Suggestions for the best tripods for use on field expeditions as well as studio use.

Precocious students in my era (1960's) had a Tiltall. Most beginners and amateurs tend to buy cheap lightweight brands. Studio photographers tend to have a giant studio stand (which is not intended to be portable). Linhof makes several sturdy studio stands.

Weekend photographers consistently make the mistake to get a tripod with thin multi-section legs which may end up being more wobbly than shooting by hand! It is a waste of money to get a thin tripod because you may get more shake with an inadequate tripod then simply holding still yourself.

If your photography is limited to recording your kids and grandchildren, then spare yourself the cost and hassle of a tripod. You are always more spontaneous with no tripod. If your subject is architecture, stiff life, anything in a studio, and most aspects of nature photography, however, then you will profit from having a tripod. The situation is rather simple, if you use a tripod you will get improved results if you ever plan to enlarge your photographs.

TILTALL brand tripods were great in the 1960's, so good that Leica bought the company. A few years later Leica sold Tiltall and the subsequent generations of this brand seemed to revert to common cheap components. I have not had an opportunity to see a current model of a Tiltall. Too bad, since the Tiltalls made between 1960 through the 1970's were robust enough to hold a Hasselblad.

To solve the problem of wobble, the best solution in a portable tripod (if a heavy studio tripod can be considered as portable) is to go to the Linhof or Ries series of professional tripods. Something as industrial strength as a Linhof tripod is, though, only for the very serious amateur or full-time professional who wants the Mack Truck equivalent in a solid tripod. We discuss the impressive Ries tripods in a separate section--they were the tripod of choice of Ansel Adams.

To review Linhof tripods I made a personal visit to Linhof international headquarters in Munich, Germany. Dipl.Ing. Ullrich Weigand made a good presentation of the reliability and stability of these precision German products. Here is a tripod that will not wobble, neither with an 8x10 nor with a large format panorama camera.

Professor Hellmuth's Professional Pick: Linhof 2-section Heavy Duty Pro Tripod, model no. 003323.

Several accessories are available for this tripod such as a large geared centerpost, an extension column, and an outrigger adapter for horizontal placement of the large geared centerpost or extension column.

Linhof representative in the USA: HP Marketing Corp., 16 Chapin Road, Pine Brook, NJ 07058,

Tel 201 808 9010, fax 201 808 9004; fax to Linhof headquarters in Germany from USA 011 49 89 72 49 22 50

If you need a reliable source for professional camera and studio equipment, Calumet Photographic/Calumet Digital Solutions has everything. Besides, you can talk to them and get friendly information.

If you wish additional information on the equipment described on this page, you might wish to contact scott.price@calumetphoto.com, tel 312 944 2777 ext 2202, fax 312 944 4035.

Redesigned April 2008.

Links added Mar. 2002. Edited March 4, 1999.

Available by october 2008 Available by octuber 2008 Available by october 2008 Available by october 2008 Available by october 2008

Medium Format Digital Camera Initiative For over 30 years Nicholas Hellmuth has used Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras to record the flora, fauna, and Maya archaeology of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Now, for the last six years, he is extending his medium format experience to digital photography. Since FLAAR works both in a studio as well as out on location, we are an ideal focus for judging portability. We have experience with large format digital scan backs (the excellent BetterLight) and we also use Nikon (D300) and Canon (EOS 5D) digital cameras. A full-service digital pro should have at least one medium format digital system and should consider large format digital options as well. FLAAR also has an 80-megapixel large format camera (yes, they do exist, we have a Cruse). Although we started with a Leaf Valeo 22 coupled with a Mamiya 645 AFD body and lenses, we are open to showcasing all bodies as well as other digital backs. Indeed we tested an Imacon 4-shot back on a Hasselblad H1 body. For a month (February 2006) it was possible to evaluate a MegaVision black-and-white dedicated back for fine art photography. We are also considering the Rolleiflex 6008 AF, one of the outstanding medium format cameras that still offers European precision. However in the last 40 years we have not received any Rollei (or Franke & Heidecke) equipment for evaluation, so we can comment only on the Hasselblad and Mamiya (loaned briefly two years ago by Mamiya America). Camera resellers or manufacturers who wish to have their cameras, lenses, and backs included in the digital photography evaluation initiative are welcome to send their equipment for evaluation. Curently all the medium format backs are coming from Global Imaging Inc, Greg Lamb, CEO (contact 800 787-9802, press 4, fax 212 722-0988). This is one of the few camera stores in the entire US or Canada that offers ALL major brands of medium format (so they have no incentive to push one brand over the other). However we are also open to receiving medium format backs directly from the manufacturer. Over 381,154 visitors came to this www.digital-photography.org web site to learn which cameras, lighting, tripods, and accessories have proven themselves during evaluation by FLAAR. Since we deliberately do not review low-end cameras, our reviews attract a sophisticated audience. The total "visit" count is 791.562 during 2007, but we prefer to use the visitor count, 381.154 as being more realistic. FLAAR is the de facto source of information on medium format digital cameras because we are university based, independent, blunt, and we are one of the few review sources that dares to review advertising specs, advertising claims, and advertising hype. We can afford to reveal all the pros and cons because FLAAR is a research institute. Photographers feel they can trust a university research professor who has devoted years to understanding the pros and cons of each aspect of a digital camera system and workflow. You can download our colorful FLAAR Reports on our medium format digital camera initiative.