Tripods for Travel
I have mentioned tripods in previous posts but thought it time to dive into the topic more fully. First, why would you consider taking a tripod on a vacation? You can’t set them up in a museum or art gallery and they can be hard to use in many other crowded locations. Modern smart phones, compact and bridge cameras and, of course SLR cameras can take good photos in low light conditions. So what’s the point? Well, the most obvious is a situation where you want to leave your shutter open for longer than your camera’s “automatic” setting. Here are two examples:
In this, I was photographing the northern lights over Kluane Lake in Canada’s Yukon Territory. I wanted the beach and the lake to be in sharp focus but needed a longer shutter setting in order to get the color of the sky. With my camera on the tripod and set for manual metering, I was able to set the shutter for eight seconds, enough for the colors of the sky to fill in but still have the foreground sharp.
This time, I wanted to have the water in the waterfall look like it was moving with that creamy appearance as it tumbles over the edge. With the camera on the tripod, I manually set the shutter for two seconds with the aperture set to f16, Result – water that looks like it is moving instead of frozen and the light in the surrounding forest just the way I wanted it. I have a pretty steady hand but I could not have held the camera this steady for two seconds never mind eight!.
So if your “shot list” includes night photography or anything that includes the use of long shutter speeds, you should at least consider some kind of tripod and ballhead combination. Also, if you expect to be in areas that are windy, a tripod is a must. When I’m on the west coast of Vancouver Island photographing storms, I always have my camera on the tripod. I can add to the stability of the tripod by hanging my camera bag from the bottom of the center column. (There is a hook there for this purpose) Remember that many indoor sites will not allow the use of a tripod so practice using your camera in low light situations before you head out.
How to decide what tripod you need is a good question. If you intend to use your smartphone, your needs are simple as the phone doesn’t weigh very much. In spite of the “night” setting on your phone’s camera, they still have to be held still for a few seconds so you will still need some sort of tripod for good, clear night photos so a light-weight tripod will serve you well. You may be able to make use of THIS but if you want greater flexibility, I use THIS for my smart phone. It can be used for compact cameras as well. It can be used as a monopod, or you can bend the flexible legs to wrap around a tree, pole or what have you. (HINT: I’ve used this in places where tripods are not allowed and nobody seemed to mind. Just put it on the floor or a bench or wrap the flexible legs around a pole)
As the weight of your camera and lens increases, so too must the strength of your tripod and ballhead. Think about the weight of the camera PLUS the weight of the heaviest lens you will take with you to determine how much your prospective tripod/ballhead combination will need to support. Manufacturers will included the maximum weight their product will support in the description. Tripods today are made of either carbon fiber or aluminum. Carbon fiber is very lightweight and tough. Aluminum is also strong of course, but certainly not as light. Carbon fiber will be comparatively more expensive though, so you should consider the budget as well.
As an example, THIS is a very popular tripod designed with travel in mind. It is made of aluminum and weighs 1.13 kg, just under 2.5 pounds, including a ballhead. It will support up to 4 kgs, or 8.8 pounds, which is more than twice the weight of my Nikon Z6 with a 24-120mm lens on it. This is the smaller size of the product and can reach 56.3”, which given its ability to fit into small spaces is a good trade off.
Remember to think about how you will travel with a given tripod. I can take the ballhead off of my big tripod to fit into my suitcase if I need to take it on a long trip but that assumes I am taking my larger suitcase. If I am only using a small case or a carry-on, the larger tripod stays home and I make use of the Ubeesize that I show on the Vacation Photography Resource page.
I have listed the above and other products on the Resources page if you would like to view more information on the tripods I use.
