Tripods are like cameras - you need to pick the right tool for your style of photography. For example, a landscape photographer wouldn’t use a GoPro as their main camera and the same goes for tripods; select the right design and build to match your approach to picture-taking.
This will result in a hassle-free experience that should help you work faster, more comfortably and will ultimately result in you capturing better images and video.
Now, you may think; ‘aren’t all tripods the same’, but the truth is that’s just not the case so we’re going to outline the different options on the market today, with the aim of helping you make a better informed buying decision - whether you’re searching for your first tripod, or if you feel it’s time to trade up to a different model.
Here's what to consider when choosing a tripod. . .
Aluminium or carbon fibre?
One of the biggest decisions to make comes down to what the tripod is actually made from as this plays a big part in how much the tripod could cost. Typically, more value-for-money tripods tend to be made from aluminium. This is a sturdy and lightweight material, but it’s nowhere near as lightweight as the other main option photographers can buy these days, which is carbon fibre.
If weight saving is a dealbreaker, you’re far better going for the carbon fibre tripod over the aluminium options, although these tend to cost a little more money. Of course, there will be photographers who actually don’t want a featherweight tripod and will prefer a little more ballast. Studio photographers for example won’t be lugging their tripods for miles and will prefer a rock solid tripod that is super-hard to knock over.
Carbon fibre tripods are a good choice if you want to save weight.
Go big or small?
Tripods come in a huge range of sizes; from table-top versions standing just a couple of inches tall, to huge tripods that can be expanded to much taller than headheight. So, selecting the right tripod for your type of photography is all-important. Most photographers will generally mix up their picture-taking; perhaps shooting some landscapes, a little portraiture and maybe even some wildlife or product photography, so a standard, versatile tripod that has three/four leg sections and can be raised up to headheight or dropped down low is the way to go.
However, what if you predominantly travel for your photography? We all know taking a full-size tripod onto a plane can be a hassle, so maybe a travel tripod would be the best option for you? Typically, travel tripods are smaller and feature legs that fold back on themselves to further reduce the size of the tripod, making it easier to stash away in hand luggage.
Travel tripods are portable and less hassle at airports.
Which head is right for you?
Selecting the right head is arguably as important, if not more important, than picking the tripod itself and you may be surprised at how many head options are out there. There’s ball and socket heads, three-way pan and tilt heads, joystick heads, fluid heads, gimbal heads and dedicated video heads. For general photography, a ball and socket head or a pan and tilt head is a good versatile selection - though I prefer pan and tilt heads with the shortened handles as these are less likely to get in the way and take up less space.
If you are often using big telephoto lenses, a gimbal head can provide a good solution to balance your kit. Joystick heads (also called gungrip heads) are useful if you are constantly adjusting the position of your camera as you just squeeze the grip, move the camera and then release. Fluid video heads allow the user to move the camera around smoothly, so you avoid any jerky footage.
Ball and socket heads are great for general photography.
What about leg locks?
Okay, so this variable comes down more on the side of personal preference, but it’s still worth taking into account when choosing a tripod. There’s two main types of leg locks; the more common is flip locks, which as the name suggests is pretty much a flip hinge. I find these to be more preferable and also easier to maintain as you can typically tighten them up using an Allen Key with they get loose. The second option is twist locks, which you twist either direction to tighten or loosen. These can be just as quick as flip locks but can get a bit gunged up if you use the tripod on a sandy beach.
Tripods with either twist locks or flip locks can be adjusted quickly.
How important are centre columns?
Not all centre columns are created equally and some have very cool design features. Look out for clever centre column designs that shift the orientation of the column up to 90-degrees, making it easier to mount the camera looking straight down at the ground. Also, some centre columns are made up of two parts; this allows photographers to remove the lower element, enabling the tripod to be placed even closer to the ground for a low-down composition.
A centre column that can rotate or be shortened will help you get closer to the ground.
What about extra features?
If you are still stuck over a shortlist of potential buys, look out for the extra features on tripods. A spirit bubble will help tell you when you are level to get accurate horizons and foam grips on the leg sections will keep your hands warm rather than you needing to grip freezing metal. Tripods that offer a carry case are advantageous as this will help you transport the tripod and some tripods even have additional ports so you can add extra arms to support a monitor or flashgun.
. digitalrev.com2018-10-31 03:00
