VIDEO PRODUCTION

How to choose a better camera tripod for professional photographer

Choosing any equipment is somewhat compromising a camera tripod is not beyond it. It should be emphasized on several factors which estimate the quality of the tripod.

At first you have to take care of the weight constraints of the tripod. Most common construction material of a tripod is aluminium because it is widely available. In contrast carbon fibber offers great weight to stability ratio than aluminium, but it costs more than the aluminium. So if you can afford that high price tag it would better to have carbon-fibber because it is long lasting. Serious photographers often choose carbon fibber tripods.

Regarding the height of the camera tripod it should considered three heights: maximum height, minimum height, folded height. You could choose maximum height as the tripod and the camera combination is at your eye level or less than your eye level. It should not choose less maximum heighted tripod because it causes frequent bending over of lowering you body.

There are two types of legs available for tripods: tabular and channels. Tabular models are heavier which in turn more stable and having longer life span. Usually tabular legs have 2, 3, 4 or 5 sections. As sections increases as the stability decreases but the folded height decreases which makes the camera tripod easy to carry. The sections of the legs are adjusted by leg braces. The types of braces are threaded twist lock or flip-lock. Threaded twist locks gives more strength and stability than flip lock but it is somewhat knotty to set up, on the other hand flip lock provides satisfactory operation.       

The most important part of a camera tripod is head. While you intend to purchase a tripod you must check the maximum weight that can be sustain by the head. Most of the heads are fluid heads which uses an internal fluid to create damping effect called drag, resistance. Cheap heads have almost no control over drag and good head allows you to have fine control over drag for tilting and spanning. There are several types of heads: ball head, pan-tilt head, gear head, fluid head etc. Ball head uses a ball and socket joint which allows moving all axes of rotation from a single point. In contrast pan-tilt has separate axes and controls for tilting and spanning, so it is possible to control an axis without risking in change of other axis.         

Hopefully I have covered some basic factors to select a right camera tripod. You may find various types of tripods but if you keep your eyes open you may have a better quality camera tripod. Here I refer some models of tripods which you may look for buy: DOLICA AX620B100 tripod, Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod, Manfrotto190XPROB tripod, Joby Gorilapod SLR-Zoom tripod.

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Miller Tripods – Compass 25 Fluid Head and Accessory Bracket – NAB 2011

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