How to choose a tripod

Hola amigos, como estas? Now that I have shown off my Spanish skills (thanks to Google Translate), lets get down to business. In this post, I am going to discuss about tripods. Now, when you are just starting out, discussing about a tripod may seem a little odd. In most cases, when you are buying a DSLR, the shop keeper will be more than happy to include a free tripod in the deal to sweeten it a bit.The shop keeper will be happy that he didn't have to reduce the price of the camera and you will also be happy that you have received a tripod for free. It's a win-win situation for both right? WRONG. Before diving into the details, let me inform you at first that those tripods are good for nothing and using them may do more harm than good. At best those el cheapo tripods can be used as flash stands but never ever mount your camera on them. Why you may ask. Read on to find out.

So basically a tripod is for mounting your camera on top of it. The most basic and absolute necessary function of a tripod is holding the camera steady when the shutter is pressed. The aforementioned cheap tripods fail in this very basic function. In most of those tripods, you can visibly see the shake in the tripod when the shutter is pressed. So there goes your photo straight to the trash due to camera shake. Not only that, using those tripods can potentially destroy your camera. Normally those are made of aluminium and are very lightweight and wobbly. If you are not holding them, they can easily topple over and destroy your whole equipment. So, in nutshell, never ever buy cheap tripods, not even one is being given to you free of cost by the seller. Take something else, like a memory card as that will be more useful than these good for nothing trash.

Now since that is out of our way, lets discuss things in detail. You may be surprised to know that how many different kinds of tripods are there in the market. There are the normal tripods that usually come with a Pano head, then there are more professional offerings where the legs and the heads are sold separately, there are carbon fiber tripods which are extremely sturdy and lightweight, there are video tripods which are specifically designed for video cameras and so on. Instead of trying to discuss them all at one go, lets break up the discussion in various parts of the tripod. 

Components-

1. Legs- Kind of no brainer. The three legs of the tripod, typically made from Aluminium, Carbon Fibre or Steel.

2. Heads- This is the part where you attach the camera or the lens. Although there are many different kinds of heads, the most popular are the Ball head and Pan and tilt head.

3. Center Column- Typically this is an extra leg on which the head is mounted and is inserted between the three legs. Can also be used to raise the tripod head.


Most of the cheap tripods combine all of the above and sell them as a package while the professional offerings sell all the components differently. If choosing separately, its important to examine them carefully to ascertain whether a particular unit will meet your requirement or not.

 Legs

The most important part of a tripod are its legs. How sturdy or wobbly a tripod is depends mainly upon its legs. All the tripod legs have multiple sections which folds into one another. Depending upon multiple factors there may be anywhere from three to seven sections in a tripod leg. As a rule of thumb the more the number of sections in a leg, the less stable it becomes. However, now a days there are many very good carbon fiber tripods which have multiple sections to make it small  without compromising with the stability, but those cost on the higher side.

Tips on choosing the tripod legs-  

1. Check the maximum load capacity of the legs-  Keep in mind that in order to make the tripod really stable, you should not exceed half of the written load capacity of the tripod. Suppose your heaviest set up (combined weight of your camera body and your heaviest lens) weighs around 4kgs, then you should at least get a leg that has a weight capacity of 8 kgs.

2. Check the locking mechanism of the legs- Normally there are two kinds of locking mechanism widely used. One is a flip-lock mechanism while the other is a Twisty lock mechanism. While it comes down to personal choice, I prefer the twisty lock over the flip lock as the flip locks are more prone to breakage than the twisty locks, but this is a personal opinion. Play around with both and decide for yourself.

3. Check the maximum/minimum height- Extend the tripod fully and check what is the maximum height. You do not want a short tripod because you will have to crouch to use it. Also check how low the tripod can get (If it has the mechanism)

4. Check the weight and size-  It is extremely important to check the weight and folded size of the legs. A particular set of legs may be extremely stable but if it is bulky and heavy, it will be difficult to lug them around. The carbon fiber tripod legs are generally lightweight and compact compared to their Aluminium counterpart, but they also cost significantly more.

5. Check the feet options- Ideally you should choose a leg that offers you to mount different kinds of feet attachment for different surfaces like sand, mud etc.

6. Check whether the center column can be mounted horizontally- Though not a necessity, this feature comes handy in certain shooting conditions like macro. Check out the image below to understand what I am talking about-

Heads-

If you are buying the components individually, buying a good head is also extremely important as this is the place where you mount the camera and/or lens. There are mainly three different kinds of heads widely available in the market today-

Pan-Tilt head-

Widely used in cheap tripods and better suited for video tripods. Generally consist
of a single handle or sometimes two handles for horizontal and vertical movements. Good for taking panoramas but not so good for other types of photography.

Ball head-

Most widely used by photographers. These allow for much quicker operation than Pan-tilt heads and much more user friendly. However taking panoramic images is a bit difficult.

Gimbal head-

                                        (Photo Credit- www.wexphotographic.com)

A very specialized head used only with heavy lenses like 300mm+ prime lenses. Compared to the other two kinds, this one allows very fast action for the big lenses and are generally preferred by bird/wildlife/sports photographers.

Tips on choosing the head-

1. Decide which one to choose- Again a personal decision but it is advisable to try your hand at both Pan-Tilt as well as Ball head (keeping Gimbal out of the equation). I personally prefer ball head for their ease of use.

2. Check the weight Capacity- Ensure that the weight capacity of the ball head is not less than that of the legs you have chosen.

3. Quick Release system- As you may have noticed, all the cameras come with a screw thread at the bottom for attaching tripods or monopods. Many cheap tripods offer a screw onto which you attach the camera. But this is very inconvenient as every time you have to either rotate the camera itself or rotate a screw while holding the camera. In order to overcome this difficulty, manufacturers have come up with a solution- a small piece of metal/plastic is permanently attached to the bottom of the camera which is attached to the tripod head.

While this is great, but before buying a head check the quick release system carefully. Thats because many manufacturers cut corner here and as a result, the plate becomes wobbly. This destroys the whole tripod. So be extremely careful in examining this aspect. Keep in mind a name- The Arca-Swiss quick release system. This is the most successful quick-release system and has become a standard among other manufacturers as well. So, it is better to have a Arca-Swiss compatible quick release system in your Tripod head.

(This is an Arca-Swiss compatible quick release system)

The other two components, i.e the center column and the feet normally comes with the legs itself. But there are some premium offerings from some manufacturers which offer all the components separately. I am not including them in the discussion here as I feel this would be an overkill.

Apart from the standard tripods that we have discussed above there are some unique offerings in the market that cater to some niche segments. A prime example is Joby Gorrilapod. This unique tripod offers the ability to attach to almost any kind of surface/object and offers unique opportunities which can not be achieved by other tripods. Then there are the mini tripods which is mainly used for table-top photography.

So, after all this gyan, which Tripod should I buy-

Ok ok, I got a bit preachy, but once you are well conversant with these facts, now you are ready to choose your own tripod. Of course like everything the budget plays the most crucial part in decision making. And if you are reading this post and 100s of similar articles online before making your purchase, chances are high that you are tight on budget. Under these circumstances, it is logical to search for something cheap that will do the job. But before you buy that cheap tripod that looks sturdy and costs around Rs 2000, hear my story first.

I got a tripod free with my first DSLR and was very happy. Though that was rickety to say the least and I was lucky that it didn't topple over with my camera whenever I mounted my gear on it. Quickly I realized that it was an absolute trash and searched for something better. I went to many camera shops in Kolkata and soon bought a Tripod costing somewhere around Rs 3000. It was a Chinese tripod named Yungten. To tell the truth it was not bad. Was much better than my initial one and was not wobbly. To its credit it also had a very nice Pan and tilt head. But within 6-7 months, it started to show its true colour. The flip locks started to loosen and it started to shake whenever I pressed the shutter. Finally after a year or so, one of the flip locks broke. Finally I learnt my lesson and saved for some time and got myself a Benro A 297 M8 Legs and A Mefoto Q1 ball head. Both of them combined cost me somewhere around 11k. Now had I bought that in the first place, I would have saved at least the 3000 bucks I wasted on the Yungten.

So as you can see, it pays in the long run to save up and buy a good one instead of buying a cheap one for the short run. A good tripod, if used properly and taken good care of, can last a lifetime. So, instead of buying those cheap Chinese ones with integrated heads, invest in a pair of decent legs and a decent ball head. As of brands, there are many good brands that offer tripods within reasonable price. You can try Benro, Vanguard, Manfrotto, Sirui or if you really have the money to burn, go for Gitzo or Feisol. Unfortunately good tripods are a rare find in regular e-commerce websites and better procured locally. Alternatively you can call up  Anish George of Videolinks (His Facebook Page) and get the tripod delivered to you. He is a trusted seller with excellent service and offers very good rates. Alternatively, you can also check Gaffarbhai and sons in Mumbai. As far as I know, they also ship to all over India.

(Note:- I am not assuming any responsibility for either of them. I dealt with both and found their service excellent, but deal with them or anyone in fact, at you own responsibility and risk. I shall not be liable in any way if anything goes wrong )

So, I guess that's all for now. Do post comments in case of any questions or if you want to express your opinion regarding this matter. See ya all till next time. Adios amigos..