Tripods are important. They hold all the weight of your camera and lens while you make a photograph. Given the value of all of your gear, a little thought on your tripod seems like a good idea.
In addition to just holding your camera and lens, tripods make many different types of shots possible. Without a tripod you cannot make long exposure shots where moving water looks silky smooth such as these:
You also can’t make long exposure shots where you show the movement of clouds or light trails from moving cars such as this one:
Additionally, a tripod makes panning possible. Panning is where you follow an object as it moves past your location. If you move the camera at the same speed as the passing object or person and use a slower shutter speed, you create a shot with the subject remaining perfectly in focus while the background is blurred to show motion. A tripod allows you a solid surface with a rotating head on which to pan the camera for these types of shots.
A tripod also allows you to take selfies using the camera’s shutter timer. Also, if you are going to be shooting for a long time in a relatively static location (think your kid’s soccer game or school play) the tripod will hold all the weight of your gear so that you don’t have to.
As with other camera gear, what you plan to do with it impacts your decision of what type of tripod you’ll want to purchase. There are three main considerations: 1) height, 2) weight, and 3) head type for purchasing a tripod.
Height:
Tripods come in all different sizes. There are small ones such as the Joby Gorillapod which is small with flexible legs to allow you to position it anywhere and even wrap the legs around a tree or railing. There are also travel sized tripods that fold up small and are light weight to make portability easy. Finally, there are studio tripods that are tall and sturdy for use in a studio. These tripods are the tallest so you don’t have to worry about bending down. They are also the strongest in terms of load capacity.
Weight:
The size and the construction materials of your tripod will dictate its weight. A small Joby Gorillapod is quite light weight and super portable. If you are going with a travel type tripod those are generally made of aluminum or carbon fiber. The carbon fiber tripods are lighter weight, but will cost more for the convenience of not having to lug additional weight on your travels.
As mentioned above, studio tripods are larger still and quite heavy, but will not shake or move. They are great for studios, but far too heavy and bulky to be used for travel or landscape photography.
Head Type:
I’m really not an expert in the various head types available for tripods, however, there are generally two types, ball heads and pan/tilt heads. Ball heads are exactly as they sound, you see a ball with a tripod connecter on the top of it. You can rotate the camera around or tilt it using two screw fittings that can be loosened allowing movement and tightened when the camera is positioned where you want it. Pan/tilt heads have handles that protrude from the head that make it easier to control the panning and tilting of the camera while using the tripod.
Ball heads are generally smaller, lighter, and less expensive. Pan/tilt heads are generally larger, heavier, and a little more expensive. Pan/tilt heads are great if you can afford the weight and space as they give you the most options for panning during sports or other dynamic subject photography outings.
What I Have:
I have the Joby Gorillapod 5K SLR tripod and a larger Targus brand tripod that I purchased as a beginner. The Gorillapod is super portable, had the Gorillapod bendable legs, and a smooth operating ball head. I love the portability of it as it can fit in any bag (even one without a tripod holder) and takes up no space. The Targus tripod has a pan/tilt head which is handy when trying to set the shot up easily. The Targus tripod model that I have, however, is quite large and bulky. Accordingly, I cannot (or at least do not) take it with me when I travel by plane. I use it when I am not going too far from the house or car to get some shots. It does not fold down very small so it is not ideal for travel. It is a very sturdy tripod though and helped me get many good long exposure shots.
Final Thoughts:
I think as far as tripods go, I love the Joby Gorillapod 5K SLR for its portability. As for a more full-sized travel tripod, I am looking for a travel tripod that can also double as a monopod. I’m looking for one that is light weight and collapses small so that it is easy to take with me on longer trips. I’d like to be able to take it on a plane or a long hike to get landscape shots. When I find one, I’ll write a review on here.
As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, please let me know in the comments.