Free Article: Purchasing A Tripod

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Considerations When Purchasing A Tripod
By Andrew Kelly

Any serious photographer will at some point find a good tripod extremely useful. Zoom and low light shots often need to be stabilized to prevent image blur, and the single best tool to accomplish that is a solid, high quality camera tripod. So how do you choose a good tripod? There are a few different things to keep in mind.

One is height. All tripods have a maximum and minimum height. How high (or low) do you want your pictures to be? Eye level is fairly standard and is offered in most full sized tripods. Another consideration is the type of head your tripod has. Most tripod heads allow some range of movement. Cheaper tripods usually use the pan and tilt style common in video work, while some more professional still photography models use a versatile ball and socket joint.

Weight is an important consideration, as well. Do you plan on carrying your tripod around with you, or will it stay close to your home or vehicle? Heavier tripods are usually sturdier and better quality, with more height range and versatility, but are harder to carry around. Size is important, as well – most full size tripods are fairly large and unwieldy, while it is possible to get tabletop models or unipods that fold up small enough to fit into a backpack or hang from a belt.

Then too, there's cost. Camera tripods can range anywhere from twenty or thirty dollars to several hundred for some of the higher quality professional models. While an expensive pro model will be useful to anyone taking thousands of shots for money, it may not be the best for an amateur or hobbyist. So decide what is most important to you, and make your decision based on what you'll use most.

Author Details:
Andrew Kelly, copywriter for various websites including, Photo Gallery and The A to Z of Photography with his main interests being photography and travel.

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