I'm visiting Paris, Rome, Venice and Florence. I'd like to take my tripod along as I explore the cities but I know most places do not allow tripod use.
I'm wondering if carrying a tripod but not using it is objected to? I'd like to not leave the tripod at the hotel so I can have it at the end of the night to take photos during blue hour. I would be a shame to have to leave it at the hotel (at that point, I might as well not bring it with me).
I’ve photographed in three of those four locations. I bring a tripod but usually leave it in the hotel unless I know I’ll need it.
Are you concerned that you’ll get into trouble just for having a tripod in those cities? I don’t think that is going to be the case. You quite likely will be restricted from taking it into certain places such as museums and churches.
One final thought. I don’t know your routine when traveling, but I often do drop back into the hotel briefly during the day. Perhaps you could leave the tripod there and then retrieve it for night photoraphy later?
It's been maybe 12 years since visiting Rome and Florence and things may have changed. I don't know that there are daytime outdoor use restrictions formally but popular areas are pretty crowded and it's seldom practical. Many "interior" tourist locations had restrictions on what kinds and sizes of things can be brought in for safety and security reasons and may not have bag checks. I retrieved my "travel" tripod from our rooms before sunset a couple of times. I used it near the Colosseum and at the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence. Even then one might need to be aware of crowds, getting to a good position carefully, etc.
gdanmitchell wrote:
Are you concerned that you’ll get into trouble just for having a tripod in those cities?
Thanks for replying to this post too! You helped me with my camera bag deliberations and I appreciate your help again.
I’m not at all concerned about using the tripod outdoors. I’d be very surprised if there were any restrictions around doing so as long as one is not being belligerent or disturbing the peace in some other way.
My concern is I don’t want to have to be bound to return to the hotel mid-day to pickup the tripod. I did a bit of research and also contacted some of the locations we will be visiting (Vatican, Colosseum, etc). Alas, I can’t even bring the tripod in and keep it in my bag. On the plus side, I’ll travel light. On the “con” side of things: I’ll have be judicious about what blue hour shots I really want.
Alas Alas. I really wanted to get the pantheon in the evening but I’ll be there on the same day as the colosseum. Too bad there aren’t lockers I can keep the tripod in somewhere in the city. That’s a service someone should do!
Side note: you can check your tripod into the Vatican cloakroom but the wait could be long to do so even with skip the line tickets.
MaluxPhoto wrote:
Thanks for replying to this post too! You helped me with my camera bag deliberations and I appreciate your help again.
I’m not at all concerned about using the tripod outdoors. I’d be very surprised if there were any restrictions around doing so as long as one is not being belligerent or disturbing the peace in some other way.
My concern is I don’t want to have to be bound to return to the hotel mid-day to pickup the tripod. I did a bit of research and also contacted some of the locations we will be visiting (Vatican, Colosseum, etc). Alas, I can’t even bring the tripod in and keep it in my bag. On the plus side, I’ll travel light. On the “con” side of things: I’ll have be judicious about what blue hour shots I really want.
Alas Alas. I really wanted to get the pantheon in the evening but I’ll be there on the same day as the colosseum. Too bad there aren’t lockers I can keep the tripod in somewhere in the city. That’s a service someone should do!
Side note: you can check your tripod into the Vatican cloakroom but the wait could be long to do so even with skip the line tickets. ...Show more →
A few more thoughts:
In much of my photography I’m very much a tripod kind of guy. But for travel I almost never use one — mostly for reasons related to yours and the complexity of carrying and using it. But with modern digital cameras and reasonably large aperture lenses and IBIS/IS, it is amazing what we can do in low light shooting handheld. (I’ll take a few examples onto this message below.)
Craig’s post reminds me of a couple of things, too. First, if you haven’t already, consider carrying a really minimal “travel tripod” for this limited use. While I use some pretty huge and solid tripods for other photography, the tripod I carry for travel is quite small and far less rugged/solid. But it is good enough for these purposes.
And, again, if there is that one place that you really want to shoot at night using the tripod, that might make it worthwhile to swing back to the hotel and pick it up in the evening.
In any case, have a great trip. We love Italy and are starting to plan our next visit for the fall.
gdanmitchell wrote:
if you haven’t already, consider carrying a really minimal “travel tripod” for this limited use. While I use some pretty huge and solid tripods for other photography, the tripod I carry for travel is quite small and far less rugged/solid. But it is good enough for these purposes.
Great photos; I really enjoyed seeing them! We’re a lot alike in the “i want my tripod with me” vein of photography. Like you I have a large tripod for daily use as well as a small travel tripod. I have the peak design carbon fiber travel tripod and love that it easily fits inside my everyday backpack 20L.
I’m definitely taking your advice in that I’ll leave the tripod behind most days but will pick my days/times to go grab the tripod for night shots after get a feel for the pace for when we head back to the hotel.
I’ll be running around with a A7RIII and a G master 24-70 2.8 and a 16-35 f/4 for wide shots. I’ll crank the iso and will make it work.
By the way: you can see some of my images at AliElhajj.com
There are no restrictions about carrying around a tripod. You can carry around anything you want -- a suitcase, a bicycle, a giant wheel of cheese...
PS. There are lockers in Paris, Rome and Florence. The most likely place to find them is at or around the main train stations. But if the entire point is to keep the tripod handy then leaving it in a locker sort of defeats the purpose.
As mentioned, tripods are not usually allowed indoors (museums, churches, etc.), but it is easy to find lockers where you can store them.
The same applies to flash photography, which can damage the pigments in paintings (or so they say).
Outdoors, we use it without worrying too much about city regulations that prohibit it.
Obviously, it is important not to obstruct traffic, including pedestrians.
Obviously, you can carry whatever you want with you (but guns)!
You may be asked to place it in a locker at the museum entrance to prevent you from accidentally breaking any display cases or exhibits.
My $0.02 is that, since the era of the Nikon D8xx, tripods have lower utility than ever, particularly with the introduction of AI noise reduction. You can shoot at ISO 12,000 with near impunity as long as pay attention to exposure and contrast in the scene. Particularly in cities tripods are unwieldy. And they scream two things: 1) tourist and 2) potentially expensive gear. My choice is to not bring them in cities, and more and more frequently, even in the back country. In fact, in cities I often only bring a cell phone. Here is an image of Bern well after sunset, hand held with a late model cell phone, as DNG, AI noise reduced, and highlights and contrast tamed a bit in PP
1) Tripods and flashes are not allowed in interior spaces. This pretty much goes for every site, museum, and church. You can use a bean bag and "sometimes" a mini-tripod with bendy legs and ribber feet. That will depend on the docents/guards.
2) You can use a tripod pretty much anywhere outside, however, Italian streets are crowded and locals can be tourist intolerant. Be observant of where you set up to minimize making folks go around you.
