To Pod or not to Pod?

[Guest]

I have never been a tripod fan. The closest I got was a mono that I used for in-church wedding ceremonies by ambient light.
At some point my daughter and SIL bought me a rickety aluminium el cheapo pod for a birthday prezzie that has lain unused in the boot of my car ever since.
Okay, a long story short I decided on Tuesday to visit my camera store to see if they had something rock solid stable, but light - it is not easy to find one with those specs.


So today having little to do but amuse myself I set up down by the creek to give it a whirl, I am left wondering if I'll ever get used to it.
I could not believe how restrictive these things are, nor can I think of what I might need it for given that the M1 Mk2's 5 axis Image Stabiliser
has so far proved infallible, even at low shutter speeds in bad light. Well, I guess when my Canikon Camera Club buddies are flaunting their Manfrottos,
I shan't feel so bereft if I can set up beside them with my Benro, with its spiffy blue piping Olympus color-coordinated carry bag! But it sure slows me down!

[Phill D]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

I think slowing down is one of the unsung big benefits of a tripod. It lets you to consider the composition more. Well I guess it would if I used it as I rarely use mine. Hence I usually end up cropping slightly to adjust composition. Oh and you'll be able to have a go at some astro shots too.

[blu-by-u]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

Think of it this way, you have an EM1.2 and you have not used the section LiveComp and HiRes. of which both are suggested to work well/better with a tripod.

This is an example of LiveComp..


And this is HiRes,


And there is the Stacking and remote triggering for Family portraits (which includes the photographer)

That's is a fine Benro.

[Internaut]

[MJ224]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

I think slowing down is one of the unsung big benefits of a tripod. It lets you to consider the composition more. Well I guess it would if I used it as I rarely use mine. Hence I usually end up cropping slightly to adjust composition. Oh and you'll be able to have a go at some astro shots too.

[Guest]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

I think slowing down is one of the unsung big benefits of a tripod. It lets you to consider the composition more. Well I guess it would if I used it as I rarely use mine. Hence I usually end up cropping slightly to adjust composition. Oh and you'll be able to have a go at some astro shots too.

Thanks Phill. You are right, slowing down does allow more time to consider composition, and you are right also about cropping to adjust composition. That said, shooting handheld is freedom to move fast, to change camera angles in a split second, and many a photo op requires that you do. For general birding, being encumbered by a tripod would lose more shots than not because birds and time wait for no man. I hope that Beag' will give us the benefit of his experience and let us know whether he uses a tripod to capture his laser sharp bird shots.

Think of it this way, you have an EM1.2 and you have not used the section LiveComp and HiRes. of which both are suggested to work well/better with a tripod.

And there is the Stacking and remote triggering for Family portraits (which includes the photographer) That's is a fine Benro.

Thank you Henry, I am most grateful for bringing to my attention those sections that as yet I've not tried. It is high time that I got out of my comfort zone and tried something new. Actually, the Benalla Camclub did a live comp demo at last month's meeting. I don't see me drifting too far in that direction but at least I should give it a try. The light trails leading to the mosque is a great shot btw.

[Guest]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

Thanks Mark, I was composing during your post. You, Henry and Phil have sparked my interest in exploring these techniques. Over Easter I read up on how stacking was done and am keen to try it. Come to think of it, it was probably the M!.2's Hi-res' trick that made me buy the tripod. I will be interested to see how much difference there is in IQ.

[Jim Ford]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

The golden rule when considering tripod choice is:

* Light
* Stable
* Cheap

Choose 2 out of the above 3.

Jim

[Beagletorque]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

Perfect positioning of the strap old boy, top notch.
Having just sold 2 of my tripods, I now left with just 4, plus the big mast, a carbon fibre "mast" made from a carp pole and a monopod.
You have some catching up to do!
You need one of these now too!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quick-Release-L-Bracket-Camera-Grip-For-Olympus-O-MD-E-M1-II-OMD-EM1-Mark-II/382896135594?hash=item5926635daa:g:rvAAAOSwUHRcrlmg

[Guest]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

The golden rule when considering tripod choice is:
* Light
* Stable
* Cheap
Choose 2 out of the above 3.
Jim

Thanks Jim, the Benro ticks all three boxes - cost was AUD 249.00 = UK 135.00, relatively cheap compared to other leading brands.

Perfect positioning of the strap old boy, top notch.
Having just sold 2 of my tripods, I now left with just 4, plus the big mast, a carbon fibre "mast" made from a carp pole and a monopod.
You have some catching up to do!
You need one of these now too!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quick-Rel...AAAOSwUHRcrlmg

Positioning of the strap was quite random of course - rather subtle, wouldn't you say ...
Lots of catching up to do, Beag', it's a race between me and the reaper ...

Edit: re your link - can't get the head around how that gadget works. The Benro release is simple, safe and fast. I like it better than the Manfrotto system.

[Jim Ford]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

I've got a carbon fibre Benro. It's OK, but still heavy to carry far. I put a bigger ball head on it, because I thought that the one it came with was a bit small.

The ball head I put on it is a 'Redsnapper' one that I've seen recommended. It claims to have a non-spherical ball such that it tightens as it moves out of vertical, to stop it flopping over with the weight of the camera. It's nonsense - I had occasion to dismantle the head and there's little difference in 'sphericity' other than random manufacturing errors.

Jim

[Ross the fiddler]

[chris]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

i feel lost without a tripod

[Guest]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

Chris, does that not confine you to shooting mostly static subjects from a static position?

If I had to use a tripod all the time it would be like wearing a straight jacket - some might suggest that I should be put in one.

[Internaut]

Re: To Pod or not to Pod?

That’s one of the temptations of the E-M1 X. It really does look like the ultimate camera for pod avoiders.