efleck Loc: Vancouver, WA State

Bechman: I too use OAT for much, but not all, of our travel (20+ trips.) I brought a tripod on one of my first OAT trips and a light-weight Sirui monopod on a few others. I discovered that the pace of the trip would not allow time for set up, except in very rare cases. Example of a rare case: we were at our hotel in Palmyria, in Syria, the night before our next day's tour of the fantastic Roman ruins (that are now mostly destroyed) and I got terrific night long-exposure shots of some of the old ruins while the group was having cocktails. This was the only time I had time to use the tripod on a month long OAT trip (main trip + pre- and post-.) Now, I never bring a tripod on my trips or a monopod. However, I do bring on every trip a small travel tripod (5 in. Bilora Stabilet 1011) that I got decades ago--it is available used online. I can often set this up on a picnic table, tree stump, fence pillar, the ground, etc., and get good shots before the tour group moves on. Example: our OAT group spent some time at an observation point outside Marrakech where the group leader gave us at least 15 minutes to look at the photogenic cityscape and use the "facilities." I took this time to set up my travel tripod and took several photos of the cityscape to create a wonderful 2-page panoramic shot that now resides in our Morocco travel book. We also travel with friends on self-organized trips (the next one starts next month to New Zealand.) Our group of 8 will be more accepting of my photography needs than an OAT group, but still not as accepting as a dedicated photography tour tour would allow. We just returned from Botswana where we paid a much greater fee to have our own safari vehicle = a private photography tour. This allowed all the time I needed for setting up a shot However, except in a few cases a tripod would not have been useful--we were usually restricted to safari vehicles. The main change I have made in my travel photography, my main photographic interest, is the purchase a the lighter-weight Olympus EM1MkII plus a 12-100mm Pro lens (I also take the 300mm Pro prime for wildlife). The combined in-camera image stabilization coupled with the lens stabilization of the 12-100mm allows me to take shots, hand-held, at remarkably low shutter speeds allowing lower ISOs. One last suggestion for a tripod substitute was suggested by a post on this group some years ago to create a flexible stability platform. I have a 5-foot dog leash that has an eyebolt with 1/4-inch threaded end that fits into my tripod attachment site. I put my foot through the hand-loop of the dog leash and raise the camera until it is restrained by the leash. This technique allows me to take shots with much greater stability than simple hand holding. I have taken a number of stitched panoramic shots using this technique. The dog leash is compact and very easy to set up. Hope my comments help.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I would use a bodypod with a Sony RX10 .....

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-269999-1.html

..

Michael71

I use two Manfrotto tripods, both of which have a massive center column and a firm locking mechanism. Raising the center column is not an issue. At times I shorten the legs in order to take up less space and use the center column to get the right height. That being said, a tripod is of limited use on the type of tour you describe.

Michael71

This is not unlike the technique of using a rifle sling to steady your aim.

Hsch39 Loc: Northbrook, Illinois

I always travel with my carbon fiber tripod, but my wife and I never go on group tours. The tour guides spend more time in shops, then on the sites. We hired private drivers with car in Cambodia for $30.00 a day, Vietnam for $90.00 a day, in Luxor, Egypt for a 10 hour day we paid $120.00. I have to admit, that I go on these trips for photography not for history lessons or shopping.

agillot

a monopod will get you to about 50% of a tripod , plus can be used as a cane if needed .

magpix Loc: St. Michaels, MD

Very good point. In fact in planning a future trip to Ireland I spoke with a popular tour company, explaining that my wife is a painter and I'm a photographer. She very honestly told me NOT to book one of her typical tours because we would not have time for ourselves. Instead, she is working on setting up a private tour with our own driver. The total cost is only a bit more than the larger bus tours, as the airfare, hotels, food, etc. are all the same cost. And yes, the shopping and history lessons offered by most tours can get very tiring very quickly.

philo Loc: philo, ca

I have traveled with OAT and they are a great company; however they are not geared to photography. I'm also about forced to travel solo in order to do the work that I want to do. My rule is never travel with a photographer if you are not one. They can drive you crazy.
My wife and I do not travel together so I'm looking for a travel partner. I would love to go back to Africa, Turkey etc. anyone want to partner up?

SierraP Loc: Eastern Sierras

Definitely go monopod. The universal sign all over the world is "no tripods". Most monopods will double as a walking stick, good camouflage.
I gave up on added support years ago. Just raise your ISO and use your cameras Image Stabilization feature, then just hold your breath and shoot. There is usually something to brace yourself or the camera nearby.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

I can't speak for other tour companies, but OAT's small group tours affords me experiences which I would not otherwise have, even touring individually with a driver/guide. For example, lunch with a Christian Arab family in Haifa where the topic of discussion was their relations with Muslim and Jewish neighbors, stopping at a custom made leather goods shop in Palermo run by the first gay couple to be publicly married in the square in Palermo and their experiences with hatred and support, being able to ask a famous matador at a fighting bull ranch in Spain about his fears, watching a peasant woman in Laos dig a tarantula out of the ground, fry it, and offer it up to taste. So, yes, I can do without the overload of historical information that will soon be forgotten anyway and with the stopping at shops (although I *have* gotten some good candids of local customers), but there are other benefits such as having other group members serving as topics of conversation when you and your wife are alone. On one three week tour of Sicily in a rented car with just my wife, we ran out of things to say to one another after awhile, since we were together 24/7. And then there is the removal of stress because all the stressors are taken care of--transportation, finding your way in strange cities, etc.

SierraP Loc: Eastern Sierras

Amen to StevenG. If they always have to "find you", you are being a pain in the rear to the whole group. Learn to shoot on the run, stop, shoot and go. Your lack of speed is not the rest of the group's problem.

charleybrowndog

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Tripods aren't needed all the time. I'd have to say that most of the time you won't need one when traveling with a small group tour so leave it at home.

Reasons for needing a stable platform: (aka tripod)

1. Exposures that might be slower than one over the inverse of your focal length reduced by the number of stops your cameras or lenses stability has.
*****In other words, if shooting at 70mm focal length and you have VR, or IS or whatever they call your stability system, (say 2 stops) you can reliably hand hold your camera at 1/16th of a second shutter duration.
2. Multiple exposures such as time-laps or focus stacking etc.

3. Taking video

4. Heavy lens/camera combo such as a 500mm lens on a DSLR

For most smaller zoom lenses on a DSLR, just hand hold your camera and bring the ISO up if you have to increase the shutter speed enough to keep the image from the dredded motion blur.

timcc Loc: Virginia

It should, but for most travel you would need a 100-400 mm lens only infrequently. I shoot about 95% of my travel images in the 16-70 mm range, and about 3% with a 12 mm prime (inside cathedrals and other buildings, wide-angle landscapes, etc.). Most street scenes require wider angles than 100 mm, the exception being discrete close-ups of people from a distance. The telephoto is also useful for compressing landscapes, but I am more inclined to use the 16-70 at its long end. Unless you are shooting a lot in the 300-400 mm range or in low-light conditions, Sony's in-lens stabilization, a slightly higher ISO if a higher shutter speed is needed, and a steady hand should suffice.

Douglas Hall

Just registered here. Have been reading for awhile. My feeling on this topic is DO NOT go on a tour. Go on a 'photo tour'. There is a vast difference. I go on photo tours only as photography is my main purposes. Plenty of time to set up and photograph from your tripod. The guides are photographers themselves and get you to the good locations at the right time of day/best light, etc. Best of luck;