Setting up your tripod....how do you do it?

[Brian Hirschfeld]

First of all, I have a Gitzo 3-series with a center column (which I loath) and will be replacing it with a Gitzo 5-series with an Arca C1, however whenever I am using my tripod, I always feel like I am doing it wrong because I have never really seen how anyone else sets up their tripod and such, always just see people with their tripods deployed and leveled etc. I was wondering if anyone wanted to share their methods, because for me its:

1. open one of the legs to the desired height
2. place this leg on the ground, and then attempt to open the others to the same height

and there isn't much methodology beyond that....thought it might be an interesting and under-disussced topic...

[JimAscher]

First of all, I have a Gitzo 3-series with a center column (which I loath) and will be replacing it with a Gitzo 5-series with an Arca C1, however whenever I am using my tripod, I always feel like I am doing it wrong because I have never really seen how anyone else sets up their tripod and such, always just see people with their tripods deployed and leveled etc. I was wondering if anyone wanted to share their methods, because for me its:

1. open one of the legs to the desired height
2. place this leg on the ground, and then attempt to open the others to the same height

and there isn't much methodology beyond that....thought it might be an interesting and under-disussced topic...

Not to seem to seem overly simplistic, but my solution is to get all three legs touching the ground then use a leveling head.

[epatsellis]

I have an older 3 and a 5 series (both aluminum) as well as a half dozen others, however they all get little use since being given (free, as in beer, not thought) a Lisand video tripod with a "ball type" leveling head. Granted, I shoot larger and heavier cameras than most here, but I can set up the tripod, level the head and mount my Sinar in about 45 seconds to a minute. Used Lisand tripods sell inexpensively, ignoring one or two fringe sellers.

The leveling ball makes all the difference, just get the legs reasonably close and do your final leveling with the ball. There are leveling ball mounts for the Gitzo 5 series, though unless you get lucky on Ebay, they tend to be expensive.

[ErikKaffehr]

Hi,

I have a GT3541LS without center column and use it mostly with Arca Swiss D4. I do pretty much the same as you. If I get the position wrong I adjust the upper legs which I can reach from the top.

Best regards
Erik

First of all, I have a Gitzo 3-series with a center column (which I loath) and will be replacing it with a Gitzo 5-series with an Arca C1, however whenever I am using my tripod, I always feel like I am doing it wrong because I have never really seen how anyone else sets up their tripod and such, always just see people with their tripods deployed and leveled etc. I was wondering if anyone wanted to share their methods, because for me its:

1. open one of the legs to the desired height
2. place this leg on the ground, and then attempt to open the others to the same height

and there isn't much methodology beyond that....thought it might be an interesting and under-disussced topic...

[bill t.]

I would like to carry a leveling head tripod, but I don't like the weight.  So I level my primitive tripod the hard way as a trade-off.

I have made marks on the bottom, skinniest tubes that will give me the desired camera height when all the beefier tubes are fully extended.

I start with the skinniest tubes at their marks, then work upwards extending all the higher sections fully, with none of them on the ground.

Leave the upper clamp disengaged on one leg only.

Place the tripod on the ground with the "disengaged" leg on the highest bit of ground.

Adjust for level by compressing the unclamped leg as needed, rotating the tripod if necessary.

And once in a while I have to adjust another leg if the ground is really bumpy, but usually I can find two spots for the fully extended legs that will work.

The main thing is, everything is easier and faster if you develop systematic procedures for even rather trivial things.  No wasted motion is the goal.

[Scott O.]

About the only time I mess with the legs other than full extension is when I am on very unlevel ground or I'm in a hole and need to lower the tripod.  As long as the tripod is stable it is easy to level using the ball head only.  In taking a panorama I mount a RRS pan head on top of the level ball head and fire away.  And as an aside, I don't worry too much about getting everything PERFECTLY level (unless doing a pan).  It is too easy in post to level to get too anal about it in the field.

[Ken Bennett]

I have the 3-section Gitzo series 3, and with all the legs fully extended it comes to the perfect height. So I don't need to fiddle too much. I just hold the tripod in one hand, and extend each leg in turn so all three are fully extended before placing it on the ground.

[AlfSollund]

I have a Berlebach with 2 sections. I hold the tripod with left hand and loosen and fasten one after another of the legs. They extend by their own weight until they hit the ground, and then I fasten them. All legs are marked with cm, so I know how much to extend for flat terrain to get my working height.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Hi Brian,

Interesting question.

Depending on the ground situation, street pavement or in the unlevel terrain, I pre-determine the shooting height I want (I mostly compose by eye, and adjust the camera position/focal length to match perspective and field of view).

Given that, on my Gitzo 3 XLS series, I extend the lowest sections roughly to the desired length (if any) to reach the final height when the upper sections are fully extended. I then unlock the 2 upper sections per leg in one twist, fully extend and lock them, takes less than 10 seconds per leg.

Then, with the legs all extended to roughly give the desired height when spread fully on the first or second stop, I may tweak the angle of one leg, or shorten (usually) one leg, a bit to get the bubble level roughly centered. When shooting panos or stitched-for-resolution shots or architecture, I do the final leveling with my Easy Leveler II, in that case either by Live View for vertical alignment, or with a digital level if there are not enough structures to assist. Otherwise I'll use a ball head or a geared head, depending on the shooting scenario, for the final adjustments.

Cheers,
Bart

[250swb]

I think I've only needed to get a tripod exactly level once in thirty years. And so long as it is stable I don't bother about exact leg length, just open two legs to the approximate length needed and plant those on the ground so the head is sort of level, then drop the third down. Of course the best way to train for it is to do it in the dark or blindfolded, the mark of a true zen master.

Steve

[Alan Smallbone]

I just get the tripod steady and stable so there is no worry about tipping, then adjust the ball head to frame the shot. When I shoot landscapes I use a bubble level on the hot shoe if I need to worry about horizons.

Alan

[Ellis Vener]

I have aluminum Gitzo legsets (a 3 series and a 410C - both are are old enough that if if they were kids they would be out of med school and finishing their residencies already) so this probably won't work with CF tripods:

The fattest extension of the legs goes all the way out unless there is a really good reason for that not to happen due to topography or other physical constraints.

On the smaller leg sections I have marked, etched actually,  how far they need to go to bring the camera+ head + tripod height up to eye level. On a CF legset you can probably use a Sharpie to mark those heights.

If the ground is uneven I can quickly adjust one or two legs to get the tripod's crown (this is where the legs meet) more or less level. Accurate leveling is done with the tripod head. 

[DeeJay]

how many photographers does it take to change a tripod?