tripod level

HerzogisGod

HerzogisGod

Well-known member
I have the little round one with the center bubble attached to my tripod.

so, as long as the bubble is in the center i will always be sure to have perfect horizontal and vertical straightness?

how does this work in terms of composition? I notice still that parts of my composition, say, the corner vertical line where two walls meet, may still be off even though the bubble is in the middle

what do you use for a guide in any given composition to make sure framing and everything within the frame are leveled
 
Is there a possibility that your camera to your mounting plate and/or your plate to your tripod is not completely flush/level? What kind of set-up do you have? Walls are not always level either. Is this a common recurring problem you are having or a one time problem?
 
Around 80% of the time, the bubble level will be accurate, however, there are a bunch of times when you will find yourself on a surface that is uneven to the thing that you are shooting. In this case, just level yourself off to the horizon. I usually just tilt down and make sure the top of the frame is parallel with whatever I'm using as reference.
 
HerzogisGod said:
I have the little round one with the center bubble attached to my tripod.

so, as long as the bubble is in the center i will always be sure to have perfect horizontal and vertical straightness?

how does this work in terms of composition? I notice still that parts of my composition, say, the corner vertical line where two walls meet, may still be off even though the bubble is in the middle

what do you use for a guide in any given composition to make sure framing and everything within the frame are leveled
Click to expand...


As mentioned, just because you are 'level' with the surface of the earth... does not mean what you are shooting is lined up in the frame...

For lines to be 'perfect' in the frame, it is the camera, and the frame of the image that need to be lined up...

So, sure, level your camera, and given that there are no loose or out of whack connections from where your tripod level is, and where the camera sits, one can be 'assured' the camera base is on a plane parallel to the tripod level indicator.

Next thing.. and I'll use a building as the object to be shot...

The Film/Sensor plane must be parallel to the walls of the building. If the camera is turned to one side or another, the 'lines' of the building will change angle in the frame. This holds for a 'pan' side to side, or a tilt, top to bottom, of the building.

Oh, but the building is now cut off at the first floor... or so... put in a 'wide angle' lense... oops, a wide angle lense distorts 'straight' lines and bows them... ok, back up about 1/2 mile and use a telephoto... oops.. no room to backup...

The watch word here is 'compromise'... one has to come to some conclusion as to what is important in the shot... lines straight, angles that are supposed to be 90 deg. are represented on the film plane as 90 deg... is this for an architectural firm? or a fictional narrative...

This is one of the reasons why 'real' lenses are expensive, because in order to keep lines 'straight', and have a wide angle of view, a lense must have number of elements and specialized grinding... and isn't done for the consumer/prosumer permanent lenses.
 
i use an hvx200...so im good there.

I usually use my eye, choosing the most important element in the shot and making sure it is straight and level. All else seems to fall into place.

but sometimes compositions can a bit more complicated, especially when shooting say, a wide exterior of a house. Do I level the rooftop? the side of the house? the porch? the doorway? each of these can compromise the other, I've found.

And yes, this is a narrative film :)
 
for exteriors I always level the horizon unless I'm going for something oddly stylized. Even if you can't see the horizon you should be able to know where its supposed to be. This could mean you dont have any other lines that are level but it always has looked "right" to me.
 
Good idea

I used a tree as my guide once. The tree was in the foreground on the left edge of the screen. behind the tree in the distance was the exterior home I was shooting

well I lined up the tree nice and straight only to find that the house was off level. but when i leveled the house the tree was no longer straight. didnt know what to do...couldnt figure it out.

I wanted a straight tree and a level house
 
If its near the edge of the frame at a wide angle you probably are getting some distortion and the angle of the horizon to the tree is less than 90. For building exteriors I get as far off as possible and use a long lens (less distortion). Sometimes though a little distortion is fine or actually what I'm looking for.
 
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