tech tips
and they’re made in the United States by
great people. Just sayin’.
Gimbal heads. T h is is t he tool of choice
for wildlife photographers. A gimbal head
balances the camera and long lens to allow
the photographer to smoothly follow a
fast-moving subject. For a long time, one
company had the market on gimbals, but
now there are many options. I recently
purchased one that has a fluid movement
on both the vertical and horizontal axis
for even tracking; it works well for video
capture where the smoothness is abso-
lutely necessary.
Video fluid heads. With the great
video capabilities of today’s DSLRs
and mirrorless cameras, we all are, or
should be, shooting more action. The tri-
pod bases I’ve mentioned here all pretty
much fit the bill for basic video capture,
but standard ballheads and gimbals
come up short if you plan on doing anypans. Even an expensive ballhead that’s
the best at what it does for stills will be
jerky in the video pan department. The
inexpensive answer here is to do a lot
of video clips that don’t pan and create
some movement in post-capture process-
ing. But if you want to follow action, a
head with a fluid base that moves very
smoothly is needed. Fluid video heads
are available at a range of prices, with
the least expensive being designed for
lighter camera and lens combinations.One More Thing
Leveling Bases. Medium and medi-
um-heavy tripods are often used for
multiple-image panoramas, and one of
the first steps in setting up for a panorama
is to level the tripod base and then the
camera and lens. You can move this leg
and that leg until you get the setup level,
but by then the lighting has probably
changed. Or, if you’re doing video that
needs a consistent pan movement, the
subject has left. The leveling base, an
accessory originally made for the pro
video crowd, provides a leveling function
between the tripod base and the head, and
I’ve added it to all my tripods because
I do both panoramas and video. Some
manufacturers, such as Gitzo and Really
Right Stuff (RRS), make leveling bases
dedicated to specific tripods. RRS also
makes a Universal Leveling Base that
threads onto any 3/8 screw at the top of
any tripod; the tripod head then attaches
to the leveling base. I checked online
and found a lot of options in leveling
bases, so do some research to find the
best option for your photography.See? Tripods Are Fun!
Well, tripods may not exactly be fun to
use, but they’re in many ways the secret
to photographic satisfaction, and now I’ve
shared that secret with you. So do the
research, choose the tools that fit your
style and your budget, and get out there.
If you get better and sharper images from
now on, you can thank me—or better yet,
thank John Shaw. opLearn about George Lepp’s upcoming
workshops and seminar opportunities on
his website at GeorgeLepp.com.32 Outdoor Photographer outdoorphotographer.com