The future of tripods

[shadowblade]

I do this with the Sony apps with my A7R2 and in theory the images should look the same but in practice they are not. A 4 second exposure captures the scene fully during those 4 specific seconds. 128 images takes much longer to capture and each image just captures a split second and when combined I feel the resulting image is not as "smooth" as the 4 second exposure...especially when there is moving water like a creek flowing in the image.

Works out smooth enough for me. This is about 4 minutes of exposure, to blur the clouds (each individual exposure would have blurred the water anyway).

[chez]

Works out smooth enough for me. This is about 4 minutes of exposure, to blur the clouds (each individual exposure would have blurred the water anyway).

I'm talking about a running creek that is splashing water...not water that just lies there. With moving / splashing water, I find the 128 image combined still exhibits individual water splashes artifacts which are not there if one does a 4 second single image.

[shadowblade]

I'm talking about a running creek that is splashing water...not water that just lies there. With moving / splashing water, I find the 128 image combined still exhibits individual water splashes artifacts which are not there if one does a 4 second single image.

Make one mean stack and one median stack, then manually blend them. Usually, the median stack will eliminate these artifacts, while the mean stack does a better job of eliminating choppiness in smoother, continuous movement.

[chez]

Make one mean stack and one median stack, then manually blend them. Usually, the median stack will eliminate these artifacts, while the mean stack does a better job of eliminating choppiness in smoother, continuous movement.

Or just use a tripod.

[shadowblade]

Or just use a tripod.

Not always the better option when used alone.

I use both at the same time.

A tripod stops most camera shake and allows for longer exposures. But it doesn't prevent moving subjects from leaving a smear along their path (e.g. people or birds), stop leaves and grass from moving during a long exposure, or stop unwelcome waves or ripples ruining a reflection in a lake or river. And, sometimes, it doesn't even adequately stop camera shake, particularly in windy conditions or at longer focal lengths. And it certainly doesn't help much when you're shooting from a helicopter or balloon, or trying to shoot a low-light landscape with a drone. And, of course, some locations I want to shoot from just don't allow tripods and may have nowhere to attach a clamp.

With a multiple exposure technique used on top of a tripod, I can eliminate most of these problems with just a few exposures and some masking work in postproduction.

[dreed]

Tripods let you separate framing the shot from taking the shot.

Tripods let you take the "same shot" over and over again, whether it is for focus or exposure stacking or just because you want to.

Tripods let you take photos that cannot survive the shake of a human hand.

[Martin Kristiansen]

Ever seen any good photos taken without a tripod? I have seen many thousands.

Ever seen any good photos taken with a tripod? I have seen many thousands.