Tripod is a support used to stabilize a mobile phone or camera to achieve certain photographic effects. Many people often ignore the importance of a tripod when photographing. In fact, the positioning of a tripod is very important.

I. Application Scenario of Camera Tripod

Whether it is an ordinary photography enthusiast or a professional photographer, whether it is shooting in a professional studio, or going outdoors to sweep the streets, landscape photography, etc., when the exposure time is set for a long time, if it is hand-held photography, it will inevitably appear shaking, resulting in blurred pictures. At this time, there is a stable tripod, which is very handy.

Is it necessary to buy a camera tripod? Camera tripod is also called photographic tripod. With the cooperation of camera tripod, you can easily shoot special effects such as star orbit in the sky, heavy traffic in the city, and even thousands of people turning out in the busy and complicated streets.

II. Structure of camera tripod

Professional camera tripod, its structure includes level, head, knob, bracket, lock button and so on.
The combination of the spirit level and the Head can achieve a 360-degree full-angle view. On the one hand, it is convenient for the photographer to connect the panorama in the photo, on the other hand, it can create a variety of magnificent and atmospheric photos. The foot tube angle adjustment system can adjust the angle between the three brackets from different positions of multiple angles to adapt to different shooting heights. The tripod and the tripod head connected by the central axis can be used for shooting distant view in the upright position and macro shooting in the inverted position.

III. Type and material of camera tripod

1. Differences between camera tripods
The tripod of the camera can be divided into professional indoor shooting tripod, outdoor shooting tripod and desktop tripod according to its use, weight and material.
• The professional tripod has large weight and good stability, which can be seen in the photo studio, large-scale commercial activities, press conferences, auto exhibitions, sports events and other sites.
• Outdoor tripod spacing, weight and stability, can be easily placed on the bottom and side of the shoulder camera bag after folding, and is often used to record natural scenery and city street scenery.
• The desktop tripod is small in size and light in weight. Because its bracket can be adjusted, it also gets the figurative nickname of octopus. It can be flexibly fixed on the railing and desktop, which is convenient for photographers to take self-portraits such as VLOG.
> 2022 vlog-making mini portable tripod recommendations

2. Material of camera tripod
The common materials of camera tripod are aluminum alloy, carbon fiber and stainless steel.
• Tripods made of carbon fiber are often the first choice for outdoor photographers because of their low weight, good toughness, high stability and durability, but they are expensive.
• Stainless steel tripods offer the best stability, durability, simplicity and low cost, but are relatively heavy.
• Aluminum tripod, weight, stability, durability between carbon fiber and stainless steel materials, high cost performance and a wide range of uses, making it the choice of most ordinary photography enthusiasts.

IV. Common problems of tripod

1. What is the stability of the tripod related to?
The larger the diameter of the tripod support, the better its stability; The larger the head diameter is, the better its stability is. The more the sections of the bracket are, the stronger the storage capacity is, but the stability is reduced; A tripod without a central axis is more stable than one with a central axis.

2. How high is the camera tripod?
Calculation formula: tripod height = eye height - Head and camera height.
For example, if the height is 170 centimeters, the overall height of the camera and head is 20 centimeters, then the appropriate height of the tripod should be 150 centimeters.

V. Why use a tripod?

The three elements that affect exposure in photography are aperture, shutter and ISO. These three elements are closely related and involve each other. Beginners must integrate these three elements and then use them to take good pictures.

Different combinations of aperture plus shutter plus ISO directly affect the exposure of a picture, that is, whether the picture is too bright or too dark.

Aperture is to control the amount of light, shutter is to control the exposure time, ISO also known as sensitivity refers to the degree of sensitivity to light, accurate exposure is to find the balance between the three, under the premise of accurate exposure, the least need to consider is sensitivity, generally on the basis of ensuring a safe shutter, combined with the depth of field of the picture you want to shoot (large aperture, shallow depth of field). Finally, adjust the sensitivity, of course, if the ISO adjustment is too high, it will affect the quality of the picture. So the problem is that when we want to shoot people or objects with a large aperture, we can't adjust the ISO too high, so we have to increase the shutter time. If we still use hand-held shooting at this time, it will cause the picture to shake and blur. At this time, we must use a tripod.

Many types of photo shooting can not be separated from the help of tripod, such as star orbit shooting, water shooting, night shooting, macro shooting, time-lapse shooting and so on. The role of the tripod can not be ignored for both amateur and professional users. Its main function is to stabilize the camera to achieve a certain photographic effect. For some special photos, we may need tens of minutes or even longer exposure time.

VI. How to choose a camera tripod

1. Parameter consideration of tripod
There are many parameters of camera tripod, including weight, standard height, full open height, central axis height, Head type, safety bearing and so on.

Height (standard height, full open height, central axis height):
The higher the camera, the worse the stability of the tripod. When choosing the height, you should choose the matching height according to your height. The best principle is not to bow down. In the calculation, the position of the eye and the viewfinder of the camera are kept at the same horizontal line as the calculation height, minus the height of the device, which is the height that the tripod should reach.
Safety bearing:
Safe load bearing refers to the overall weight of the camera and lens, which is less than the maximum weight that the tripod can support, but generally the load bearing of outdoor tripods and professional tripods is more than 5 kilograms, and the overall weight of the camera and lens is less than 3 kilograms, so there is no need to worry.

2. Shooting target
Shooting needs determine the choice of all aspects of the tripod.
Carbon-fiber light tripod or octopus tripod, which is mainly used for traveling and street sweeping, is a better choice because it has better adhesion ability. If you want to shoot scenery outdoors and travel to record beautiful scenes, then a carbon fiber tripod of about 1 kg can meet most of the needs. This kind of tripod also needs to consider carrying the storage length of about 30 to 40 centimeters, which can be easily placed in the suitcase backpack. Professional landscape photographers need to shoot natural scenery outdoors for a long time, so professional tripods with fixed foot nails are more important.
When shooting sunrise at the top of the mountain or shooting sandstorm scenes in the desert, because of the strong wind, a professional or traveling tripod with a central axis hook is needed at this time. If you need to shoot the night scene of the stars, you must have a long exposure time. At this time, a stainless steel tripod with a 360-degree panoramic head and a large weight becomes a better choice. In order to shoot various commercial advertisements such as model shows and auto shows, a more stable and durable tripod is needed, which is matched with a spherical HEAD that can be manipulated freely, so that the shooting is both convenient and stable. When shooting live news, the ability to unfold quickly is very important for capturing wonderful moments.

3. Choice of camera tripod brand
The most famous tripod brand in the world should be Manfrotto. This is a company founded in Italy, which specializes in accessories for cameras and lamps. Manfrotto's first tripod product dates back to 1974. In 1989, Manfrotto was acquired by the British Vitec Group, which helped Vitec Group become the world's largest tripod manufacturer. Statistics from 2018 show that Vitec Group has a market share of more than 20% in the global tripod market, ranking first in the world.

Chinese enterprises also play an important role in the global tripod market. Combined with a report published by QYResearch in 2019 and a report published by MarketStudyReport in 2020, Benro, Mefoto, Fotopro, Sirui, Weifeng and LVG are the top 10 Chinese companies in the world. Benro, Fotopro and Sirui are well-known in China and have good sales data. In addition, there are some relatively small brands, such as Marsace, which claim to only do high-end products.

If none of the above brands satisfy you, there are more high-end brands such as Really Right Stuff (RRS) and Gitzo on the market to consider. Among them, RRS has the world's leading tripod manufacturing technology, which is called "Mercedes-Benz in the tripod industry" (the Mercedes of tripods) by many foreign photographers. Gitzo sells on a much larger scale and through a more convenient channel. Founded in 1917, the French company is one of the few century-old brands among tripod manufacturers. It was later also owned by the British giant Vitec Group, so it is the same family as Manfrotto mentioned above. But unlike Manfrotto, Gitzo only designs and produces high-end products, so it has gained excellent reputation and become one of the representative brands of high-end tripods in the world.

There are also some market share leading brands to learn about: Velbon, Vanguard, Induro, SLIK, Oben, 3 Legged Thing, FLM, Ravelli, Cullmann, etc.

VII. Recommendation for tripods

Tripods suitable for vlog or live streaming are mostly lightweight and convenient types, as well as desktop mini tripods. Tripods have the advantages of good stability, more time to create lenses, and low-light shooting, so they are loved by the majority of photography enthusiasts. So, what brand of tripod is good? These five tripod brands are worth recommending.

• SIRUI Tripod:

SIRUI is a more professional tripod field, this is the brand's entry, aluminum alloy material, exquisite workmanship, very friendly to novices.

SIRUIE1005A + G12 tripod with Head for Canon and Nikon SLR cameras
This SIRUI tripod is small but very stable, the quality of workmanship is very good, looks very stable and beautiful, can easily be put into the bag. It is very convenient to go out to take photos and carry them! The damping of the cradle head is comfortable and smooth, and the quick mounting plate is very stable, and there is no phenomenon that it is not fixed firmly. The quality of the adjustable place is still very good, and there is no loose feeling.

• Qingzhuangshidai tripod

Qingzhuangshidai is a company specializing in the production and processing of tripods, monopod, selfie stick, tripod head, small desktop tripod, carbon fiber tripod, aluminum alloy tripod, bird watching head, spherical head, handle head, photographic equipment, tripod head, SLR tripods, shoulder bracket, tripod and other products.

Qingzhuangshidai Q222C tripod for mobile phone and SLR camera
This Qingzhuangshidai tripod looks very strong, and it feels very secure and reassuring to put it on the projector. Anti-shake effect: very stable, no shaking at all. The rotation is very sensitive, and each nut is easy to unscrew and tighten. Easy to operate: the operation is very simple, a look will be, all the knobs are very easy to use, very simple to use. Very easy to operate.

• Benro tripod

Benro in the tripod, belongs to the high cost performance, this tripod can take out the central axis, connect with the mobile phone, become a mobile phone selfie stick, suitable for travel.

Benro IT19M2 tripod
Recommended reasons: This Benro tripod appearance: The appearance is very beautiful. Anti-shake effect: The material is very thick, and it is very firm and will not shake after installing the camera. Compatible performance: The compatible performance is very good, the general SLR camera and the card machine may use. Sensitivity: fine workmanship, good sensitivity. Easy to operate: Very easy to operate.

• Fotopro tripod

Fotopro has already become an international young brand in Japan, Germany, the United States, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and other developed countries and regions, injecting extraordinary creativity and new life into the image accessories market. Now, it is coming to you with an excellent international reputation, in order to create your extraordinary special taste.

Fotopro Air2 Tripod
Anti-shake effect: It is good to take photos and videos with A7M4 24105G.
Compatibility: The quality of the table is good, and the quick-release board can also be made more refined.
Difficult to operate: quick disassembly design, very easy to disassemble and assemble.

• Manfrotto tripod

Manfrotto, based in the Bassano del Grappa of Northern Italy, designs and manufactures a wide range of cameras and lighting equipment for the professional photography, film, theatre, entertainment and video markets. The product line includes camera tripods and heads, lighting mounts and accessories.

Manfrotto MKELES5CF-BH Element Series Tripod
Recommended reasons: This Manfrotto tripod is delicate but solid, with very good texture and exquisite workmanship. The gimbal is small, but solid. Adjust the tripod to the highest size, and adjust the Nikon P1000 camera to the farthest end (3000mm). The tripod is still stable and does not tremble. It also verifies the control of the spherical head. The weight of the whole tripod is 1.4k G, which is almost three kilograms. The maximum load is 8kg, with 5D3 and 70-200.