Tripods have been in use since the early days of photography for a few very good reasons:
They reduce wear and tear on photographers- If you’re doing a lot of shooting, you can really get tired and lugging around a video camera for hours or days, particularly in rough terrain, can be exhausting.
- Ergonomics- Tripods allow a good set for the camera, adjusting height and reducing the amount of handling involved in shooting.
- Accurate shooting- Tripods are used by all professional photographers for studio and technical imaging to ensure precision shots.
- Media production- In media shooting, the tripod mounts of cameras are essential parts of managing production organization, scene management, and special shoots.
- Space management- Tripods don’t take up a lot of space onsite and improve shoot setups on sets and in studios.
Shopping for tripods on the market
The name brands to look for in tripods are Slik, Joby, Vanguard, Manfrotto and Opteka. These brands have a lot of different models and types of tripod, from the conventional telescopic carbon tripods to the dramatically different Joby Gorilla series, which are literally “wraparound” tripods which can be used as grips on any surface.
The tripod range starts from quite cheap compact tripods for cameras and video cameras starting at under $50 to the ultra-professional all-purpose top of the range low angle/ high flexibility temperature-tested Slik 515QF tripod at around $800.
If you’re looking for special features and a good selection of tripods, it’s definitely best to shop online. You can check out the ranges from the different brands and get major discounts. (The Slik 515QF, for example, can be bought online with a 20% discount.
Another huge advantage of shopping online is that if you’re looking for particular products, particularly the all-important accessories every photographer needs, the online suppliers can find and source these productsvery quickly. They can also help you manage your acquisitions economically, and advise about the options when you need help.
