That a tripod is an asset is a given. Great tripods take away the challenge of camera shake. They provide a firm compositional platform so you can spend more time thinking about the story your image is going to tell and setting up the image just right. They remove a lot of concerns about shutter speed, aperture and ISO, affording you the flexibility to make the decisions in the exposure triangle and in lens choice by reducing the constraints created by dim light, long focal length, the need for massive depth of field and the need to allow for motion blur.

With the holiday season approaching, many photographers are hoping for the gift of a reliable tripod that they will actually use. I wanted to share my learning about the new Cameron CF700BH tripod with this in mind. A tripod that goes unused is worthless. After over forty years as a photographer, and nearly ten years as a photographic educator, I’ve learned that photographers avoid using a tripod for three reasons.