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You know ..... I really never gave a thought towards, and certainly didn't intentionally go out and try to, start a collection of Tripods. But somewhere along the way I ended up with a whole herd of the beasts, so I guess I'd better try to explain how this came to be.

Just a part of the "family".




Way back in the pre-digital age when cameras used an antiquated technology called "Film" I had somehow scrounged enough money to get myself a really decent camera system for photographing my backpacking, climbing and other nature adventures, and as my preferred films were rather slow and were many of my lenses, there were times when having a tripod was essential. So I got one ... but it was a real cheapy that wasn't very stable, so later I got another better one, that still wasn't very good nor stable ... so I think you can see where this is going. But that only accounts for three, two of which are shown front row right above. About that time I got myself a not very good spotting scope, that came with a little table top tripod (far right) but definitely needed a dedicated tripod for it also. Many years ago I found a really old design collapsible tripod at a yard sale for a buck, so that is what it sits on now. Wholly unstable, but we use it mostly at very close range on birds here in the yard, sometime just watching the hummingbird feeder from our recliners looking out the window, and using the tripod more like a bipod or even a monopod. Well enough of that.

Early inadequate camera tripods




Somewhere along the line I started collecting old optical/mechanical surveying instruments, and sometimes a tripod would just naturally tag along with them, but other times they would require some specialty tripod, or special mount head, that required me to search and obtain just the right tripod for them. Thus very many different tripods, and some near duplicates, came into my life.

A rather standard transit and level mount tripod, though there are at least three fairly common "standard" mount threads to be found.


Special Johnson Head Tripod for Plane Table and Alidade work.


Having always been deeply interested in astronomy, I was "fortunate" to run across a real deal on a nice little 127mm Mak/Cass that of course came with a tripod that has a specialty head just for it, and have since gotten an even larger Celestron 8" scope that also has a really large dedicated tripod, so there are two more really huge beasts!

These photos show the smaller of the two telescope tripods.





As time passed, I got deeper into certain shooting venues, and so needed a really good spotting scope with a really heavy tripod, and along came the Bogen tripod, which is what I should have had all those years ago with the Nikon camera. The Burris spotting scope came with a small  table top tripod with specialty head of its own (second from right on table), which hardly ever gets used, but has great potential for macro-photography, and does work well on the bench at the range.

The Bogen, a really good stable tripod!


There are well over a dozen more, mostly of surveying styles, tucked away elsewhere, some being dedicated to other uses, like the big old military surplus one under my chronograph skyscreens.

Honestly ..... I really never intended to collect Tripods in any way shape or form ..... but see what happens when you're not looking!?!?

In the Cluttertorium, in the shop, in the shed, in the closet, in the living room, behind the bookcase, hanging from the headers and wherever else they seem a bit out of the way. But you're right Larry, these suckers are space hogs, even worse than the transit, level and alidade cases that I did intentionally collect!

Nice collection Daniel, there`s something about tripods ya just gotta like. 

Well Lenn, not so sure how keen I am about the tripods themselves, but they are most certainly a critical adjunct to whatever it is that gets mounted atop them. A good tripod is a blessing and essential to accurate surveying, a steady telescope image or a vibration free photograph. A bad tripod in nothing but a curse! There are too many of both kinds in my "collection", but they all "belong" to something else that is intentionally in my collections, so I'm sort of stuck with them it seems.

Very interesting Daniel. The thread made me think about how many tripods I have. Thanks for another cool thread.

I think I've got more bad ones than good ones here