How To Choose the Perfect Tripod

By: Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou We are always amazed when instructing workshops and seminars at the array of terrible tripods our poor students lug around with them. How can you make great photos when you are frustrated with your gear? Answer: you can’t. Choosing the best tripod for YOU and the best you can reasonably afford is more critical than choosing your camera. Unfortunately, many landscape photographers do not know this and are wandering around in the wilderness with heavy, clunky, outdated gear that at best detracts from their enjoyment of photography and at worst even preempts them from taking a picture. If you want the full range of creative control over your gear, then a good tripod is a must. But what is good for one shooter may not be best for you. As with many things in life, you must balance different factors in order to arrive at the equation of considerations that tells you which is the best brand for you. But to make your task easier, here are four critical factors to consider when looking for that perfect tripod. 1. Usability This is the most important of the four factors. If you don’t like working with something, then it does not matter how light, cheap or pretty it is; you won’t be taking it out and you will have wasted your money. The ergonomics of the tripod dictate just how enjoyable the ‘sticks’ are to use. You want to look for a tripod that extends at least to eye-level when the legs are spread evenly: this will give you a little more play on sloped land and avoid ‘photographer’s back’ which is a burning sensation caused by stooping for hours to a viewfinder on a short tripod. Depending on how high your ball head is, you have some wiggle room with this factor, but ensure that you can make vertical and horizontal images without having to stoop! The second component of usability is how quickly and easily you can use the tripod. Does it take you forever to extend or compress the legs? Are you unable to open a twist-lock, leg extension mechanism wearing mittens in the dead of winter? If you like to shoot macro, can you open the legs from the hinge where they join such that they will extend straight out horizontally or do you have a limited angle of extension? If you like to get close to your subjects, then this can be an important consideration. Finally, do you need a tripod that compresses in on itself so that you can fit it into your backpack or luggage and travel with it? In the end, the only way to determine how usable a tripod will be is to take it on a test drive before you buy. 2. Stability A tripod’s only purpose is to stabilize your camera, so make sure that it is doing just that! Everything else being equal, the heavier the tripod the more stable it will be. Long lenses and heavy cameras require more stability. Stability can be increased to a degree by using strong materials like carbon fiber and rigid leg locks. Also, many tripods offer a center column hook so that you can add a weight like your camera bag or sling of rocks to increase stability by increasing weight. Another consideration is the balance between height and stability: the fewer the leg sections you have on your tripod, the more stable the tripod becomes. For example, a three leg section tripod tends to be more stable than a four leg section tripod. Another consideration is the material of the tripod feet. Soft rubber transmits less vibration through the legs and grips well on slick surfaces. Adding the option of a screw-out toe spike increases traction although at a small increase in weight. And, on some models, the toe cap can come off with use and lost so do your research before buying. A final consideration is the height/stability problem. Using a centre column to achieve height with less weight results in much less stability overall. Either buy a tripod without a centre column or a removable column so that you can customize your tripod according to your needs. Finally, the lower the tripod is to the ground, the more stable it is. Look for a tripod that allows you to get as low as possible for those close up subjects. 3. Weight If you enjoy breaking away from roadside shooting, or if you need to meet weight requirements for luggage, then weight is an important consideration for you. You will need to evaluate the optimal point between how much you can carry and how much stability or flexibility you require out of a tripod. For example, the heavier the tripod the more stable it tends to be but also the harder to travel with. Tripods can be made with different materials including aluminum, magnesium, basalt and carbon fiber. Carbon fiber tripods are the lightest of the bunch without sacrificing stability and strength; but they also cost more! Remember to add in the weight of your camera and heaviest lens when deciding how heavy and stable your tripod needs to be! Check the load capacity of the tripod before you buy. For backpackers, a tripod that weighs less than 2.27 kilograms (5 pounds) – including your ball head – is often a good weight for camera and lens combinations that are not on the heavy side. 4. Durability Beware the steal of a deal! Tripods that are basically knock-offs of reputable brand names may look similar on the outside but compromises in material quality are often made in less visible parts of the gear. Tripods with plastic components seem especially susceptible to breakage. For photographers who spend a great deal of time battling the elements outdoors, resistance to rain, snow, salt and sand is also of concern. Can you take the tripod apart for ease of cleaning, service, and replacement of parts? Are the leg locks robust and resistant to sticking or gumming up in frozen temperatures, sand and mud? Are loose components liable to fall off or snag in vegetation? Is the tripod rustproof? We prefer tripods that require minimum maintenance that we can perform ourselves at home. Ask around to get inside information from photographers on what brands and styles of tripods work for them and why. In the end you need to balance usability, weight, stability, and durability to find a tripod that comes closest to your ideal. There is no perfect tripod for everyone, but by comparing spec sheets and trying out a few tripods in the store, and asking other photographers about their own preferences, it will soon become clear which tripod might be best for your needs.