Photo Tip: Sharpness 2

Sharpness.

Something all photographers worry about, this the second in a series of posts will look at:

Tripods.

Most people own one, but how many of us actually carry one with us. I’ll put my hand up. I certainly don’t use it as much as I should.

A few points to consider, a tripod thats not with you is useless.

Invest in a good one, a good head and get the brackets for your camera.

If your looking at saving money then spend all your budget on a set of legs.  Then when you can afford it buy the head later.  Then buy the brackets for the camera.  If your eager to start using your tripod then buy a cheap head that comes with a quick release platform, but beware you will need to replace it.  A poor head design will after a while frustrate you to the point you will stop using your expensive tripod.

If your after a recommendations for legs then Manfrotto and Gitzo are top of the class.

For heads then most pro photographers use not Manfrotto or Gitzo heads but Arca or Really Right Stuff Heads.  A warning to you, you can spend over £1000 on a good head.  For most of us that is over kill but do consider spending over £100 pounds.

Lastly a brackets for your camera.  A cheap quick release plate may do to start , if your using medium format or large format then this may be all you need.  For 35mm where you will be switching from portrait to landscape and back, and generally be more active on the tripod you may want to consider custom brackets that will not slip once fitted.

For more information see a previous blog entry here and also Chris Bennet’s blog.

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