Anyway, taking night scene most of the time requires dedication in the sense of making your camera holding still. Any little movement would cause blurry picture and that would definitely ruin your nice shot. To solve this, normally people would use flash but what about subject which is far away. If your flash is not strong enough, the picture you have taken might even turn out awful. Normally i would try not to use flash but once you do that, ghostly image tend to happen. So, how to overcome this problem? Easy, use tripod.
What is tripod?
A tripod is a three-legged stand for your camera to sit on. The three legs provide an incredibly stable base for your SLR. Tripods let you take photos no matter how little light there is - even in the dead of night.
But tripods are also useful when there is plenty of light.
Even if you're using a fast shutter speed, minor camera shake can still lead to a slightly blurry photo.
If you want to make sure that your photos are tack-sharp (some industry jargon) then use a tripod for your digital SLR as often as you can..
A good one would normally cost you more then RM1,000 but for a beginner like me, cheaper one would be the best but even that, you cannot compromise by buying a low quality one. The price i paid was RM149.00 and i bought it at www.gstrapinuse.com. I thought i can buy it at shops which i can feel and touch before buying it but at the end, all the price quoted was more then i can bargain for. Prices normally reach RM250 and with that difference, i think i rather buy it at online shop. The model i bought was Fancier WF-531BT Professional Ballhead Tripod and believe me, it was great. Take a look and see at the picture below:
If you are thinking of buying anything next time, do look up online store 1st so that you can have a picture how much to bargain when you get to the store later. For my case, imagine i pay for the tripod at 12pm, i got it by the same time tomorrow by which i call it efficient. Unfortunately for me, like everything else these days around the world, this item is made from China. So, what i can hope now is to have it operational for the next 10 years to come.
What to look for in a tripod........
Tripod Heads
There are two main types of tripod heads:
Ball Heads
A ball head is exactly like it sounds: it's a ball that attaches to your camera and is held in an enclosure that allows you to rotate and tilt the camera at all angles.
You can lock the ball in place so that the camera is immobile, or you can keep it loose so that you can track moving objects while retaining a stable base of support.
If you really want to go high-end, take a look at a grip ball head.
These ball heads give you the most flexibility and freedom to position your camera any way you want and still keep it stable.
With a standard ball head, you have to "unlock" it with a screw clamp whenever you want to move the camera.
With a grip ball head you just squeeze a trigger, and that releases the ball head to move freely in any direction.
Be warned: they are expensive. The Bogen grip ball head runs about $80, and the Manfrotto will set you back $105.
Pan/Tilt Heads
A pan/tilt head has separate adjustments for spinning the camera around and tilting it to the side.
A three-way pan/tilt head lets you move the camera along 3 axis and includes special locking mechanisms for precise camera positioning.
The type of head you choose depends on the photos you want to take.
A ball head is suited for action photography, since you can move or tilt the camera in any direction quickly and easily.
I photograph a lot of parades with a ball head and I can track subjects as they go by without shaking the camera a lot.
Pan/tilt heads are good for landscape and architecture photographers, since you can tweak the camera position until it's just right.
Special Note: the important thing to pay attention to when you're comparing ball and pan/tilt heads is how much your camera weighs.
Each head is rated for a certain weight, and if you exceed the weight, the head won't lock into place to keep the camera stable.
What to look for in a tripod........
Tripod Heads
There are two main types of tripod heads:
- Ball Heads
- Pan/Tilt Heads
Ball Heads
A ball head is exactly like it sounds: it's a ball that attaches to your camera and is held in an enclosure that allows you to rotate and tilt the camera at all angles.
You can lock the ball in place so that the camera is immobile, or you can keep it loose so that you can track moving objects while retaining a stable base of support.
If you really want to go high-end, take a look at a grip ball head.
These ball heads give you the most flexibility and freedom to position your camera any way you want and still keep it stable.
With a standard ball head, you have to "unlock" it with a screw clamp whenever you want to move the camera.
With a grip ball head you just squeeze a trigger, and that releases the ball head to move freely in any direction.
Be warned: they are expensive. The Bogen grip ball head runs about $80, and the Manfrotto will set you back $105.
Pan/Tilt Heads
A pan/tilt head has separate adjustments for spinning the camera around and tilting it to the side.
A three-way pan/tilt head lets you move the camera along 3 axis and includes special locking mechanisms for precise camera positioning.
The type of head you choose depends on the photos you want to take.
A ball head is suited for action photography, since you can move or tilt the camera in any direction quickly and easily.
I photograph a lot of parades with a ball head and I can track subjects as they go by without shaking the camera a lot.
Pan/tilt heads are good for landscape and architecture photographers, since you can tweak the camera position until it's just right.
Special Note: the important thing to pay attention to when you're comparing ball and pan/tilt heads is how much your camera weighs.
Each head is rated for a certain weight, and if you exceed the weight, the head won't lock into place to keep the camera stable.
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