BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Advice on buying a tripod

Thanks,
Olga

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July 20, 2005

It’s a little tough answering your question without knowing what type photography you do the most. I mostly do nature photography and my main tripod is the Bogan Tracker with the Tracker pan head. This is a very sturdy, tough tripod that has a reversible center pole (an essential if you want to do wild flower or other closeup photography). The cons of this tripod are the weight and the fact that it does not collapse fully to the ground. I also use a Benbo 2 tripod with a Bogan ball head. This tripod is very flexible and can bend itself into just about any position. The con to this tripod is that it is no where as sturdy as the Tracker. The pro is that it is much lighter – hence not as sturdy – the normal tradeoff. I also own a Slik 700DX that I occasionally use. This was a gift from a friend and I’m not wild about it simply because it does not have the stability of the other tripods. It also does not have the spike feet that my Bogan has – an essential to much of nature photography.

Now if you primarily shoot indoors, in a studio or other setting, none of these tripods would likely meet your needs. As a novice myself, I would think that you would want to consider the following when selecting a tripod: stability; height; weight (if you are going to be carrying it around with you); adjustability (will the tripod adjust to meet most of your photo taking needs?); and durability. You will want tripod legs that adjust in height and position regardless of what type shooting you plan. Make sure that the maximum height of the tripod is no lower than your eye height – a too short tripod is uncomfortable and may force you to raise the center column in order to meet the height of your subject – something that can cause camera shake. Minimum height will depend upon what type shooting you plan to do –although I would recommend at least looking at tripods that can be fully flattened on the ground if you plan any type of nature work. Personally, I prefer all metal tripods. I have gone the route of the less expensive, mostly plastic or composite, tripods and have found that they do not hold up – at least in the field. Price, as always, may be a consideration, but you need to recognize that, at least to a point, you get what you pay for. This does not mean that you have to select a carbon-fiber tripod (they are expensive, but great!), but you need to check quality. You can go with an “all-in-one” tripod with legs and head built together; a set of legs with interchangeable heads; or a set of legs from one manufacturer and a head from a second. Personally, I like legs with an interchangeable head for most of my work. I suspect that, just as in cameras, most photographers have their favorites and would tell you to buy one brand over another. IMHO, again, just like in cameras, the equipment has to fit the user. I hope that this helps!

Irene

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July 20, 2005

Thanks again,
Olga

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July 20, 2005