Choosing a Tripod

Use a tripod whenever possible - especially when using long telephoto lenses or long shutter speeds.

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Mastering Digital SLR Photography

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In several of our previous articles, we have recommended (and will continue to recommend) that one way to improve your photography is to use a tripod to stabilize your camera. If you don't have a tripod, or aren't happy with the one that you have, what should you look for when buying a new one? There are many different brands of tripods, in many different styles and with wildly different prices. A quick scan of B&H Photo shows tripods ranging from $18 for the entire system, to over $2000 for just the legs! How do you know  which one is right for you? Here are a few things to consider that might help you find one that you're happy with.

Some things to consider are:

Tripod Usage

In an ideal world, photographers would use a tripod every time they take a photo. Using one can improve almost every image you take. Some situations where a tripod is particularly useful include

* when you are taking a long exposure (image subject to "camera shake"), or 
* when you are taking a telephoto shot (long lenses magnify movement problems) or 
* when you are taking macro/close-up shots (movement can be magnified and small depth of field makes focus a challenge).

Support

The purpose of having a tripod is to provide steady support for your camera. If your tripod can't do this, what's the point of using it? The degree of support you will need depends on your camera system. Make sure that your tripod is rated to support the weight of the biggest camera and lens combination you're going to put on it. Our first tripod was an inexpensive light weight one we got at a local camera store. The first time we took it out with our 35 mm camera and a 35-70 zoom lens, we watched the camera and tripod shake in a light breeze. We now use that tripod for our 8 oz. mini digital camera, a Nikon 775. If you are going to be in conditions such as brisk winds, you may need a tripod with a little extra support, or a mechanism with which to steady the tripod (e.g. hanging a weight from the tripod to plant it more firmly).

Height

If you spend much time working with a camera on a tripod, hunching over a short tripod gets uncomfortable quickly. However, if you don't need extra height, why bother with the extra weight and expense of a taller tripod? Many tripods have a centre column that will raise the camera higher than it would be if only the legs are extended - however, the camera will be much less steady when raised on a centre column than it will be if the tripod head is sitting directly on top of the legs without any centre column extension.

Weight

Unless you are working in a studio or have an assistant to carry your tripod for you, chances are you're going to have to lug your tripod with you to get your shots. Typically, the sturdier a tripod, the heavier the tripod - so while you might want one with some extra capacity for sturdiness (who knows when that perfect shot will happen on a windy day?), you will want a light enough tripod that you can carry it with you. Believe us, the further you carry your tripod, the heavier it gets.

For those who really need to avoid the extra weight, you can get a carbon fibre tripod instead of the more usual aluminium one. While carbon fibre is lighter than metal, when we last purchased a tripod, the carbon fibre version was over twice the price of the aluminium  version - so the trade off here is for weight is the cost of the tripod.

Flexibility of Movements

This is especially important in macro photography. Do you need a tripod that goes flat to the ground? If so, then you may want to look for a tripod that can do this. We have one tripod that, while it works fine for general use, is the one specifically set aside for macro work, because it will easily go flat to the ground, and can be extended out from a flat position to get low angle shots low to the ground (e.g. flower shots). For those of you doing photo restoration and copy work, some tripods will let you mount the camera under the tripod centre, so that you can point the camera at the ground between the legs - this can make a convenient copy stand to use your camera to copy photographs or documents.

Tripod Head

It was not until we seriously got into photography that we realized that for many good tripods, the tripod head (the part that attaches your camera to the tripod legs) is frequently sold separately from the legs. This makes a lot of sense - just because the legs meet your requirements doesn't mean that the standard head will. You want the head to be able to let you move the camera in a number of ways, so that you can tilt it up or down, put it in portrait or landscape orientation, and adjust for any tilts of the  tripod legs, and do all this quickly enough that you can get the photo.

The two main types of heads are "pan heads", which usually have two controls for two axis of movements (i.e. one for forward-back tilt, and one for left-right tilt). The other usual type is a "ball head" with which the camera is mounted on a ball that can be rotated into a number of positions, and when the camera is in the right position, a screw or lever clamps the ball so the camera doesn't move. We're both fans of ball heads - with a little practice they are much easier to use to get the camera into a variety of positions quickly. Other people prefer pan heads, though, so it is a matter of personal preference. We've been quite happy with Acratech ballheads ( http://acratech.net ), which are sturdy ballheads that are also quite light.

Portability

Do you travel with your tripod? If you fly with it, it will almost assuredly need to be in your checked baggage. One of our criteria for tripods is that they fold up small enough to fit in our medium size suitcase. If you backpack with a tripod, the collapsed size of the tripod and the weight will be one of the  driving factors in the choice. On the other hand, if the tripod mainly goes from the trunk of your car to a nearby location, this might not be as important a factor in your choice.

Cost

As with any camera gear, you want to consider what you can afford, and find the best tripod for you within your budget. Tripod manufacturers are not stupid - typically, for the features listed above, you will pay to get more performance. On the other hand, a  high-quality tripod can serve you for a number of years, so consider getting one that meets your needs as much as possible, to avoid "outgrowing" it in the future.

Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence are the co-owners of Hankins-Lawrence images LLC, a digital photography company based in Maryland.

Photography