Using a Tripod

The tripod is probably the single great-est photographic accessory ever invented. A good, sturdy tripod allows you to stop down your lens as far as you please and shoot at nonhandhold-able shutter speeds, to get sharp pic-tures with slow films in low light, to steady the longest tele. As a rule, tripods are tolerant of misuse and may even reward ham-fisted operators who take the trouble to use them. Indeed, the main problem with tripods is that we all assume we know how to use them instinctively. We don't.

Tripod blunders come in two main categories. The first and worst kind lead to compromised stability; the sec-ond to operational inefficiency, which wastes time and can cause you to miss that great shot.

While tripods do differ in their inher-ent rigidity (the more stable the tripod, the less likely you are to carry it), it's not too difficult to achieve a stable platform if you do the following: - Extend the centerpost as little as possible. Extend the legs instead.
- Extend the thinnest leg sections (usually this means the bottom sec-tions, but not always) last and least to get the height you want.
- Angle legs out to leg stops, and/or lock leg braces in place.
- Find a level setup surface, and choose the right leg tips to match it. If necessary, extend or retract one leg to level tripod on uneven surfaces.
- Tighten all knobs and locks. Don't forget the ones on the tripod head, especially the pan/tilt arm.

As for efficiency, swift tripod opera-tors let gravity do the work of extend-ing and collapsing legs if possible, and the general rule is to fold all three legs against the centerpost before doing either. It's also quicker to leave all three legs equally extended and level the head when you encounter small sur-face irregularities, but if your tripod is really listing, find a level spot to plant two legs and adjust the third one until your centerpost is close to verticle.

All that said, the proper way to operate a tripod depends partly on its design. Purists tend to choose traditional models that feature knurled leg locks and a pan/tilt head. The latter is a good fea-ture for view camera work, for example, because it defines two separate axes of move-ment, and that makes per-spective control and compo-sition easier. Others may prefer legs with clamp-style locks and ballheads, both of which tend to make tri-pod operation faster.

The choice is largely personal. But here's one final word of caution: Retract those pointy leg tips as part of your normal tripod-folding procedure. Some of them are sharp enough to damage someone's clothing-or epidermis.

Tripod Pointers
It's important to set up a tripod with the correct sequence of adjustments. Here they are:

Set basic height
Unlock and extend one leg to the ground, then lock it. Now, without angling legs out, unlock other legs and extend them until they also touch the ground evenly.

Position the tripod
Choose a level spot if possible, grab the two extended legs, and plant the third one on the ground. Now, angle all legs out evenly to the leg stops or at a wide enough angle to ensure stability.

Adjust exact height
Extend centerpost as little as possible for best stability. As you raise it to the precise shooting height, hold head to support camera to prevent crash-down with nongeared centerposts.

Fold it fast
Swing all three legs toward the centerpost (unlock leg braces if required). Now turn the tripod upside down, undo all leg locks, collapse all three legs at once, and lock leg locks.