After scouring the internet far and wide, I have concluded that there exists no comprehensive guide to the multitude of tripod brands and manufacturers out there. Almost all reviews focus on one or two tripod brands, without cross-comparisons with other brands. I will be ranking all common and perhaps uncommon tripod brands in Singapore within the following tier list and will be providing short summaries of each brand to give a rough idea and perhaps better the process of those looking to purchase a new tripod. I will be adding on more comprehensive comparisons and review further down the line if this is something people would like to read.
S Tier –
FLM
RRS (Really Right Stuff)
A Tier –
3-Legged Thing
Gitzo
Leofoto
B Tier –
Benro
Cavix
Feisol
Induro
Jobu Design
Manfrotto
PMG (ProMediaGear)
Robus
Sirui
C Tier –
Fotopro
K&F Concept
MeFOTO
Oben
Peak Design
Slik
Vanguard
D Tier –
Joby
As you can see, the tier list does not quite extend to the F Tier, as the truth is that there just aren’t very many tripods that are so terrible to the point of having to be given the lowest ranking.
However, it might surprise some to see Peak Design being relegated to the lowly C Tier despite the hype around their tripods. Although their tripods have a similar build quality comparable to Manfrotto or Sirui, they fall short in many other aspects including their unjustifiable price as well as offering the bare minimum in terms of stability and carrying capacity. Thus with that, the Peak Design tripods are given a low tier ranking due to their astronomically disproportionate price to performance.
Joby was given the lowest ranking in this tier list as their build quality is simply not up to par with any other manufacturer even if their differing design and philosophy is considered. Simply pick one of Joby’s products up and you can immediately feel the cheap and somewhat flimsy build quality. A further look on the multitude of internet forums nets you dozens if not hundreds of complaints and reports of failed leg joints or ball heads. Thus relegating Joby to the lowest ranking in this list.
Gitzo, although well known around the world to providing premium tripods, is placed in the second-best tier alongside the likes of Leofoto and 3-Legged Thing. This is the result of Gitzo’s usage of a cast apex instead of the more standard and higher quality CNC’ed apex. Additionally, Gitzo problems that crop up with long term usage such as the rubber on the leg locks de-laminating or even disintegrating. Thus, Gitzo is placed in the A-Tier and not in the S-Tier due to certain caveats in their design that holds it back.
Before I end off this already long post, the inevitable conclusion is that most tripods that exist on the market nowadays can do a decent job at supporting your camera equipment. However, what separates manufacturers are their attention to detail, material usage and design choices as well as the ease of serviceability. Furthermore, from my personal experience, shopping for tripods based on their origin/country of manufacture is a thing of the past with the tripods being produced in China often surpassing the build and quality of manufacturers from other countries and tripods being produced in say America being of a lower standard. One example is that of PMG (ProMediaGear) whose design philosophy of an extremely small leg angle and non-standard feet results in a disappointing package. So when shopping for a tripod, base your decisions off of the design merits of each tripod instead of going for brand names.
If you would like me to do a thorough look and review on all of the brands mentioned in this tier list, do let me know and I will set about writing up such a review.
S Tier –
FLM
RRS (Really Right Stuff)
A Tier –
3-Legged Thing
Gitzo
Leofoto
B Tier –
Benro
Cavix
Feisol
Induro
Jobu Design
Manfrotto
PMG (ProMediaGear)
Robus
Sirui
C Tier –
Fotopro
K&F Concept
MeFOTO
Oben
Peak Design
Slik
Vanguard
D Tier –
Joby
As you can see, the tier list does not quite extend to the F Tier, as the truth is that there just aren’t very many tripods that are so terrible to the point of having to be given the lowest ranking.
However, it might surprise some to see Peak Design being relegated to the lowly C Tier despite the hype around their tripods. Although their tripods have a similar build quality comparable to Manfrotto or Sirui, they fall short in many other aspects including their unjustifiable price as well as offering the bare minimum in terms of stability and carrying capacity. Thus with that, the Peak Design tripods are given a low tier ranking due to their astronomically disproportionate price to performance.
Joby was given the lowest ranking in this tier list as their build quality is simply not up to par with any other manufacturer even if their differing design and philosophy is considered. Simply pick one of Joby’s products up and you can immediately feel the cheap and somewhat flimsy build quality. A further look on the multitude of internet forums nets you dozens if not hundreds of complaints and reports of failed leg joints or ball heads. Thus relegating Joby to the lowest ranking in this list.
Gitzo, although well known around the world to providing premium tripods, is placed in the second-best tier alongside the likes of Leofoto and 3-Legged Thing. This is the result of Gitzo’s usage of a cast apex instead of the more standard and higher quality CNC’ed apex. Additionally, Gitzo problems that crop up with long term usage such as the rubber on the leg locks de-laminating or even disintegrating. Thus, Gitzo is placed in the A-Tier and not in the S-Tier due to certain caveats in their design that holds it back.
Before I end off this already long post, the inevitable conclusion is that most tripods that exist on the market nowadays can do a decent job at supporting your camera equipment. However, what separates manufacturers are their attention to detail, material usage and design choices as well as the ease of serviceability. Furthermore, from my personal experience, shopping for tripods based on their origin/country of manufacture is a thing of the past with the tripods being produced in China often surpassing the build and quality of manufacturers from other countries and tripods being produced in say America being of a lower standard. One example is that of PMG (ProMediaGear) whose design philosophy of an extremely small leg angle and non-standard feet results in a disappointing package. So when shopping for a tripod, base your decisions off of the design merits of each tripod instead of going for brand names.
If you would like me to do a thorough look and review on all of the brands mentioned in this tier list, do let me know and I will set about writing up such a review.
