If you are a professional photographer, then at least once you have thought that you need a tripod. But few understand why it is needed. Here are a few reasons why you might need it, and characteristics that will help you understand the variety of models on the market. After reading this article, you will learn all the basic classifications of tripods and understand their differences.
Design
A tripod is a three-fold sliding design with a central bar, on top of which a camera or video camera is mounted. A tripod may be needed in several cases. Firstly, exposure shooting to avoid the so-called “shake”. Secondly, shooting video, where smoothness and stability of the picture is needed. And thirdly, in the event that you need to be photographed by the company, and you also want to be in the frame.
Tripod Features
You can distinguish one tripod from another by three main characteristics: weight, height, type of head. And now about each item separately.
Weight - a characteristic of the tripod, which is the most extraordinary. On the one hand, the weight of a tripod affects its stability, but, on the other hand, it increases its mass and reduces usability. There are many criteria that affect weight: the material of manufacture, the design of the tripod, and its dimensions.
Let's start from the end. By the size of the tripods are divided into desktop and floor. Desktop tripods include those that reach a height of no more than 100 centimeters. Accordingly, all the rest, above 100 centimeters, belong to the class of outdoor tripods.
Then follows 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). Most often they have less weight than their metal counterparts.
We pass to the last characteristic that affects the mass of the tripod - the structure. There are only two varieties here: tripods and monopods. Their differences consist only in the fact that one design has three points of support, and the other one.
Tripod heads
It is 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 connecting its “legs” and camera. It allows you to rotate the camera in various planes without affecting the "legs" of the tripod. There are three most common types of tripod heads: ball, triaxial and biaxial (most often used in video). Each of them has both its pros and cons.
Let's start with the 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 do not need to make much effort and perform many actions to rotate the camera, as a rule, by relaxing one screw or an eccentric, you can change the shooting direction. But the ball head has one big drawback for videographers - on this type of device it is almost impossible to perform wiring (smooth horizontal video) without shaking.
It was the turn of the three-axis head. It will allow you to take photos and videos without problems, since it has smooth adjustments. You can independently control each of the three axes, which allows you to very finely adjust the position of the camera, choosing the right frame. The disadvantage of such a head is its large size.
The biaxial head has only two settings: camera tilt and horizontal movement. The lack of vertical adjustment may seem unusual, but take a word, if you need to remove the wiring, there is no better option.
Tripod sites
Another difference is the type of stand for the tripod. They are of two types - removable and non-removable. The tripod mount is mounted on a middle class model and above. The advantage of this type is mobility - you do not waste time unscrewing and twisting the camera on a tripod each time. Instead, you simply install the tripod mount once onto the camera, and then, when you need a tripod, insert it into a special niche. It is very convenient and practical, and most importantly - quickly.
For some tripod models, you can buy additional interchangeable platforms for a tripod in case you have not one but several cameras. There is another type of camera mount in budget tripod models. Non-removable platforms for the camera are often mounted on a tripod. They have a big minus. 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 the tripod selection.