Since many newbies had been seeking advice for a/m, we decided to put up a sticky.
Please correct or add in more selection criteria should you have one.
Please note these guidelines are not for selection of "Studio Tripod".
In these writeups, you will notice I am using mostly Manfrotto tripods and heads as examples. Its just that I have been using them right from the start and only used 1 Giottos ballhead lately. I dont receive anything from that company.
Very often, I hear people complaining how bad their tripod and tripod head is, cant even hold their camera with kit lens mounted. But the fact is, they are using an undersized tripod set. You cant expect a tripod that is design to carry a compact digital camera to hold a DSLR + grip + flash + big lens with constant aperture of f2.8 max. But why do they buy a undersized tripod in the 1st place? Simple answer will be weight and price. These were reasons that got for some of my friends to get a Manfortto Junior tripod, but use it for their DSLR, than complaint its a lousy tripod and wonder why so many of us uses Manfrotto.
Bottom line is, as with everything else, use the correct tools for the job.
Saw this quote posted by catchlights, but he told the originator should be ortega
Most people want 3 things when looking for tripod.
Cheap, light and sturdy,
But most of the time people will settle for twos..
Light and sturdy tripod won't be cheap
Cheap and sturdy tripod won't be light
Cheap and light tripod won't be sturdy
If you decides to risk thousand dollars camera setup kissing the ground should you decides to use the 3rd combination, well, all I can say is, it is you call.
Points to consider when selecting tripod
1) $$ Budget (skip this if money is not an issue).
2) Height of user.
Note : While it may be comfortable for user to w/o having to bend their back everytime camera is mounted on tripod when it is tall enough for the user,
a) One may get too use to the comfort that they dont explore the possibility of shooting from a lower angle, eg waist height (much like when using those ultra zoom lens of 18mm-200mm that one dont move nearer or further to change the perspective of using different focal length of the lens). If you see the studio set up where they use medium format or the pro-photog shooting models for commercial, you may notice they are likely to shoot from that height.
b) Weight is directly proportional to size of things. Bigger the tripod, heavier it gets (pls, compare Aluminum to Aluminum tripod & not Aluminum to Carbon Fiber type). It will be bulky even when it is fully retracted. This may deter user from bringing the tripod out, soon it will be a white elephant in the house collecting dust.
c) Don't forget the height of the Tripod Head & Battery Grip will add to the height.
3) Weight of equipments (remember to cater for future expansion).
3.1) Weight of equipments < load capacity of tripod - weight of tripod head
4) Weight / material of tripod
4.1) Normal = Aluminum = $
4.2) Lighter and better vibration dampening = Basalt (from Gitzo) = solidified lava stone = $$
4.3) Lightest and best vibration dampening = Carbon Fiber = $$$
5) Types of common tripod design
5.1) Tripod c/w linkage from centre column to individual leg = $
with 3way pan head
5.2) Tripod w/o the linkage, all 3 legs can be set to horizontal orientation for low angle shots or pre-set angle in the hinge of each leg = $$
5.3) Tripod with centre column that can be mounted horizontally, giving more flexibility.
Tripod with centre column that can be mounted horizontally
Tripod with centre column that cannot be mounted horizontally
5.4) Specialize tripod like "unilock" which is most flexible and fastest to deploy for all the odd angle shots = $$$
http://www.patersonphotographic.co.uk/benbo-tripods.htm
5.4.1) The lowest section of the leg is there biggest, this is different from normal tripod design which lowest section is the thinnest. With this design, the tripod can be planted into water / mud of up to 0.5m without worrying the water / mud getting into the tele-scopic leg.
5.4.2) Notice minimum height is stated as "ground level", having used it for about 1yr, I feel if this kind of tripod cant give you the setting you want, no other tripod that can.
5.4.3) All the 3 tele-scopic legs and centre column are lock by a single lever.
Photo contributed by fellow cser Cheong
Please correct or add in more selection criteria should you have one.
Please note these guidelines are not for selection of "Studio Tripod".
In these writeups, you will notice I am using mostly Manfrotto tripods and heads as examples. Its just that I have been using them right from the start and only used 1 Giottos ballhead lately. I dont receive anything from that company.
Very often, I hear people complaining how bad their tripod and tripod head is, cant even hold their camera with kit lens mounted. But the fact is, they are using an undersized tripod set. You cant expect a tripod that is design to carry a compact digital camera to hold a DSLR + grip + flash + big lens with constant aperture of f2.8 max. But why do they buy a undersized tripod in the 1st place? Simple answer will be weight and price. These were reasons that got for some of my friends to get a Manfortto Junior tripod, but use it for their DSLR, than complaint its a lousy tripod and wonder why so many of us uses Manfrotto.
Bottom line is, as with everything else, use the correct tools for the job.
Saw this quote posted by catchlights, but he told the originator should be ortega
Most people want 3 things when looking for tripod.
Cheap, light and sturdy,
But most of the time people will settle for twos..
Light and sturdy tripod won't be cheap
Cheap and sturdy tripod won't be light
Cheap and light tripod won't be sturdy
If you decides to risk thousand dollars camera setup kissing the ground should you decides to use the 3rd combination, well, all I can say is, it is you call.
Points to consider when selecting tripod
1) $$ Budget (skip this if money is not an issue).
2) Height of user.
Note : While it may be comfortable for user to w/o having to bend their back everytime camera is mounted on tripod when it is tall enough for the user,
a) One may get too use to the comfort that they dont explore the possibility of shooting from a lower angle, eg waist height (much like when using those ultra zoom lens of 18mm-200mm that one dont move nearer or further to change the perspective of using different focal length of the lens). If you see the studio set up where they use medium format or the pro-photog shooting models for commercial, you may notice they are likely to shoot from that height.
b) Weight is directly proportional to size of things. Bigger the tripod, heavier it gets (pls, compare Aluminum to Aluminum tripod & not Aluminum to Carbon Fiber type). It will be bulky even when it is fully retracted. This may deter user from bringing the tripod out, soon it will be a white elephant in the house collecting dust.
c) Don't forget the height of the Tripod Head & Battery Grip will add to the height.
3) Weight of equipments (remember to cater for future expansion).
3.1) Weight of equipments < load capacity of tripod - weight of tripod head
4) Weight / material of tripod
4.1) Normal = Aluminum = $
4.2) Lighter and better vibration dampening = Basalt (from Gitzo) = solidified lava stone = $$
4.3) Lightest and best vibration dampening = Carbon Fiber = $$$
5) Types of common tripod design
5.1) Tripod c/w linkage from centre column to individual leg = $
with 3way pan head
5.2) Tripod w/o the linkage, all 3 legs can be set to horizontal orientation for low angle shots or pre-set angle in the hinge of each leg = $$
5.3) Tripod with centre column that can be mounted horizontally, giving more flexibility.
Tripod with centre column that can be mounted horizontally
Tripod with centre column that cannot be mounted horizontally
5.4) Specialize tripod like "unilock" which is most flexible and fastest to deploy for all the odd angle shots = $$$
http://www.patersonphotographic.co.uk/benbo-tripods.htm
5.4.1) The lowest section of the leg is there biggest, this is different from normal tripod design which lowest section is the thinnest. With this design, the tripod can be planted into water / mud of up to 0.5m without worrying the water / mud getting into the tele-scopic leg.
5.4.2) Notice minimum height is stated as "ground level", having used it for about 1yr, I feel if this kind of tripod cant give you the setting you want, no other tripod that can.
5.4.3) All the 3 tele-scopic legs and centre column are lock by a single lever.
Photo contributed by fellow cser Cheong
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