Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

[quote=Hereford]

Thanks!

Hand held at 1260mm (equivalent) with so little light late afternoon heavy overcast, you're right - it would have been an abstract at best. FYI, the heron was about 40 m away if I remember correctly. I don't think the EXIF data shows that. A quick calculation with a DoF calculator shows a DoF of from 39.6 m - 40.4 m for an 800mm lens @F8, and the EXIF shows 39.46 - 40.15 m so I am in the ballpark.

DRam11 Loc: Polson, MT

I haven’t read all 7 pages, so this may have come up. Tremors make a tripod essential for me. Hi ISO helps, but there are times when a shot would be better with lower ISO and a bit longer exposure time. I’d guess there are others in the same fix.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

I do not think that tripods are obsolete, but I do agree that they are really only necessary for specific types of photography, such as night or possibly studio photography. I have owned a tripod for over 50 years but it rarely gets any use. I have never traveled with a tripod even in the film era. With the advances in technology, if anything the use of the tripod is even less needed for my type of photography. For me a tripod for travel, street, animal or landscape photography was never practical. If I was planning to photograph the northern lights, then I would use a tripod.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Exif data might not be correct for date and time. Most of my images have the wrong clock info because I take the batteries out of my cameras when not in use and rarely bother to set the date and time in the cameras. I do know when the images are uploaded to my computer because the software for that tags the time to the files as they are created.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

As usual futurists live in a fantasy world of their own.

MJPerini

Tripods are not obsolete. There are lots of situations where they are anywhere from beneficial to required, but certainly advancing technology has vastly increased the number of situations where they are not as necessary as they might have been in years past. That is great.
People like to make sweeping generalizations, .....that are generally not very helpful.
There are no Tripod police --no one will force you to use one, if you choose not to. ;-))
For the work I do, I still use one 15-25% of the time

Dennis833 Loc: Australia

I use a tripod 100% of the time because I often blend one or more exposures together and I always get sharp images. My advice is to ignore anyone that makes bold statements.

Nickaroo

I will always have a need for a tripod. If I"am doing Macro on my Rail system or just Focus stacking shots it comes in handy. If I'am camped out near my Pond I set it up in the Morning and Shoot the Eagles and Ospreys I can mount my Nikon600mm f/4 or 800mm f/5.6 and I don't have to worry about getting great shots with those beasts mounted on my Tripod. Occasionally, and very rarely do I leave Home without it. Now, when I shoot University of Michigan Football or Basketball, I have to have 2 Mono's going with 2 different lenses and I will not sit and try to cure Blurs of plays because I thought that I did not need my Mono's, and I have Topaz Sharpen AI, but that only goes so far. I do have a Friend that Drags Hid D850 with a 600mm f/4 Nikon Lens and he tracks the Ospreys, Hummingbirds like a scout and he never Blurs a photo. It is truly a sight to behold, and then again he did not break His Humerus in His shoulder like I did and they did not expect me to get full use of my right arm back. A Total Reversal Replacement was performed and it still has me on Pain-Meds, plus I had 2 other surgeries in the past 2 years. Now, they have to go in and try to fix 2 Fractured Vertebrae's that are 90% Fractured. It's when you have to take certain meds, such as Steroids in High Quantities, it breaks down the Cartilage, Tendons, and weakens the Bones. But enough of crying about me, I believe that I would still carry a Tripod to use my Gimbal to hone in on those Birds when they swoop down to get a fish.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

They are not obsolete quite yet. There are a few instances where they may be necessary. For example, for long duration astrophotography, capturing multi-second waterfalls for the "blur effect", high magnification macro, etc. In the field, I HATE tripods but I do have an ultralight one I carry in my bag sometimes if I feel I may need it. I also have a heavier SLIK tripod I use mostly at home for macro. For 99.5% of my subjects, I don't need a tripod at all, and this is with lens stabilization alone. Whenever possible, I brace myself on something sturdy - pole, fence, wall, etc.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yep. Every application is different. Use the right tool for the job. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like nails.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Agree and this is from a guy who rarely ever uses a tripod.

Bill_de Loc: US

Here's how my tripod helps when shooting birds through my garage window. If I plan on shooting in the afternoon I set the camera on a tripod with the lens attached. I put a Stetson on top of the camera and go about my business. I sometimes leave a radio playing.

By the time I settle in for shooting the birds I put on the hat and stay behind the camera.

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j.l.h

Is this a joke question? What is the context of use are you thinking about?This is another clickbate question

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

GREAT random reply and unfocused follow up questions!!! Try the <quote reply> button in the future.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Are you kidding me, you don't know me or nothing about me, my arms are weak, my hands are shaky, YES it has all to do with AGE. Not everybody ages the same, OK, Superman.