Why does everyone say you need a tripod to shoot macro?

[AmberTillman]

I am starting to get into macro photography and am wondering why so many photogs say you need a tripod. Is it because you are working with a much tighter depth of field, so focusing is difficult? I have looked at several pictures and most are done with medium aperture (anywhere from 5.6-16) and in the 1/200 and up. So I am a little confused at to why one would have to use a tripod at say 5.6 and 1/200...camera shake shouldn't be that much of a problem right? or is it because the subject is so small and liable to get out of sharp range with slight movement on the photogs part?

Thanks for any help.

[Digidave]

Well, for starters, you are usually in a very awkward position when taking macros. 1/200th of a second is relatively slow when you get the perfect framing & all. You don't absolutely need a tripod but it sure is nice if you want those super sharp images. Then if you really want to get serious about it, you'll need one of these. It'll help perfect that focus point.

[LeeR]

I agree with Digidave; you do not need a tripod to shoot macro. Many people do and do so successfully...but not for long. Pretty soon you will be down at the camera store looking at well-built, versatile tripods. Why? Well, there are a thousand reasons why. A lot of times you just don't seem to have enough hands. There will be just enough breeze to cause the item you have in perfect focus to start swaying. Or you have to remove your lens hood to get as close as you want and you need to hold your hand up to stop the lens flare in the middle of your beautiful scene. Or you have finally found the extremely rare and exotic ghost orchid but you need one hand to balance as you stretch over the swamp to get the shot. It is at those times that you are thankful that you have come prepared. Macro means taking photographs of very tiny slices of the world and often those slices are in very inhospitable surroundings.

[sparda79]

Having a good macro (or at least off camera) flash is a good way to take handheld macros.

Sparda

[RichardTaylor]

Because it gives you more control over exposure and possibly more accurate focussing..

Ie: Allows you to shoot at lower ISO and/or shutter speed and/or smaller apertures for greater depth of field.

Example:

Canon 350D (Rebel XT) with Tokina 100mm F2.8 Macro lens.
ISO 400 1/6@F22 Natural light, tripod.

However I do not always use a tripod especially when shooting with a P&S camera with an IS lens.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by AmberTillman

...camera shake shouldn't be that much of a problem right?...

With macro photography, everything is magnified--including the distance the shake travels. Not a big deal when 1mm worth of shake is maybe 0.5% of the way across the frame. Much harder when it becomes 5-10%. Remember, at 1:1 magnification on a crop body, your scene is only as big as your sensor. With a 50D, that means 22.3 x 14.9 mm.

[wulf]

Depending on your subject material, a tripod can be a positive liability - for example, shooting flowers in an outdoor setting where you aren't free to trample exactly where you want. Much more important is a decent amount of light, particularly since you will often be stopping down the aperture to increase the depth of field.

That is where a tripod can come into its own. If you can set one up in a suitable position and your subject isn't moving fast, you can compensate for a tiny aperture hole with a longer exposure time.

Wulf

[Bluenoser]

It really depends on what you're shooting. If you're chasing insects around a garden or in the woods, a tripod or focusing rail is useless and just makes matters more difficult.

If you're doing stationary objects, then it definitely helps.

[AmberTillman]

This all makes a ton of sense!!! Thanks DPS! I guess I was thinking about chasing insects... but there is so much more you can do with macro and still subjects...MAKES SOOO MUCH SENSE! Larger depth of field means more in focus, which means slower shutter speed...which means a tripod to reduce camera shake because not only is your image magnified, your camera's movement is magnified too! Light Bulbs going off everywhere!

[mipo]

Hi,
The single most important reason to do macro photography on a tripod is the Focus area or DOF.
If you look at the DPF table for your macro lense you will find something similar as:

Micro Nikkor AF-S 60mm f2.8
At 0.185m focus distance and f8 the DOF is from .019m to 0.19m, this is almost impossible to hand hold steady to have a tack sharp image.
At 1m focus distance and f8 the DOF is from 0.93m to 1.08m roughly 0.5in.
Also in the lenses manual for micro, it is stated to focus manually to determine the reproduction ratio & then moving the camera closer or away from the subject, this is best acheived with a focusing rail on a tripod.

Cheers!