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A camera tripod can make a huge difference in the sharpness and overall quality of photos. It enables photos to be taken with less light or a greater depth of field, in addition to enabling several specialty techniques. This tutorial is all about how to choose and make the most of your camera tripod.

A camera tripod's function is pretty straightforward: it holds the camera in a precise position. This gives you a sharp picture when it might have otherwise appeared blurred due to camera shake. But how can you tell when you should and shouldn't be using a tripod? When will a hand-held photo become blurred?

A common rule of thumb for estimating how fast the exposure needs to be is the one over focal length* rule. This states that for a 35 mm camera, the exposure time needs to be at least as fast as one over the focal length in seconds. In other words, when using a 100 mm focal length on a 35 mm camera, the exposure time needs to be at most 1/100 seconds long — otherwise blurring may be hard to avoid. For digital cameras with cropped sensors, one needs to convert to a 35 mm equivalent focal length.

The reason this rule depends on focal length is because zooming in on your subject also ends up magnifying camera movement. This is analogous to trying to aim a laser pointer at a position on a distant wall; the farther this wall is, the more your laser pointer is likely to jump above and below this position due to an unsteady hand:

Simulation of what happens when you try to aim a laser pointer at a point on a distant wall;
the larger absolute movements on the farther wall are similar to what happens with camera shake when you are using longer focal lengths (when you are more zoomed in).

Keep in mind that this rule is just for rough guidance. The exact camera shutter speed where camera shake affects your images will depend on (i) how steady you hold the camera, (ii) the sharpness of your lens, (iii) the resolution of your camera and (iv) the distance to your subject. In other words: if in doubt, always use a tripod.

Finally, camera lenses with image stabilization (IS) or vibration reduction (VR) may enable you to take hand-held photographs at anywhere from two to eight times longer shutter speeds than you'd otherwise be able to hold steady. However, IS and VR do not always help when the subject is moving — but then again, neither do tripods.

OTHER REASONS TO USE A TRIPOD

Just because you can hold the camera steady enough to take a sharp photo using a given shutter speed, this doesn't necessarily mean that you should not use a tripod. You might be able to choose a more optimal combination of aperture, ISO and shutter speed. For example, you could use a smaller aperture in order to achieve more depth of field, or a lower ISO in order to reduce image noise; both require a longer shutter speed, which may mean the photo is no longer able to be taken hand-held.

Photo with a smoothed water effect from a long exposure (only possible with a tripod).

In addition, several specialty techniques may also require the use of a tripod:

· Taking a series of photos at different angles to produce a digital panorama.

· Taking a series of photos at different exposures for a high dynamic range (HDR) photo.

· Taking a series of time lapse photographs to produce an animation.

· Taking a series of photos to produce a composite image, such as selectively including people in a crowd, or combining portions lit by daylight with those at dusk.

· Whenever you want to precisely control your composition.

· Whenever you need to have your camera in the right composition well in advance of the shot, such as during a sporting event.