Hi,
So we'd like to take night photos when we're in Paris and Italy. We're trying to find a light and portable option for a tripod, preferably under 20inches. Should we choose a regular tripod or a gorilla pod?? I read that a tripod is not allowed in some museums or areas around Rome.
Type of camera -(Cannon DSLR with 55-250 telephoto lens)
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
I've tried using a Gorilla Pod with the DSLR and the larger lens and have run into some problems. I suggest that you go to a camera store and try them out with your camera and lens. That way you'll know whether or not the product you buy will work. Camera stores are usually very helpful about this kind of thing.
Pam
i recommend the gorillapod because you can wrap it around stuff. If all you have is say, an uneven trash can, you can still get a nice picture. I took pictures in italy using it on rocks, wrapped around railings, etc. with that large of a lens i might recommend the largest of their options. I have the Gorillapod SLR (the middle one I guess) and it worked great but I have one of the olympus pen micro 4/3, which is smaller
Salsachica,
You might consider a lightweight "travel" Tripod such as one of these www.benrousa.com/products_TripodKits.html models. They're light and fold up to a very compact size for travel. Check some of the Camera forums for reviews, to get some idea on how well this product will work for you. If you decide to buy one, be sure to get the model that handles the weight range of your Camera and Lens.
As I recall, Gitzo and Manfrotto both offer compact, lightweight Tripods as well but of course the price will be much higher. A MonoPod might be an option too, although it won't be as stable as a Tripod.
In my experience, a Tripod will provide the best and most stable platform for things like time exposure night shots. I wouldn't recommend using the smaller "tabletop" folding Tripods or GorillaPods, due to the weight of the gear you're using. Your Canon dSLR by itself isn't too bad, but the 55-250 Lens will add considerable weight to the combination. While it might work perfectly well, I'm not comfortable "trusting" my expensive Camera and Lenses to a GorillaPod.
One point to emphasize is that you likely won't be allowed to use any kind of Tripod in Churches, Museums, Galleries, etc. This goes for Flash as well. I've found that with image stabilized Lenses and higher ISO, it's usually possible to get good photos without a Tripod.
Happy travels!
Try big beanbag too. Remote is needed - or timer of you don't want to carry remote.
s
I have the large gorrila pod and it works great (although it took a bit mroe effort on a wet pole/rail one day!). There are a few great light weight compact tripods too from Gizmodo and Slik that compact below 20". Just a matter of how much you plan to use it and if you have room in your "travel light" pack!
Thanks for your suggestions everyone!
I forwarded all your recs to my husband and he ordered a zoom gorilla pod with ballhead for my dslr.
We tried it out briefly over the weekend. It's pretty cool and worked pretty well for us. I definitely will need to practice a bit more before our trip to get everything just right!
thanks again!
