Author: Harry Guinness / Source: reviewgeek.com
A good tripod is an essential bit of kit if you’re serious about photography. Don’t worry, we’ll do the legwork for you. These are the best tripods for pretty much everyone.
After your camera and a lens, a tripod should be a top priority to add to your collection.
Some kinds of photography—like long exposure, good self portraiture, wildlife or sports photography with a long telephoto, or timelapses—are next to impossible without one. On our sister site, How-To Geek, I looked at how to buy and use a tripod but these are the models we recommend.What Makes a Good Tripod?
Before diving in, let’s quickly consider what makes a great tripod.
- A tripod has to support your camera so a great tripod… supports your camera really well. Although carbon fiber is superior to aluminum, material isn’t a major consideration (at least for cheaper tripods) as long as it’s stable even in windy conditions.
- Unless you only work out of your studio, you’ll spend at least some time carrying your tripod around. This means a great tripod can’t be too heavy or too big. You won’t want to carry around a battle tank. On the other hand, because it has to be stable it can’t be too light either.
- Tripods serve two purposes: to stabalize your camera for single shots and to hold it at a comfortable level for continuous shooting. This means that they need to be tall enough that most human sized humans can use them without stooping.
- It has to be good value for money. We’ll look at a $1000 dollar tripod, but the tripod for the average photographer should not cost anywhere near that much.
With all those factors in mind, let’s dig in.
Best All Round Tripod: Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB 100 Aluminum Tripod Kit ($150)
The $150 Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB is the cheapest, great tripod money can buy. There are cheaper tripods and there are better tripods, but none of them hit this sweet spot anywhere near so well. This was the first tripod I used and properly loved. There’s now an updated model, the Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263AB, but honestly, at $210 I wouldn’t be rushing out to upgrade. The original is excellent and a steal at the price.
The aluminum Alta Pro folds up to 24.75” and extends to a maximum height of 65”. It weighs 4.4lbs and can support up to 15.4lbs, more than enough for a DSLR and long lens. The multi-angle center column can rotate from 0 to 180º and, since the legs can…
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