Tripod Guide

Unless you can handhold your camera VERY steadily, you're bound to shake the camera during long or slow exposure. It's funny though. Ever thought why photographers call it camera shake, when it is they themselves who're shaking? Typical human nature - trying to blame the camera for their mistakes!!

Why ? You often hear the saying that brains and looks do not co-exists. So a woman with wonderful legs does not have a good head right ? Well, I don't know if that's true. But I do know that for a good tripod, good legs and good head can go together !!!

A good tripod is split into two components - the legs and the head. The legs are the three supports which hold up the entire rig. The head connects the legs to the camera. Both these components are crucial in determining the quality of the tripod.

The legs of the tripod determine the stability of the tripod. The rule of thumb is that, the thicker and heavier the legs, the more stable the tripod is, ceteris paribus. Thus, flimsy lightweight tripods such as the small Sliks are hardly a good choice for stability. The Manfrotto tripods are much better in terms of rigidity and stability, if you are willing to lug them around.

The camera is mounted on the tripod via the head. The tripod may be sturdy and stable, but if your tripod head is lousy, the stability is wasted since the pictures will still turn out unsharp due to a shaky tripod head ! A good tripod will usually allow you to choose a combination of different head and leg-sets, to customize to your needs.

Before you enter the shop to buy a tripod, you must have in mind what you want. Do not enter a shop without any idea and let your heart do the choosing. You'd end up with a nice-looking tripod (and probably too heavy) and not suitable for yourself. To choose a tripod, consider the following:

Once you have the answers to the above questions, you're ready to choose the tripod (assuming that you answered the questions truthfully).

A tripod used for travelling and a tripod used in a studio has different criteria. A travelling tripod needs to be lightweight and yet relatively sturdy. A studio tripod must be versatile in positioning and very stable, and can weight a ton. Of course, there are some tripods which are a good compromise between stability and weight, but the point to note is that every tripod has a intended purpose. So do have your purpose in mind when choosing your tripod. If your purpose is "general purpose", you'd do well to consider the heavier metal Sliks or Manfrottos. Having a car at your disposal greatly enhances your capability to transport a heavy tripod.

The classical mistake of choosing a tripod (esp. for guys) is getting a tripod which is too heavy. A heavy tripod tends to get left at home. Some people go into the camera shops and choose the tripod, lifting them off the ground and say "Hey, this ain't very heavy !", and goes on to pick the next heavier one. They go on until they pick a substantially heavy tripod. Being so very "garung", they pick a big heavy tripod head to go with it. They're very happy with their purchase, because it seems so macho to lug around a set of professional black tripod gear. That is, until they start walking out of the shops back home. The tripod which seemed OK a while ago, seems to have put on weight. Wait till they go on a shoot with a bag full of equipment. Lesson to be learnt is… tripods ALWAYS weigh heavier on a shoot than in the shops. Choose wisely. A typical male will take a Manfrotto 190 or 055 without too much complains. An average female should go for a Manfrotto 190 at the max. Anything heavier may weigh you down too much.

Of course, the above guide only applies if you're having a average camera setup. If you're using a 600mm f/4 lens on a Nikon F5, then you obviously need something more substantial. Note that most good tripods are able to take quite a bit of weight. So you do not need to buy a super heavy tripod to handle a 300 f/2.8. A Manfrotto 055 should handle that without any sweat.

The release catch for legs is how you loosen the catch on the tripod legs so that you can extend/retract them. There are many types of release catch, such as plastic flip-locks, thumb screws, locking rings, lever locks. The most common type is the plastic flip-locks, followed by the thumb screws. The plastic flip-locks are the type found on a typical Slik. It works by flipping the plastic handle open/close to lock/unlock the legs. It is fast and convenient to use, but it has the disadvantage of wearing out pretty quickly.

The thumb screw type is more inconvenient to use. It works by screwing/unscrewing a thumbscrew to tighten/loosen the leg locks. It is usually stronger than flip-locks, but it is slower and less convenient to use. Also, it is possible to over-tighten the screws and damage the screwthreads. Don't be a stupid hero. Just tighten it enough to lock it in place.

Center Bracing and low-level spread

Some tripods have center bracing, some don't. Center bracing are the connections from the middle of the legs to the center post of the tripod. Center bracing enhances the stability of the tripod, but reduces the flexibility. The tripod with center bracing usually cannot go too low to the ground. It is a compromise. But I'd rather do without the center bracing.

Usually, the lowest a tripod can go is the height it reaches with all legs retracted and a lowered center post. However, there are times when you want to take a picture of a flower on the ground, and the tripod is still way too high. The solution is a low level leg spread. Tripods with this feature are able to extend the legs out even lower, by using a release catch on the separate legs. You can spot whether a tripod has this feature by looking at the part where the legs meet the center post of the tripod. If there's some sort of catch/level near the centerpost for each leg, the tripod probably sport this feature.

The end of the legs where it touches the ground is the foot of the tripod. Common sense will then tell you a tripod has 3 feet. There are various types of feet around (some even with exotic suction cups), but the most common types are the spike feet and the rubber feet. The spike feet is useful when the ground is grass or sandy, as it gives better grip. However, a spike feet is not what you want if the ground is Italian marble. When you need then is a rubber feet for better grip. Most tripods with spike feet can be retracted to give a rubber feet.

	*The Pan/Tilt type* is the most common tripod head around. It has various handles sticking out (typically 3 handles), to control the various movements of the head. The advantage of the pan/tilt head is that it offers precision in positioning the camera. The separate controls means that changing the horizontal position will not affect the vertical height of the camera. However, it also means that it is relatively slow to work with, since you have to adjust the 3 separate controls individually. If you need precision in framing, such as architecture photography, this is the head to go for.
	The second type of tripod head is the *ball head*. The ball head is actually a ball and socket device. It has only one knob for controlling the rotation of the ball-socket device. Some of the better ones have another control for horizontal panning. Ball heads have the advantage of being quick to work with. You only need to loosen one knob to position the camera, and then tighten it to lock it down. The disadvantage is that it does not offer as much precision as a pan/tilt head. If you do not need precision in positioning, a ballhead is probably very good for the convenience.
One thing about ball heads is that you need to spend big bucks to get a really good one. The cheaper Manfrotto ballheads are not really smooth and are kind of messy because they're packed with grease. The really good ballhead is the ArcaSwiss Monoball, although most would not want to spend $680 for a ballhead alone.
	The third type is the *sports grip type*. This type is more unusual. It is actually a type of ballhead, but there's a joystick-like grip device on it. Just hold the grip, press it and you can position the head. Once you release the grip it automatically tightens into position. Works great for fashion and sports photography. Manfrotto offers one such head (pictured), but I think that the Slik model is better (although more plasticky as usual).

If you've used a tripod long enough, you'd know the bother of screwing your camera on and off the tripod. Every time you need to set up the tripod for a shot, you have to go through the same motions. A quick release is a device consisting of a specially designed tripod head and a quick release plate. The plate is a small piece of metal that screws onto the camera and stays there. When you need to mount the camera on the tripod, just press the camera-mounted plate onto the tripod head and it click-locks into place. Very convenient for those who needs to take the camera on and off the tripod frequently. There're vendors selling third-party quick-release device if your tripod head doesn't already have this feature, although they look flimsy and cheap. Manfrotto has two versions for some heads, with or without quick release. Slik has quite a few heads with quick release too, although not as well built as the Italian brand. You should probably get a plate for each of your camera if you need to use a few cameras on the same tripod.

Another feature you might like to watch out for is a spirit level. It shows you whether the tripod is level with the sea level, using a fluid filled indicator. It is not important to 90% of the photographers, but useful to those who need to level their camera (e.g. architecture).

There are many brands of tripod in the market, each with it's individual characteristics and target market. Here's some of the more prominent brands:

Brand	Characteristics
Slik	Japanese, aluminum and plastic construction. Well known for lightweight travelling tripods. Not too sturdy in built. Cheap.
Manfrotto	Italian. Heavy and well-built, and very good value for money. Does not have small lightweight models. Lasts a lifetime. If looking for a general purpose tripod, get the Manfrotto 190.
Gitzo	French made gear for professionals. Really expensive stuff, but superlative construction. Not really value for money, but if you can afford $600 for a tripod, this is the one to get !!!
Velbon	Japanese. Not recommended, due to open construction of legs being weak and filmsy. Not exactly cheap too.
Cullman	European. Full of fanciful features. Expensive. Not practical.
Benbo	British. The weirdest shaped tripod in town. Can bend down to low levels, reaching the ground (thus the name). Expensive. Not recommended unless you need a lizard's eye-view. Few models.

This is not an endorsement of brands, but the two most popular brands are Slik and Manfrotto. If you want a lightweight tripod, get a Slik. If you want a relatively heavy and sturdy tripod which lasts a lifetime, get a Manfrotto. The most popular tripod is the Manfrotto 190 with the head 141 RC (pan/tilt head with quick release). It costs around $150 for the whole set.

Simple commonsense, yet it's amazing how some photographers get on the nerves of others by not using their brains.

I've not seen any spiked feet which cannot be retracted. Those babies are dangerous. Thaipusam is not for everyone, so keep your spikes to yourself.

Once you finish using a tripod, retract everything and bring it over to the next location. It is tempting to bunch the extended legs together and put them over your shoulders and walk around. This is very dangerous for yourself and others. It is even more stupid if you do that with the camera mounted on the tripod. If you must move without keeping the tripod, do so holding the tripod vertically, not over the shoulders.

You're neither Rambo or Axle Rose. Stop holding your tripod like some machine-gun or electric guitar. Point the tripod downwards if using a shoulder strap. Some people like the Optec neoprene strap which reduces the apparent weight on the shoulder, some find it too springy. Try it out for yourself.

Most good metallic tripod can last very long (plasticky tripod will crack), but you still need to maintain them to ensure they give smooth operation. Oil the various joints once a year (more if you use them in wet conditions). Just put one or two drops per joint. Do not use WD-40, it's not viscous enough. Use the Singer Machine oil instead. Clean off any sand or mud sediments which may have gotten into the tripod. That's all to maintenance !!

Just like there's no perfect woman for everyone, there's no perfect tripod. Each photographer seeks a tripod or his own purpose, and looks for different things in a tripod. Do not listen blindly to what others recommend. Judge for yourself if that tripod is suitable for you. Your Arnold Schwarzennger friend says that the 6kg tripod is not too heavy, you'd be a fool to trust him. Try out the tripod before buying. Make sure you consider all factors before buying.

You may find that you need more than one tripod. Do not worry, because that is usual. I have 4 tripods at home, each serving a different purpose. So if you want to get more than one tripod, start with a general purpose tripod, then graduate to specialized tripods later on.