Keep It Tight
Some tripods have removable leg tips and or a hook (to hang
weights from for even greater stability) that extends under that main
plate. Since these parts can be loosened and tightened, they
invariable become lose and fall off. To avoid this I apply a thread-
locking paste to the threads on these parts to make sure they just
won’t vibrate off. Take note.
Tripods I Use
I have several different styles of tripods I use for various purposes.
The Gitzo GT3531s described above is my main tripod and I call it
my ‘dry’ tripod. I have another older Gitzo that is my “wet” tripod. I
use it in streams, swamps, and wherever the tripod is going to get
wet. Why two types? For one, Gitzos are not even a little bit of fun
clean. If I use the wet Gitzo in swamps all summer, it requires a real
cleaning before winter sets in. I try to keep these two separate.
I have a very heavy aluminum Gitzo with a big-old center column I
use in the studio. It is too heavy to cart around in the field but is just
perfect for studio work. I keep it set up with a ball head on it, and so
on.
Then I have a Gitzo monopod. I don’t use it a lot, but I do use it
when I am doing macro shots of fast-moving insects and so on. It
gives me just enough stability to catch one-off shots of bees,
wasps, and whatever is moving too fast for a still-life.
And I have several tripods that are designed for video work, chiefly
two Sachtlers and a Cartoni. These are larger tripods that coupled
with fluid heads make video work easy.
That’s about it for tripods. Since mostly I do macro and close-up
photography combined with focus stacking,
I use a tripod all the time. I also do some landscape photography
and that requires a tripod as well.