F2.8 shot of the Barn Swallow in the barn was absolutely stunning and ethereal!
Hi Remco. Much appreciated, and thanks for watching.
Hi Scott. I discovered your videos only recently, despite having browsed youtube photography channels for over 3 years now. The youtube algorithm certainly needs tweaking. Great content and very practical. Thank you :)
Hi Stanley. Welcome to the channel, I'm happy to help. Thanks for watching.
Enjoyed this . some great tips!
Hi Neil. I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.
Great advice, beautiful images.
Thanks for watching.
Another great instructive video mate with so much useful info & tips!
Cheers Peter, thanks for watching.
Thanks - learned a lot!👌
My pleasure. Thanks for watching.
Good video! I’d not really thought about how to setup my tripod before. I also love the gulls in flight phots. They are lovely!
Hi Louisa. It's definitely worth thinking about in less stable situations. Glad you like the photos and thanks for watching.
Very well explained points here Scott and you have broadened my understanding of using them - thank you! On the downside, I am now going to look at swapping my older Manfrotto for one of the models you show here, so more flexible. in that you can fully remove the column all together. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Dave. It might be worth taking another look at your Manfrotto. I used to have one with a centre column that looked like it couldn't be removed, but there was a little button near the bottom of the centre column that you had to push in to remove it. A bit like when you're changing the height of an umbrella or crutches. Perhaps yours has that??? Thanks for watching.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide thanks I’ll have a look at it.
another top video, I like that you don't dumb things down and are not afraid to tell how it is according to your experience, not just follow the rest of the sheep
Hi Calvin. I really appreciate that. There are so many things that just get repeated, but are no-longer true or relevant. Thanks for watching.
Interesting video Scott, love the images of the plover. All the best, Steve.
Cheers Steve, much appreciated.
Some great handy tips here in this great video of yours Scott about using a tripod that I never thought about till now, many thanks 😊
Hi Raymond. Much appreciated. Thank you for watching.
Great video Scott and really right tripods considerations. Usually I forget to leveling well my tripod, until it tends to move somewhere 😅
😂 Thanks Giuseppe.
Thank you for your valuable information.
Hi Emrah, Happy to help. Thanks for watching.
Another great video. I’ve always used a tripod for landscapes and never for wildlife. You’ve made so many good points in this video but using a gimbal w tripod has me rethinking my position on this. Off to view your gimbal video. Many thanks!
Thanks again Gord, much appreciated.
I have an aluminum Three Legged Thing “Corey” tripod and I absolutely LOVE it.
Glad to hear it Doc. I love 3LT tripods too. Thanks for watching.
17:45 Oh hey, my wife has some of those! Different sizes and colors too!
😂 and I bet they also cost more than you think should.
16:20 that happened to me! It happened 3 times before I realized the bag was counterproductive.
I don’t enjoy a center column, but if I were to do a bunch of portraits or something I could buy one as an add on
Your photographs of birds are exquisite.
Much appreciated Erik. Thanks for watching.
Great video, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching.
Hi Scott. I‘m here in hospital. Just got implanted a new mitral valve. I realdenkend fell in love with your Channel. Great videos and loads of tips!! And absolutely brilliant photos. Hope you go on!! Greetings from Germany! Tom
Hi Thomas. I hope you are doing well and your surgery has been a success. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos and I hope they are giving you something to occupy your mind whilst you recover. I'm looking forward to hearing from you again when you are fully recovered and at home. Best wishes from the UK and thanks for watching.
Some very good advice, and WOTWS did not mention which rand gear to get as most of the top photographer influencers are sponsored.
Thanks Scott for another great video with some beautiful photos and good ideas. I was surprised to see that you recommended having two legs down hill or down wind to give greater stability to the camera. I have always thought it better to do the opposite as that means the one leg has greater reach on the side of the camera that needs the greater support (down hill or down wind). I hope you understand what I mean!! I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that. I fully agree, a removeable center column is so useful, because like you say, if you need the extra height and don't have the column, there is nothing more that you can do! Many thanks and keep up the good work!
Hi Stephen. Thanks, I completely understand, and I think a lot of people believe that too. I'm no scientist, and it would be much easier to describe with a diagram, which perhaps I should have included in the video. But with two legs down the hill you have double the resistance against that downwards motion because of double the friction and double the surface area touching the ground. It's a bit like when you put chocks under wheels to stop something rolling downhill. A car for example. If you put two chocks under either the front wheels or the back ones, there will be a certain amount of resistance to that slippage. If you put four down, one under each wheel, there will be double the resistance. It's the same thing with wind. The leg(s) pointing into the wind do nothing to resist the wind, they are simply holding the camera up. The leg(s) at the back or down wind are resisting the wind as well as holding the camera up. Double the legs and double the resistance. Thanks for your question and for watching.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide Thanks for that explaination, I hadn't thought of it quite like that, but it makes sense. I was just looking at the question of maximum reach. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Really appreciate it. All the best to you, and looking forward to watching more of your videos.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide I'm sorry but you do not understand the physics. You are wrong about this. Friction is not even in the equation here. You want to have a leg as far away from the center of the tripod as possible. 2 legs close, are not better than one leg further away.
Good video with good tips. I have a 3lt Albert and Although it was great when I was doing more landscapes, now doing wildlife I actually find it frustrating as once extended to standing height, I just don't feel it is as stable as one with less joins. May purchase one with longer legs just for wildlife.
Hi. Yes I would definitely recommend one with longer legs for wildlife. It was something I should have mentioned in the video really. This is why I use the Winston for wildlife and Bucky for landscapes video etc. Winston and Bucky are both a bit taller than the Albert. Thanks for watching.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide I think the Albert's in between those 2 in height when fully extended, I just feel at full extension, it's not as sturdy as I'd like. Unsure if I'll stick with 3lt for next tripod, may look at benro but it'll just come down to value for money. It was another great video.
Good video, Scott - as usual a lot of common sense here. I have a tall Calumet tripod with just three carbon fibre sections and centre column - which isn't removable. Didn't think about that one..... I do keep a bungee cord so I can put the bag on the ground and stretch it over the hook. A tripod encourages me to slow down and think about settings etc but also takes the weight of a big lens combo off my shoulder strap if I'm taking a break from shooting hand held and don't want to put the combo on the ground.. I bought a gimbal after watching your earlier video but the tripod does need to be level as the gimbal is less flexible side to side versus a ball head. But most cameras now have a built in artificial horizon.
Hi Geoff, thanks for watching again. Sounds like a good set up, I might start keeping a bungee cord in my bag - thanks for the tip. Are you sure the centre column isn't removable though? I'm no expert on Calumet, but I've seen a few of their tripods that have removable centre columns. Normally once you remove the head, and any plates that sit between the head and tripod, you can loosen the centre ring and pull the centre column out and down.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide what I mean is that the tripod head fixes to the top of the centre column. You can lift out the centre column but then you have nothing to fix the tripod head to the legs. The answer is a short centre column but not sure if there is one for Calumet tripods. I’ll have a search!
Got it, sorry, misunderstood.
Great tutorial on tripods.
Thanks for watching, Alonzo.
Thanks for this and your other videos Scott, no nonsense, valuable info. If you were to rate (as you did with the centre pole vs no centre pole on a tripod) How would you rate stability and associated sharpness of shots comparing a monopod and gimbal head set up, with shots taken off the tripod? Thank you
Hi. Interesting question. I find it fairly stable. I will sometimes use a slightly faster shutter speed when using my monopod though, because it's not quite the same. It's also about your technique in using the monopod . The more familiar you are in balancing the weight of your camera on the monopod, the better you will be at making it stable. So I would rate it at about a 9 for me now as I've been doing it a long time. But when I started using the monopod it might have been a 7.5 - 8. Thanks for the question and thanks for watching.
The youtube algorithm had you in my feed. Enjoy your rather than popular beliefs content, subscribed & rang the bell. One example is using the histogram to do the initial basic adjustments to an image. Give Hudson Henrys channel a view when it comes to tripods & head options. Cant say I agree with everything you say, but we all pick up a thing or two keeping an open mind.
Thank you. Glad you enjoy the occasional contrary views. I'll check out the channel you suggested too. Thanks for watching.
@Walks On The Wild Side I have a 3 legged things Leo 2.0 and i would not recommend it until they find a fix for their dangerous leg collar mount (it could be because the leo 2.0 is quite short when collapsed fully)(seems to be the same design for most their tripods except for their legends range), and it is very easily affected by wind, vibrations, and such (the Winston may not have as much sturdiness issues as the leo, since the leos base legs are quite skinny and the lighter and skinnier the leg the less stable they are but are easier to carry) (i now use a Manfrotto 635 C-fast tripod and a FotoPro Global Elite TL85C tripods, the Manfrotto and FPGE are much more sturdy and resistant to the wind and the Manfrotto is 5x quicker to setup than the Leo and about 3x quicker than the TPGE as there is only 1 lock per leg for entire range of extension vs 4 per leg vs 2 per leg, though both FPGE and Manfrotto do not get as short as the Leo and are heavier, and more expensive, but the sturdiness, quickness, and less painful operation made them great tripods for me however make sure you don't lose the screws on the manfrotto locking assembly as they are near impossible to replace without returning to Manfrotto and what they will do is probably just swap out the leg, which happened to me but i was able to find only one screw that fit online and at one location) but if the Winston is more stable than the Leo and doesn't kill your hands then it would be a decent tripod, also how are your fingers when you setup the tripod as the tripod joints look the same to me as the Leo and it pinches me a lot when folding up the tripod and has caused me several stone bruises as the joints are not very fluid on mine even with adjusting (its either way too tight or gets way too loose and if its tight it squeals lol and if its loose it just wobbles even worse) the only solution i have found to make it a bit more stable and less likely to pinch my hands is to tighten the top joint (the joint where the legs meet the collar/center column) a bit too tight so that its stiff to fold and unfold.
Not trying to push any of my tripods or anything just saying what has worked well for me, and what has not so far, but for your tripod buying needs, yours may vary, and what works well for me may not be for you or your budget. The 3LT tripods have different models and are somewhat customizable and probably much easier to repair, and if you want to take pictures where the camera is really close to the ground the 3LT is excellent for that.
really enjoy your videos by the way.
Wind... u should put 2 legs towards the wind and 1 leg on the other end to be more stable, i.e. the wind to push the 2 legs against the single one opposing it, its way more stable than 1 leg towards the wind.
It really isn't. That's not how physics works. If you analyse the forces on the tripod you get double the friction holding the tripod against the wind and double the tension force leaning into the wind.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide simply not correct. The wind pushing the whole tripod to slide along the ground isn't the issue, so the feet resistance on the ground if that is what you are referring to is irrelevant, and doesn't change with leg position. It is a fixed value based on the weight of the rig divided by 3 contact points. We aren't concerned with friction, if the wind is THAT strong you need to stake or weight down the whole tripod.
The wind is pushing at the top, so torque necessary to fold the tripod backwards over the legs is the problem. Two legs back decreases the torque necessary to fold it over, because the distance from the center of gravity to the feet (pivot) is less than having one leg extended back farther. You can test this simply by trying it each way and pushing with your finger. You can much easier push a tripod over with two legs back than with one leg back. Two legs forward also puts more weight (the weight of the legs) forward, resisting tipping.
If you are going to put two legs back, then my suggestion would be to extend them farther than the front leg, and level the camera using the head/gimbal as necessary. This is how infantry machine gun mounts work for instance, they have two much longer rear legs and a short front leg to resist recoil. Same concept/forces, straight line force front to rear.
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Very good advice and the tips are excellent! DG New Forest
Hi David. Glad its useful. Thanks for your comment and for watching.
I don't use a tripod myself as it's too much for me to lug around but I still found this a very interesting video to watch and learn from! And I thoroughly enjoyed your images too. I'm definitely not an expert but I feel that your dunnock might be a meadow pipit. I'm probably wrong though!
Hi. I think you could be right about the dunnock/meadow pipit. Too many small birds are brown and during juvenile season it gets more confusing. Glad you liked the pictures and thanks for watching.
Curious as if you utilize the blur options in PS when editing ? Just due to the shot at F9 I would asume more depth of field
Hi there. No, it's all about the ratios of distances between you and the subject and between the subject and the background. Most of the time I am somewhere between f/8 and f/13. I've gone into more info about this in this video if it helps ruclips.net/video/tG5guMnJjI0/видео.html
@@WalksOnTheWildSide Thanks
Good like it video
Thanks for watching.
2 legs not simply opposing gravity, but also working with the gravity to keep it steady, because your centre of mass is lower as well as there is more weight that needs lifting before it gets anywhere near the tipping point.
Also, how many people misattribute the shake to the centre column instead of not pointing one leg towards the wind and 2 against?
You're absolutely right Vedran, and I'm so happy to hear it. There are lots of people who have had the correct information in their minds for years and it is very hard to convince them otherwise. There are so many forces at play that are acting on the tripod/camera set up, for example static friction, eddys in the wind - and many others. But people only think about one possible cause. Thanks for your comment and for watching.
Thats what he said!!!
I think one leg forward is more stable as it is forther away from the senter of graverty and you have the weight of two legs at the back to hol it down
It's two legs forward on a slope because there is more resistance/friction against the camera slipping down the hill.
Have you ever tried FlexShooter? What do you think about?
Hi. No I haven't tried the Flexshooter. Looks interesting, but it's still worth levelling your tripod. You want to make sure the weight is evenly balanced across the three legs.
The thing which lets your tripod fall is called momentum. The way you describe as right way to position the tripod towards the wind or on the hill needs least amount of momentum to nock it down. This is also why you let your camera drop backwards because you did what you said was right. Very consistent mistake but all totally wrong ...🤔😱
I moved to OM M4/3 two years ago and haven't needed a tripod since.
Congratulations.
Not trying to nitpick, just trying to open a good discussion/debate. I have to take issue with a couple of things in the video. The first of which is your view of center collumn stability. The physics don't support your arguement. The higher the center collumn the more you sacrifice as you are creating a fulcrum where the collumn meets the tripod spider. I do agree with your idea of using the center collumn to fine tune the hight but only to the tune of about 4 to 6 inches max raise before stability is sacrificed. I use a removable 4 inch center collum on one of my tripod instead of full length as I can go to ground level with it attached. I understand the arguement you are making of newer tripods to older ones but again, I don't see the physics of leverage and fulcrums supporting your point. I also question your scale of 1 to 10 on stability. You are basing your 9.6 rating on nothing but opinion and have not provided any measurable data to support your argument. If you had something measureable to show I'd likely be convinced. The problem is also compounded as you add weight to the collumn. You will lose less stability with a light weight set up than with something heavy such as an exotic tele with a gimbal which is what many wildlife / birders use. As a Canadian, we always aplolgize, sorry to not agree but feel free to convince me otherwise if you have more info to share. I tend to use my tripod when working slower but if I need to be mobile I will generally go to a monopod.
You don't need to apologise. As a brit who comes from a culture where people apologise a lot, I am used to it. But to answer your question, I have no intention of providing any scientific evidence. I never said my 9.6 rating was scientific. In fact, if I remember rightly, I said something like "I think I would put that at a 9.6". Which does not mean it's been measured, it means it's based on my experience. What I do in these videos is offer up my experience. If you choose a different way of doing things - that's fine. But I certainly don't have the time to try and "convince you" that I'm right or to obtain such measurements. I appreciate you watching and giving my views a chance nonetheless.
15:49 🤣
More wrong advice there than correct. Ball heads are The Worst, after sticky heads. I use video heads, though they must be levelled beneath the head.
If you want to shoot panoramas, then a ball head just doesn't cut it, with a small handful of exceptions. Airheds are not amongst the exceptions. Video heads with a levelling base are designed for panning.
That gimbal looks pretty inflexible too.
You cannot get a standard tripod level enough for landscape photography, when you pan, the plane where panning takes place must be level, and ypur tripods do not achieve this.
To get the best use of the triangle your tripod sits on, you must have a leg directly opposing the wind. On the hill, and if I could manage panning if I wanted to do that, might have angled the tripod slightly up the hill, and had one directly down the hill (without ignoring any wind), to give the greatest support possible.
A great way to increase stability is to shoot lower, you rarely really need the camera at the maximum height. It also simplifies attaching your camera bag safely if you need.
Hi John. I'm somewhat struggling with your comment that "More wrong advice there than correct". Let's break it down assertion by assertion. "Ball heads are The Worst". Did I ever say that ball heads are the best? - No. I talked about different types of heads in different situations. For example, I recommended that ball heads are useful for things like woodland photography. "If you want to shoot panoramas, then a ball head just doesn't cut it". I didn't even mention panoramas. Although on the point, I shoot panoramas regularly with a ball head and also hand held - and so do many other photographers here on RUclips. "That gimbal looks pretty inflexible too". So this is your opinion, which reads as though you haven't actually used one. Many wildlife photographers, such as myself, use gimbal heads as the most effective way of increasing stability when photographing movement in wildlife and thus reducing the high shutter speeds we use. "You must have a leg directly opposing the wind" and "had one directly down the hill". You offer no explanation. I explained in the video why the positions are more stable, so please either point out the holes in my argument or explain why your view is right. It's of no use to anyone just saying that someone else is wrong. "A great way to increase stability is to shoot lower" A point I actually made in the video. So how you think I can be wrong on this point whilst also agreeing with you is somewhat of a mystery to me. The same goes for "It also simplifies attaching your camera bag safely if you need". So with regard to more wrong advice than correct - two are things I never said, one appears to be based on a guess, for two of them you gave no explanation, and two of them you actually agree with me. So hopefully you'll now understand why the comment "More wrong advice there than correct" makes no sense to me.
funny video
Why you call it barn swallow catering for the American market, it’s a swallow
Hi Phil. RUclips is an international platform and I get many viewers from all over the world, not only the USA, but lots of others including Canada, Australia, India and South Africa - which is where the barn swallows we see in the UK spend their winters. And people there would most definitely refer to it as a barn swallow because they have other types of swallow. I'm not ashamed to cater for an international market. They are as much a part of my audience (or customers, if you like) as Brits are.
@@WalksOnTheWildSide well when I pick up a book of British birds and see barn swallow, that’s when I’ll call it one.
@@philbeighton6448 - you react like a typical 16 year old 😄. He gave such a good and understandable answer.