Has digital photography reduced your use of tripods?

Bob Larter wrote:
Walter Banks wrote:

Alan Browne wrote:

In the film days, IS/VR already provided more freedom from tripods,
then with digital, higher ISO allowed even greater latitude.

Has this reduced _your_ tripod use? Do you still cart it around, only
for it to stay in the trunk or hang on the pack?

Or do you stay at low ISO and use your tripod for good or stubborn
reason?

Digital camera's showed me the difference that a stable tripod can have
on image sharpness. I bought a surveyors tripod and mated it
to a good head, it isn't fun to carry around but it is stable.

How do you deal with long lenses and center of gravity?

I drilled and tapped a foot long aluminium bar every inch so I could
mount the camera back set by up to 11 inches. (The last hole
was just drilled to clear 1/4 bolt) I have tried counter weights
to pull the c/g to the hinge line on the head works but is
complicated.

I'm failing to see what the advantage is of doing it that way. The
weight on the camera is going to be the same however you mount it, & I'd
be nervous about the aluminium threads stripping, & dumping your camera
on the ground.


That's probably because you have never experienced the toughness of
aluminium. Not all aluminium is as soft and likely to tear a thread as a
crushed coke can.

Made from the right grade, a course metric threaded aluminium bolt is
less likely to shred it's thread than a fine metric steel bolt, all
things being equal.