Tripods on Group Tours Abroad? (Page 5): All my group trips in recent years have been with OAT, your travel organization. I don't use a tripod for the same reasons you mentioned. I...

crphoto8 Loc: Anaheim, California

All my group trips in recent years have been with OAT, your travel organization. I don't use a tripod for the same reasons you mentioned. I usually lag behind taking photos, sometimes with another one or two photographers. This kind of a tour is NOT a photography tour so I try to be considerate of my fellow travelers. I usually don't take a tripod, the one time I did it stayed in the room. I rarely change lenses while walking as this is really cumbersome and time consuming.

Hsch39 Loc: Northbrook, Illinois

Douglas Hall wrote:

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;

berchman Loc: South Central PA

Douglas Hall wrote:

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;

That's fine if one has enough money to afford them. I can go on two small group non-photo tours for the cost of one photo tour. For example, here is a photo tour of Myanmar which after one adds on air fare is about $8500 per person for 13 days. I toured Myanmar with my wife and another couple for 21 days for less than half that. Just not worth it unless one is wealthy. http://tour.lesterpickerphoto.com/page/805

Douglas Hall

I'm not wealthy either and understand what you are saying. I have been out with non photographers before (not a tour) and trying to take the time to get a good photo using your tripod is a problem;

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Use a monopod and it can double as a walking stick. Bump up your ISO, which I'm sure you know. Also, many tours offer special photo excursions. Invest in a tripod with clip releases instead of twist releases.

Marilia Loc: Dallas, TX

StevenG wrote:

A tripod is not an appropriate piece of equipment ... (show quote)

Well said! 👍🏻

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

PixelStan77 wrote:

Consider a Monopod.
P.S. I get left at the Pantheon because I got involved in what I was shooting with a tripod and the tour bus left without me.I made my way back to the hotel and learned when I approached police officers in Italy, before I could open my mouth to confirm that I am going in the right direction, I was told..No Speaka da English.

That taught you, didn't it? You made me laugh.

philo Loc: philo, ca

the tour leader really messed up. He/she should count heads before leaving.
Granted the group may have been upset with you, but such is life. I would complain to the tour company.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

We have been on three group tours, with three different tour companies. For these tours I did not bring a tripod which was a good decision since these tours moved rather quickly and to be honest there are too many tourists from other tours or just general tourists to take photos from a tripod. The last tour I used my Fuji XT2 with the 18 to 55/f2.8-4.0 stabilized lens and had my best photos on a tour yet. The other two tours I used my Nikon D610 FF and a 85/1.8 lens and a 70 to 200/f2.8 lens. Heavy combo but I got the shots that I wanted without a tripod. Leave your tripod at home.

tbr48

Been on several small group tours, OAT, Odyssey, Road Scholar. Only took a tripod once (on a trip to China and Tibet). Only used it a couple of times when we had some free time. Once after dinner, I left the group van and walked back to our hotel on my own stopping to take some late evening shots of Potala Palace in Lhasa. The second time was in Shanghai when I ventured to the Bund to get night shots of the skyline.

As other have said, these are not photo tours. Lately I have only been taking my pocketable RX100 iii. If you really want to take shots that need a tripod, you either have travel on your own or go on a specific photo tour. Otherwise you’ll frustrate others on the tour as well as yourself.

Just Ducky Loc: Ohio/Florida

boberic wrote:

You men tioned that you travel with your wife. Wives come equipped with a great variety of stable photography platforms. shoulders are a great camera steadying location. Wives can be a suitable wall to lean against. Wives can even carry themselves around, and set up quickly. But they are a LOT MORE expensive than even the most expensive tripod.

Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I went on my first - and so far only - OAT tour in 2016 and I also agree that the pace is breakneck. I brought along a used bridge camera I bought for the trip because I wasn't sure if my A77 and lenses would be safe (or too heavy to pack...one suitcase plus carry-on for 16 days). I also bought a Joby Gorillapod that I really only used once or twice. I would also love to go on a photography tour, but that may have to wait until retirement - or a winning lotto ticket. More times than I care to admit I had to run up to catch the group that went ahead without me. My parents used to take OAT and GCT trips (about a dozen of them) but after an incident with my mom and sister a couple years ago on an OAT trip, she'll NEVER use them again. Personally I had a great experience on mine (Israel). Spent my birthday at a kibbutz on the hills at the edge of the Sea of Galilee.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I have to admit I'm puzzled by this continued fascination with tripods. Indoors, where it is dark, they impede traffic, and often are not allowed. Outdoors most modern cameras get plenty of light. Personally, I haven't used a tripod since I discovered Image Stabilization.

bcrawf

berchman wrote:

If you take a travel tripod on a small group tour,... (show quote)

I understand, since, in the group, I tend to be the most avid for photographing on a tour, but I would never take a tripod, just because the time "cost" of setting up a tripod for a single photo would mean I would miss taking the variety of photos I would want to take. I do have a monopod which telescopes to about 17 inches and has quick-release leg clamps, but I rarely use it on a trip unless for an evening photo or some such special case, since daylight photography rarely needs it. The one accommodation I do make is to take more exposures when I want a bit of extra "insurance" on a photo. I usually have my laptop and offload each evening, so I have a review of how I am doing as I go along.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

berchman wrote:

If you take a travel tripod on a small group tour,... (show quote)

berchman, I am married to a travel agent/agency owner and I can confirm there is nothing cheap about travel even for us. And we have to travel so she can advise her clients for their trips. All the bus tours we have been on require quick photos. Tripods are really not made for bus tours unless they are a photographic bus tour. You will get more time for photos and still be able to catch up with the group (like I was always doing) if you would rent the E-M1 mrII along with the 12-100mm f4 Pro IS lense. The E-M1 mrII has a learnig curve so you may want to download the on-line manual and actually read it. The E-M1 mrII is ideal for handheld travel photography. Rent an extra battery also. If you take tdekany and my advice, I think you will have both more photos and more fun than you ever have before on a bus tour. I rented the 12-100mm lense for my E-M1 mrII and I found it to be true, especially for night time city shots and shots from a moving bus.