basic basic about tripod. (1 Viewer)

i inherited a manfrotto tripod and don't know how to use it other than extending legs so that spotting scope is eye level. how does one set it up so that it is the most stable for spotting scope or photography?

Maybe I'm stupid cos I dont understand your question!
You open the legs, mount the scope/camera on it and look thro!
Legs should be as wide spread as poss (tripod's not yours!), try not to use the vertical extending central column, which you wind up, cos this reduces stability.
If you can hang a bag off the bottom of the central column that can steady it a bit.

Good advice above.

I have to admit though that the first thing that popped into my head after reading your post was "Great, he has a set of tripod legs but is there a head attached to it?". I am guessing there is but don't want to make any assumptions.

If there is a tripod head attached then connecting your spotting scope to it should be as easy as placing it on top of the head and connecting it to the tripod via the attachment screw located on the top of the tripod head. Wait, does the head have an attachment plate on the top of it? If it is does then you will need to remove the plate in order to access the screw from underneath.

Fill in the gaps and/or take some pics and post them. That would help us provide you with more accurate suggestions.

bartolli said:

Maybe I'm stupid cos I dont understand your question!
You open the legs, mount the scope/camera on it and look thro!
Legs should be as wide spread as poss (tripod's not yours!), try not to use the vertical extending central column, which you wind up, cos this reduces stability.
If you can hang a bag off the bottom of the central column that can steady it a bit.

Click to expand...

thanks for your reply .. u understood. i've seen lots of people just extend the legs a little and didn't know if that's the correct way or all the way extended. thanks now i know. i've tried raising the center column didn't know you're supposed to. so it'll go down and now i've got a bag and will suspend it.
no one ever talks about this and takes it for granted that everybody knows how to set a tripod up. btw the view from the eye piece is great.

There are typically three elements to a tripod system. You have the legs - which normally have sections to change the height. On top of the tripod you have a tripod head. This can be an inexpensive head attached to the tripod, or on more expensive tripods a separate head. Good tripod heads can get very expensive but they make it easier to keep your scope or camera steady. You can get video heads that have a lever to help pan, ballheads which are used in photography, or a gimbal head which is more expensive but very nice for birding and handling heavy long lenses and scopes. On top of the tripod head are is a release. With tripod heads, rather than screwing your scope to the tripod, you attach it to the head using a clamp. This makes it much faster to mount and remove and protects gear from undue stress. There are different types of clamps - the generic clamp is referred to as an Arca Swiss mount after the developer of the design. Fitting into the clamp is a matching plate which is attached with a screw to your scope, camera, or lens. High end plates are custom milled to exactly fit the contours of your gear in order to resist twisting. A few manufacturers have proprietary clamps and plates. Proprietary plates can lock you into a system and make it expensive to use generic plates later.

Generally speaking, you want to avoid using the center column as much as possible. Likewise you want to extend the legs to the extent needed, but you can keep them short for use on a table or raised platform. When you open the legs, open the top section - the fattest leg diameter - before opening lower sections. Use the bottom section only if needed.

Most tripods today are pretty sturdy and just require a bit of common sense. If you are using it around sand or extreme dust, be sure to wipe off the legs and joints when you are finished. It's fine to get it wet - but in salt water you should rinse it off afterwards to prevent corrosion.

You can spend a lot of money on a good tripod, tripod head, and plates. For camera gear, a good system may cost $1000 or more. It's a matter of how important stability is and how much impact you have from a small amount of vibration. For birding, a little vibration does not make as much difference so you can go with a lighter system and make some compromises.