To carry or not to carry...

fairweather8588 · Joined: 30 Dec 2003 Posts: 716

How many of you take along a tripod while hiking? If so, which one do you use?
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Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

I have only taken one along on a few trips. Havasupai was one of them. A solo trip in the GC last August was another one.

I don't know the model off hand, but I'll look when I get home. It extends to be a full size tri-pod (54'' I think) and weighs about a pound and a half(to hold my 5oz digital camera).

Just a regular dayhike I wouldn't carry unless I'm going specifically to take pictures.

evenstar · Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Posts: 5548 Location: SCW by way of CA

I can screw my camera onto my walking stick and us it as a monopod.
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BoyNhisDog · Posted: 8/1/2006, 3:41 pm Post subject:

Always, every day
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BoyNhisDog · Posted: 8/1/2006, 4:11 pm Post subject:

Just to expound a bit on the value, it is the way to get the most out of your glass. Many folks are spending money on very expensive glass but never realize its full potential without a good tripod. Not only does it freeze time better but also it helps when looking through the glass and trying compose an image. The computer screen is nice with its luminance but it doesn't impart as much fine detail as a good print. When I printed this one, every single grain of sand stood out in sharp relief, even the creature tracks had details that would never have come out so sharp and fine without the tripod and mirror lockup. It makes a huge difference.

My carbon fiber tripod/ball head and plate weighs 3.5 lbs, about as much as Maryphyl's entire overnight pack. Mr. Green

When I go to choose a pack be it daypack or overnight pack, one criteria is how well it carries my tripod.
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Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys
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Suz · Joined: 27 Nov 2005 Posts: 3186

I carry 2 or 3 tripods with me on hikes. I have a small 3" tripod with flexible legs that is always in my pack. My hiking pole has a top that comes off so it can be a mono-pod...used it a couple of times, and have a lightweight full sized Sunpak QSX-Digi Pro 100. Not fond of the leg adjustments.

IGO · Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 4144 Location: Las Vegas

I use my hiking stuff which serves as a mono pod. It's the REI 4 winds. 8 oz and scopes down to 22 inches. I only carry the one staff.
Seeing how BoyNhisDog carries one every hike and his work is exceptional I'd ask him directly what he uses and go with it. Most light weight tri-pods do more harm than good as they vibrate with longish lenses on them. My tri-pod weighs better than 25 pounds and I dang sure don't hike with that one.
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BoyNhisDog · Posted: 8/1/2006, 7:43 pm Post subject:

A good article on tripods is Here. I pretty much went with the "inexpensive" solution, about 6 bills. The designation numbers have changed to Hakuba 504 mx but it is as stable as some of the heavier tripods I tested, though I didn't test any as heavy as yours. My guess is your 25 lb tripod is very nice (more stable) but good for studio work because of that weight (I wouldn't want to hike with that either). Also my longest lens is a short, light 85mm.
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Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys
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IGO · Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 4144 Location: Las Vegas

Yes. My tripod is not terribly expensive and I rely strictly on it's sheer weight and mass to do what I need a tri-pod to do. Unfortuneatley, I don't have a tri-pod in the places I need one the most and I probably never will. As it were, the mono pod is more for me to track an eagle with a 300 MM while sitting cross legged than it is for an real rigid pacture intensions. My heavy tri-pod is for capturing lightning and fireworks or wildlife I see roadside. I'm afraid there is way to much compromise on my behalf to expect studio quality when I want to do the kind of shooting I do which is almost always shooting on the fly. One day I hope to start doing more deliberate work instaed of hoping for the best but right now I just can't seem to hold still long enough. Another thing I'll have to address one day is media. I have a fine digital camera but can't shoot raw images because my computer won't dijest enough information without choking so I shoot in .jpeg with a camera that colors .jpeg images. I'm getting ready to purchase some serious computing horsepower so I can shoot raw images.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir

Trishness · Posted: 8/2/2006, 5:08 pm Post subject:

FW,

I have one small tripod I occasionally bring on a hike/backpack, depending on the trip. It's called an Ultrapod, is very lightweight and has a velcro strap so you can wrap it around a tree branch or pole. Daryl recommended this one and I like it.

Found it at Campmor.com for $13.99

Mr. Green

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"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

BoyNhisDog · Posted: 8/3/2006, 1:13 pm Post subject:

Trish, I like those little tripods for the small cameras. I have one as well. Not good for the bigger cameras or if you need some elevation, but they are nice and lightweight.

Robert, once you get into shooting RAW you will have a lot more control with your images. You will be able to pull back more tones that you saw than letting the camera auto process them into jpegs. You can draw your own tonal curves after in post processing instead of having to guess before the shot. Your file will be 16 bit instead of 8 bit. 16 bit means using the entire 12 bits your camera puts out, almost 4100 tone levels instead of 256 that you will get in 8 bit jpeg. It makes a huge difference when stretching any of the info in post processing like using the Levels or Curves commands. It takes a while to get a handle on RAW but when you do, and you will, it gives you so many more options for processing and printing.
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Seize from every moment its unique novelty and do not prepare your joys
- Andre Gide

Trishness · Posted: 8/3/2006, 8:56 pm Post subject:

freeride21a · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 46 Location: Mesa, AZ

i use a $30 tripod from quantaray sunpak, its pretty light. QSX 6601 is the model i think.

I strap it on with my groundpad just outside the sleeping bag hold.

Andy · Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 338 Location: Apache Junction

PageRob · Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 859 Location: Page, Az.

If I had a nice camera (or my nice camera was fixed) I'd carry a tripod. I used to have a tripod with me at almost all times, before my SLR broke. Since I'm just using a P&S and there's not much money in the budget for a repair on the SLR, I'll pass on the tripod for now...
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