Originally Posted by
Tannin
Cheers Kipp Yes, as Nouveau1 says, you miss a lot of shots setting up a tripod, but that's the price you pay for extra sharpness (especially as you graduate to bigger, heavier lenses). As a general rule, you will use the little 100-400 hand-held. (Richard will be along later to tell you how wonderful a monopod is - that's his go and not really mine so I'll say nowt about it.) Where a tripod is far, far better than anything else is in situations where you wait for the bird to come to you, such as in a hide. With a tripod, you can wait comfortably for hours if need be. You can also follow some action for a long time waiting for the magic moment. Hand-held, you can't - sooner or later your arm gets tired.!