First of all, according to the number of legs, camera tripod products can be divided into two categories: tripod and monopod. Camera tripod can provide stable support, which can be used for self-timer, group photo, still life shooting, long exposure, multi-photo synthesis and other subjects. The camera monopod mainly helps the photographer to share the weight of the equipment and maintain a certain degree of flexibility. It is mainly used in sports, bird shooting and other sports shooting and video fields.
Secondly, the load-bearing capacity of the camera tripod can be roughly judged by the thickness of the foot tube (maximum diameter). You can basically follow the standards set by GITZO, No.0 (about 20mm), No.1 (about 24mm), No.2 (about 28mm), No.3 (about 32mm) The larger the size of the camera tripod, the larger the maximum diameter of the foot tube, and the greater the load-bearing capacity-of course, the greater the volume and weight.
With the popularity of micro single cameras, No.1 and even No.0 tripods can also provide sufficient load-bearing capacity.
① The stability of the tripod is determined by the tripod, Gimbal stabilizer and quick-loading plate. The design, material and locking structure will also affect the stability, but it will not be expanded here.
(2) Overseas brands are usually conservative in the calibration of load-bearing capacity, while domestic brands are more "confident"-but no matter what the calibrated load-bearing capacity is, the size of this value is not necessarily related to stability.
What about portability?
On the one hand, it depends on the material (carbon fiber or alloy), the design (mainly the folding structure), and on the other hand, it also depends on the number of sections. The more sections of the foot tube, the easier it is to shorten the length of storage. The three dimensions of the 20-inch boarding box are about 22 cm × 35 cm × 50 cm, and a stand with a storage length of less than 45 cm can usually be placed in the boarding box (within 30 cm, it can be placed horizontally). In addition, generally speaking, no more than 100cm of luggage can be taken on the plane, but we still have to comply with the requirements of airports and airlines.
Fold-back design and multiple legs usually reduce the stability of the tripod at maximum height, and also require more operation and time for you to unfold and retract the tripod. Therefore, stability and portability are often contradictory. If you want both portability and stability, you can only choose a professional tripod.
Common Nouns for Tripods
Retroflex:
The conventional tripod has a tripod head at one end and a leg tube folded at the other end during storage; The tripod has a reverse folding design, and the foot tube is folded to wrap the tripod head when being stored. The folding design can save about 15 cm of storage space, but it also means that more operation is needed when unfolding the tripod-most tripods need to fold three legs, while quick folding design is to fold one central shaft.
Split monopod:
The functions of a tripod and a monopod are different. If you have two kinds of shooting needs, you need to buy both kinds of support equipment. Want to save money? Then choose a product that can be disassembled into a monopod, so that the head and one of the legs can be disassembled to form a monopod-some Benro products also come with a wooden ball head, which can be used as an alpenstock.
Inversion of central axis:
When the conventional tripod is used, the tripod head is arranged at one end, and the foot tube is unfolded at the other end; A tripod with an inverted central axis. The central axis can be installed in the opposite direction, so that the head and the foot tube are on the same side. The inversion of the central axis is mainly convenient for the use of still life, macro, remake and other subjects.
The central axis of the conventional tripod can only be perpendicular to the ground; A tripod with a horizontal central axis, which can be parallel to the ground. The horizontal axis was originally used for still life and macro shooting, so that the photographer could adjust the distance between the camera and the subject, but now it is also widely used for climbing stairs and scenery shooting.
Connecting accessories:
With Manfrotto190 and Benro SystemGo series as representatives, more and more camera tripods begin to provide an additional screw on the connection seat, which is convenient for us to fix the fill light, monitor, microphone, battery pack or second camera through accessories such as magic hand. This is a very important and useful design for travel and video shooting.