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I just ordered a Dolica tripod which came with a bag. I'm wondering how photographers typically carry their tripods around.

If I am going specifically on a photography trip, then there's no problem taking the extra tripod bag along with me, but if I'm just going out to the city for other reasons, I still want to be able to take my camera with me just in case, and would also like to take my tripod. But I'm not sure I want to carry an extra bag with me, especially if the day is going to end with dinner at a nice restaurant.

Should I get a second tripod that can be shrunk to a smaller height so that it would fit in a small bag? I've looked at the Gorillapod, but not sure I like it so much because your "point of view" is not flexible as you are dependent on some structure being around. The ZipShot looks pretty good though. How do others are deal with this?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Hi Prabhu! Welcome to the site. I edited out some of your apologies, because there's no need for them. It's a fine question. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Oct 20, 2011 at 23:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ I dream of the day when they rent out tripods near touristy places.. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 28, 2011 at 23:34

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This is the reason why I bought a tripod that could be collapsed to less than 20 inches: so it will fit in my rollaboard suitcase. I simply toss my tripod and head in the suitcase, body and lens in my briefcase. When I want to go shoot, my tripod is light enough to carry by hand, or I can actually clip a shoulder strap on it if I need to. (comes in handy when traveling in a sketchy area...just swing it around a bit, and no one bothers you) LOL

When I can't even take that, my soft briefcase makes a perfect, secure 'stand' for my camera, though my shots are often limited to finding a stable wall, or clear view from the ground.

Here is a "bag' shot:

enter image description here
(source: smugmug.com)

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    \$\begingroup\$ also, about 10m away from where you took this shot, a big piece of granite about 1m high works to use as a tripod :) I have no idea what its purpose is besides this! \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Oct 21, 2011 at 4:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ Great shot. Thanks. Btw, what tripod do you have? \$\endgroup\$
    – Prabhu
    Oct 21, 2011 at 17:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Prabhu : I have a Benro Carbon Fiber (C-158) with a Kirk BH-3 head. \$\endgroup\$
    – cmason
    Oct 21, 2011 at 17:42
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Well specifically answering the question about how to carry, you can get a backpack that has the capability of carrying a tripod such as this bag on Amazon. Or if you don't want to carry around a backpack, then I would suggest having a secondary tripod that is smaller then full size, portable, and can fit into a handback or similar camera bag.

Obviously other options exist such as GorillaPods, but that wouldn't involve much worry about "carrying":)

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, the bag looks pretty good, and reasonably priced. That's something that I might use when I'm go on a trip specifically for photography, but I think it's a little too much for a regular day out. A secondary tripod is probably what I need to get. \$\endgroup\$
    – Prabhu
    Oct 21, 2011 at 17:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ While I agree with dpollitt's post above, there is one word of warning concerning backpacks ... if you are gong to use a backpack to also carry a tripod make sure the tripod mounts in the middle as the weight of having the tripod on the side of the backpack can make it very uncomfortable if used for some time. I have a very light carbon fibre tripod with magnesium head, but certainly notice the difference in balance of mounting it centrally or on the side of a backpack. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 25, 2011 at 3:57
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    \$\begingroup\$ @BarrySemple Water bottle on the other side, and there you go! \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Mar 31, 2019 at 4:14
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I have Velbon CX​-460 mini​/F 3 tripod, which is very small, so I can put it in my normal bag, so no problem to carry it. It is light, small and enough for shots using a kit lens (in my case 18-55). I bought it originally for my EVF Fuji S9600 but it seems to be OK also for my Pentax K-x DSLR.

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