STEADY ON! [An Introduction to Tripods]

You’ve just done it. You get home with the gear you’ve just bought. It’s a shiny new digital SLR. You’re in digital heaven.

You wanted to get serious about digital photography and the only way you believed was to get a reflex digital that takes interchangeable lenses, has a big fat, resolution-full CCD and not only looks like a pro camera but has the controls like one.

Serious amateur photographers and ambitious semi pros all crave a dSLR and it’s true, because this level of equipment demands great skill in its use and brings with it a high potential of success in image making. But the kit you bought is only the beginning.

Steady

Most of the new crop of dSLRs feature image stabilizing, either built into the body or the lens. This will help in most handheld shooting situations but if you want to move into the more demanding areas, such as carefully shot portraits, macro subjects, long lens action — even landscapes — a set of legs is a big help.

Although every digital camera offers a range of ISO sensitivity settings, the higher figures — like ISO 1600 and more — are useful in catching low light shots but a higher setting brings with it the likelihood of increased noise in the image.

I personally like to shoot most daylight shots at ISO 200 and at this figure can usually get A3 prints with almost nil noise in the picture. If I’m using ISO 200 and working outside, capturing landscapes, especially with the lens set to a longer focal length I lug a tripod along, not only to access a lower ISO setting but because the final image will be that much sharper. It’s a pain, but the difference between camera-steady shots and handheld is startling. The less movement at the camera end, the sharper your images will be.

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