Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/04/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Jan, I appreciate the Leica as a hand held camera but nevertheless I also carry a Leica "tabletop" tripod with small ball head (only available secondhand now) and cable release. It takes very little space and is much more rigid than the lightweight CF tripods, I have the Gitzo 1550T, which also takes ages to erect so I almost never take it with me. I can usually find something to put this rigid little assembly on, with stupendous results which would be impossible handheld. It has got me out of tight spots, when, for example, I wanted to take some church interiors at Assisi with reasonable depth of field. Certainly it is unlikely that the full potential of a lens is realised without a tripod, but the Leica "look" is there anyway, just not the maximum sharpness ;-) On 6 Apr, 2009, at 03:49, Jan Decher wrote: > Thanks, Geoff, for your more thoughtful response. > I knew of course, that the Leica was designed as a handheld camera and > doesn't need to go on a tripod etc. etc. OTOH, I am not a "street > photographer" in the purist sense and I like my pictures to be ultra > sharp > and shoot a lot of static subjects, landscapes etc. My fastest lens > is a > 2.8/35mm C-Biogon and the next lens will be a 4.5/21mm C-Biogon for > interior > forest vistas and shots of cathedrals, frescoed ceilings and other > architecture etc. > I even like formal group shots and frequenty use the mechanical self > timer > on my older cameras! How so non-Cartier-Bresson!! > Since this is the LUG, I didn't mention that I also carry a 1950s > Rolleiflex > with a 3.5/75 Xenotar (and on occasion an SLR with 5.6/400mm for > wildlife). > So a good compact travel tripod is a must! > I do have a Leica table top but at 6 feet 3 inches prefer not to > kneel down > and try to look through the Leica VF on the 25cm tall table top > (easier with > the Rolleiflex WL finder). > Unfortunately, most zoos, botanical gardens and museums now discourage > "serious" tripod use (perhaps because they want you to buy their > tourist > view postcards..). Even the Kodak House in Rochester I learned 2 > years ago > had a "no tripod and no backpack policy", which I thought was rather > ironc > (well, perhaps in line with Kodak's mostly amateur approach to > cameras...). > In those situations a Leitz tabletop can sometimes still be "sneaked > in". > Anyway, I think there are many different types of "Leica > photography" and > if you really want to get the utmost out of your Leitz or Zeiss lens' > resolution - as many tests have shown - a tripod is still the way > to go > when the subject matter allows it. > Jan > > =============From: Geoff Hopkinson <hopsternew at gmail.com> > Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 07:08:31 +1000 > Hi Jan. I agree with the very experienced travel photographer Tina. > However > if you are pepared to carry a tripod because you want to shoot very > long > exposures, or just wring the very best from your lenses (doing a lot > of > landscape photography for example), then the Gitzo that you mention > is the > ultimate in portability. A not inconsiderable investment of course. > Really > consider the compromise of a good quality monopod though. Also you can > improve both tripod and monopod by fitting a dedicated head for the > functions you want. Take a look at Really Right Stuff for some options > there. you can get their whole catalog online and it has a lot of > useful > info in there. > > I bought a set of good carbon legs from Manfrotto (price less > ruinous than > Gitzo) and a Gitzo head. However the head while really well made is > just too > bulky for what I wanted (with a quick release plate). G1278M I > think. I > don't have it with me currently. I'm getting a more compact ball > head from > RRS. Also the Gitzo still suffers from the trait of almost all > tripods with > a flat plate on top. The camera can still twist, which is annoying. > Consider > a system with a dedicated plate that fits your camera. > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information