Photography on Swiss Alps & Dolomites tour

breinb

I'm into photography and was wondering whether bringing a tripod on the small group June 2016 Dolomites tour would be intrusive or not. Would there be enough time on the photo stops to do any serious photography? Were there any tripods in view on previous such trips? Please share.

AlanS

That is a hard one to answer. Are you adept at using it, is it collapsible, etc.? Are you on a small group or standard size tour? If the tripod isn't small or collapsible, it may interfere with getting on and off the bus which might make you unpopular with your fellow travelers. You really won't have time to set it up on guided walking tours and your traveling companion may not like having to stop and wait while you set up the tripod to take photos while walking around during your free time. I took over 2000 photos on this trip with a 16-300 mm lens and didn't feel I needed a tripod.

Richardb

I agree with Alan on this one. We did this tour last year and where there are guided/walking tours a tripod would certainly not be helpful. They do give you a little radio ear piece so you can lag behind a bit and still hear the commentary but things do move on. These radios do have limited range too.
I too took many, many images on this stunning tour. Many of the spectacular views are while traveling on the coach so need to be taken through the windows - and lots of people were doing that rather than miss the image. In truth, I found the amount of "spare" time available at photogenic places were suitable for hand held and I certainly would not have wanted my tripod with me. If you have a modern digital camera the anti-shake feature should serve you absolutely fine.
This is a stunning tour, so just be grateful you don't need to cart a bag full of film around with you anymore.

Ken from Vegas

I too enjoy photography. I've brought a tripod along on some trips, but generally I don't use it when I'm with the group. I reserve it for free time on the tour when I can take my time and not disturb others. This is generally during the early morning and evening "magic" hours, when you really need a tripod. You could also use it when you have "wandering around" time to take those panoramas, selfies, and moving water blur shots. Be sure to take a polarizing filter with you to the Alps!