In recent years camera operators covering news have found night vision devices useful in covering nighttime stories where any type of artificial lighting would call attention to the camera and adversely affect the story being covered. Although a tripod may be a hassle to carry and set up, the results are worth the effort. Exceptions to using a tripod are in news and sports where you must be mobile enough to follow moving subject matter, and subjective camera shots that simulate what a moving subject is seeing. An example of the latter would if a subject was being pursued and you wanted to show it from the viewpoint of the pursuer. And, given the fact that a cut from one scene to another is faster and generally better than panning, tilting or zooming to new subject matter, this may be just as well.
Some tripods have heads designed to smooth out pan and tilt movements.
The photo on the left shows one on the door frame of a car. The top of the bag can adjust to the bottom of a camcorder, providing a degree of camera stability. When used on accommodating surfaces, bean bags can represent a quick approach to getting shots. Controls on the pan head allow the camera to freely move, be locked into position, or to offer a bit of resistance to facilitate smooth pans and tilts. Other key elements of a basic studio camera configuration, along with their functions, are also illustrated in the photo above.