Tripods: recommendations, specifications, tripod platforms

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

If you are a professional photographer, then at least once you thought that you need a tripod. But few understand why it is needed. Here are a few reasons why you might need one, and features that will help you understand the variety of models on the market. After reading this article, you will learn all the basic tripod classifications and understand their differences.

Design

Tripod - a three-legged sliding structure with a central bar, on top of which a camera or video camera is fixed. A tripod may be needed in several cases. First, shooting with shutter speed to avoid the so-called "shake". Secondly, shooting a video where smoothness and stability of the picture is necessary. And thirdly, in the event that you need to be photographed by a company, and you also want to be in the frame.

Tripod Specifications

You can distinguish one tripod from another by three main characteristics: weight,height, head type. And now about each item separately.

Weight is the most extraordinary characteristic of a tripod. On the one hand, the weight of a tripod affects its stability, but on the other hand, it increases its mass and reduces its usability. There are many criteria that affect the weight: the material of manufacture, the design of the tripod and its dimensions.

Let's start from the end. The tripods are divided into table and floor stands. Tabletop tripods are those that reach a height of no more than 100 centimeters. Accordingly, all others above 100 centimeters belong to the class of floor tripods.

Then comes the material of manufacture. Most often they are made of aluminum. Budget-class models can be made entirely of plastic or have a metal base, which is covered with a plastic case. In more expensive segments, you can find tripods made of carbon fiber (carbon fiber). Most often they are lighter than their metal counterparts.

Let's move on to the last characteristic that affects the mass of a tripod - the design. There are only two varieties: tripods and monopods. Their differences lie only in the fact that one design has three points of support, and the other one.

Tripod heads

It's time to learn more about the types of tripod heads. First you need to clarify what a tripod head is. This is the part of the tripod that connects its "legs" and the camera. It allows you to rotate the camera in different planes without affecting the "legs" of the tripod. There are three most common typestripod heads: ball, three-axis and two-axis (most often used in video shooting). Each of them has both its pros and cons.

Let's start with a 3D ball head. This is a very compact and practical solution that allows you to quickly change the position of the camera on a tripod. You don't have to put in a lot of effort or work to rotate the camera, usually by loosening one screw or cam you can change the shooting direction. But the ball head has one big drawback for videographers - it's almost impossible to pan (smooth horizontal video) on this type of device without shaking.

It's the turn of the triaxial head. It will allow you to take photos and videos without any problems, because it has smooth adjustments. You can independently control each of the three axes, which allows you to very finely tune the position of the camera, choosing the right frame. The disadvantage of such a head is its large size.

The dual axis head has only two settings: camera tilt and horizontal movement. The lack of vertical adjustment may seem strange, but take my word for it, if you need to remove the wiring, you will not find a better option.

Tripod pads

Another difference is the type of tripod platform. They are of two types - removable and non-removable. A detachable tripod plate is available on mid-range models and above. The advantage of this type is mobility - you do not waste timeto unscrew and screw the camera onto a tripod each time. Instead, you simply mount the tripod plate on the camera once, and then, when you need a tripod, insert it into a special niche. It is very convenient and practical, and most importantly - fast.

For some tripod models, you can buy additional interchangeable tripod pads in case you have not one, but several cameras. There is another type of camera mount in budget tripod models. Often, non-removable platforms for the camera are installed on a tripod. They have a big downside. To install the camera, you need to spend a lot of time tightening the screw that secures it to the site. These were the main features of choosing a tripod.