SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

That may be true, but it would be misleading to say that ultimate sharpness can only be achieved if using a tripod, and that's just not true.
An experienced photog knows when their camera needs to be on a tripod and when it's just not necessary.
It has a lot to do with the dield of view of the lens and the speed. Even the sharpness of the lens and sometimes VR/IS as well.
Maybe a beginner would be well served using a tripod all the time and an experienced photog will hedge their bets with a tripod but these sweeping statements that people make(I don't mean necessarily your statement but many) aren't always accurate!
SS

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

I like this comment, esp. about poor-quality tripods working against you. Maybe I can build on that. Here is a studio case study, of sorts.

I started with the flimsiest, smallest tripod and discovered the need to upgrade, repeatedly, starting with ball-head slippage. Nothing is reproducible w/o a tripod. I used to tie myself in knots shooting macro shots of makers' marks on jewelry but made up my mind to learn to do it better from a tripod, no exceptions. Results? With a tripod-only workflow, I get more -- way more -- keepers. Or maybe tripods bring good luck.

My preferred tripod steadily holds a cross arm and has a head with gearing in six directions, two focus rails for fine gearing in four directions, plus a JustRite for rotating the camera body by 90 degrees. The whole shebang can shoot straight up, straight down, or in between, from scraping the floor to about 7' high, by tweaking the attitude of the center post.

I no longer wonder if my apparatus has drooped or slipped. I rarely need to move the tripod feet, unless changing lenses. I almost never adjust leg height as I have a gear that can lower/raise the head. As Steve has suggested, tripod use can be less annoying than one might at first suppose.

Next on the menu is to rent/test a remote-controlled, motorized focus rail, for a more-stable live view. In other words, during manual focus, shaking of the live view image on the camera monitor or on the external monitor may arise from manually adjusting the focus rail -- distance to subject. Similarly, image shake during manual focusing can arise from moving the lens's focus ring. Either way, this shaking works against fine tuning the focus, especially under live-view magnification. Moreover, I expect that 1/50 mm -- (;>) -- adjustments will add to reproducibility in manual focusing.

Product photography highlights tripod issues, but other disciplines like macro photography can be as demanding. In short, the tripod saves time, boosts confidence, allows more attention to major issues like lighting...and even sets you up for mastering new skills, like focus stacking, bracketing, tilt, and shift.

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

I would add that the subject is a fifth variable, in addition to field of view, speed, lens sharpness, and VR, which feeds into the decision to use a tripod. In Nikkor.com's "Thousand and..." Sato, in his discussion of the 85mm 1.8S AI-S notes that portraits may not require the ultimate in sharpness.

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

I shoot a lot in gardens and the tripod gets in the way more than it helps. The in-camera stablizing ability of the Sony's is good. Hand-holding I can get to angles that the tripod can not.

I have tripods and monopods and use them for some other types of photography.

JustLinda Loc: California

You should have made it downloadable. Based upon what I see here, I stand by my comment. If you post the original and I am wrong, I will admit it.

n3eg Loc: West coast USA

OK, that's it. Time for a duel. 500mm lenses handheld at...well, the closest mine focuses is 35 feet.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Tripods are not the panacea that the theorists would have us believe !

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Just remember that the bench tests are done with the cameras/lenses secured on a stable platform. Theoretically getting the best possible stability. Shooting on a tripod is better than not, but not as good as those used in bench testing.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

For that very reason is why I carry around a test bench to do my landscapes. It is Sooo much more stable that that cheapo $1500 flimsy RRS pod.
Both my RRS and my Gitzo are useless in a stiff 100mph breeze!
SS

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

Ive been taking friends out shooting. I always take my tripod. I used to tell them that even a cheap tripod is better than none at all. Ive changed that position, you need a tripod that will hold the weight of your equipment. I saw one of the plastic ones fall over from the weight of the camera and lens. Fortunately the guy caught it in time.
so now I say, buy the best tripod you can afford.

Leitz Loc: Solms

Absolutely right. IS/VR and adjustable ISO has enabled me to leave the tripods in the boot (elephants and attics have trunks, you know!) more often than not. I use them mostly for architecture with a shift lens, and close-ups (don't do creepy crawlers).

True again. He/she also knows when ultimate sharpness is needed and when it is not. I think most, if not all, of us obsess way too much over sharpness. And I'm as guilty as anyone, if not more so!!

thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY

I am that shakey "old" man. If the exposure is a high shutter speed and the lens short enough I can shoot hand held. Thirty years ago, I could get tack sharp images at shutter speeds as low as 1/20 second. I was away from photography in a regular basis for a few years. When I got black in it, I tried to shoot like I was still younger. Thank goodness I had migrated to digital or I would have wasted a lot of film and paper.
Now my tripod is my best friend. I keep both the monopod and tripod in my car at all times. The monopod had a cool feature. I can unscrew the bottom and unfold 3 legs for better stability. I have even gotten away with using it that way where tripods are not allowed but monopod are permitted. Now don't get me wrong, even unfolded the monopod doesn't equal the stability of my tripod. Both pods are from Manfritto as are the heads. I expect they will last till I die or quit photography, whichever comes first.

thephotoman Loc: Rochester, NY

I am that shakey "old" man. If the exposure is a high shutter speed and the lens short enough I can shoot hand held. Thirty years ago, I could get tack sharp images at shutter speeds as low as 1/20 second. I was away from photography in a regular basis for a few years. When I got black in it, I tried to shoot like I was still younger. Thank goodness I had migrated to digital or I would have wasted a lot of film and paper.
Now my tripod is my best friend. I keep both the monopod and tripod in my car at all times. The monopod had a cool feature. I can unscrew the bottom and unfold 3 legs for better stability. I have even gotten away with using it that way where tripods are not allowed but monopod are permitted. Now don't get me wrong, even unfolded the monopod doesn't equal the stability of my tripod. Both pods are from Manfritto as are the heads. I expect they will last till I die or quit photography, whichever comes first.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

A tripod is just so passé, so for amateurs. I use a quadpod.

PhotoBiker Loc: Charleston, SC

Checked out your site, Steve. I love your photos.

My camera (Canon 60-D) is not that heavy and I do not have a very large/heavy lens but find I don't take my inexpensive tripod out with me very much due to it being unwieldy. I know, though, that my photos would be sharper if I did use a tripod on most shots. What are your favorite tripods to use in the field?

Kathy