Common sense of buying a tripod

Tripod is probably the last thing that ordinary users want to take when traveling for photography and packaging. However, if you want to take high-definition landscape photos, or record your own beautiful moments by taking selfies, remote control and other means, no matter what kind of user you are, tripod is very important, which is directly related to the final result you pay for shooting.

Here is a brief introduction to the following common sense and common sense of buying tripods.

The tripod is roughly divided into two parts: the lower foot (the main body of the foot tube) and the upper frame (the tripod head), and there are also small accessories such as the central shaft, the quick assembly plate, the tripod head plate, bag legs, stone bags and hooks. The "foot" part is divided into tripod and monopod, and the professional large tripod also includes the base for fixing the tripod.

Material and weight of tripod

According to the classification of materials, tripods can be divided into wood, high-strength plastic, alloy, steel and carbon fiber. Tripod materials are mostly aluminum alloy and carbon fiber, and middle and low-end tripods are mostly aluminum alloy. Its advantage is durability, but its weight is heavy and its carrying performance is average. Carbon fiber material has gradually become a trend, which has the advantages of better toughness and lighter weight than aluminum alloy. Under the same load-bearing conditions, its weight is only 2/3 of that of aluminum tripod, but it is expensive, generally more than twice as expensive as aluminum alloy material.

In addition, the shape, diameter and wall thickness of the foot tube also affect the weight and stability of the tripod, but the manufacturer matches its grade and use when designing, so it is not very important to choose and buy.

The tripod can only stand when its own weight reaches a certain weight. But if it is too heavy, it is inconvenient to carry, especially for users who often take pictures or travel long distances. This is the biggest headache for photographers and the first "dilemma" in choosing a tripod.

Locking mode

There are many ways to lock the telescopic foot tube, and sometimes it will pinch your fingers carelessly. The most common and best use is the plate buckle type (such as Manfutu and Weifeng), but this method requires excellent workmanship, otherwise it will be easy to wear and loose and cannot be locked; The other is the spiral type (such as Admiralty Neo series and Gitzo), which is locked by rotating the foot tube and has no protruding locking parts, so it is very convenient to carry and store. Theoretically, the toggle type should be more flexible in operation than the spiral type. There is also a less common bolt fastening type, which is also very easy to use, but the protruding bolt buckle is often hung on other items, which is not convenient to carry.

Number of expansion joints

Bipod is the fastest to open and the best in stability, but it is the longest to put up and the most inconvenient to carry, so it is not common in the market at present. Three tripods are the most common, and the opening speed and stability are in the middle, followed by four tripods, but five or more tripods mean that manufacturers value lightness and compactness rather than stability. The high expansion rate and multi-section telescopic design are mostly used in digital tripods (such as Admiralty Digital Beauty Series).

Buying a tripod is the second "dilemma". The tripod should be short, easy to carry and stand up steadily.

The lower the pipe diameter, the thinner the casing structure based on the foot pipe, which is unstable. Therefore, when using, try to use the upper foot tube. According to the height requirements, first pull out the second section, then pull it down in turn, and finally pull out the terminal tube.

Angle of foot tube opening

The three legs of some tripods can be adjusted to different degrees, which is very convenient for shooting on low-angle or uneven ground, such as hillside or stairs. Generally, some advanced tripods have this function.

Foot pad type

According to different types of ground, you can choose different foot pads. Ordinary tripods use fixed hard bakelite mats, which are hard and wear-resistant, and are suitable for most ground types. Advanced tripod, you can choose to use rubber foot pads and nail foot pads. Rubber mat has good anti-skid performance and is not easy to slide down. It is mainly suitable for indoor floors, such as carpets, wooden floors and marble. Nail-shaped foot pads are made of metal with sharp ends, which are mainly suitable for outdoor ground, especially in the wild or hillside. A part of the "frame", usually called the pan/tilt, is used to connect the camera and tripod for angle adjustment. Mainly divided into three-dimensional Yuntai (also known as three-dimensional Yuntai) and spherical Yuntai (also known as free or universal Yuntai). There is also a two-dimensional pan/tilt, mainly for cameras. It can only rotate left and right, and can't adjust the pitch, so pay attention when buying.

Yuntai is divided into fixed and detachable. Generally, low-end or economical tripods are integrated with tripod and tripod head, and the tripod head cannot be replaced. Most advanced tripods do not include pan/tilt, and pan/tilt should be purchased separately according to the shooting needs, which is the same as buying a SLR camera and lens. You need to confirm with the merchant when purchasing.

3d translation/tilt and spherical translation/tilt:

Three-dimensional and spherical pan/tilt have their own advantages and disadvantages, which can meet different shooting needs.

Three-dimensional pan-tilt determines the direction of the camera through three locks in different directions, which has the advantage of high load-bearing performance, that is, relatively heavy cameras and lenses can be fixed with a lighter pan-tilt and the angle adjustment is more accurate; The disadvantage is that the operation is slow and it cannot be done in one step. Contrary to the three-dimensional pan/tilt, the spherical pan/tilt is very convenient and quick to operate, and you can set the angle to fix the camera at will as long as it is locked. The disadvantage is that the bearing capacity is much weaker than that of 3D PTZ, and it is not as good as 3D PTZ in fine-tuning composition. In addition, the spherical part of the spherical tripod is easy to wear or encounter dust. For those who have no time or are not good at maintaining tripods, stereoscopic tripods are more practical.

The third "dilemma" is that translation/tilt should be easy to operate and have high bearing capacity. Compared with the tripod camera with three pillars and stable erection, the tripod with golden rooster independence is often ignored. In fact, when the monopod is used, it will be combined with people's feet to form a tripod. The feet are separated and stand naturally. Holding the tripod in one hand is also very stable. Monopod has unique advantages in portability and flexibility, especially when shooting large-scale irregular sports such as football matches.

Monopod is suitable for occasions.

(1) Some monopods also have the function of trekking (e.g. Gitzo G1560) when shooting wild animals, mountaineering and other occasions that require high portability;

(2) Sports competitions, concerts, news reports and other places with limited space and no tripod position;

(3) occasions that need to capture the moment, but also need certain stability, prevent hand jitter and require high flexibility. Rapid assembly system is not a necessary accessory for using tripod, and some tripod heads contain rapid assembly system. However, for users who attach importance to the use effect of tripod, quick assembly system is a more important and easily overlooked accessory. You need to choose carefully when buying. If the quick loading system shakes, the core support system of its tripod will lose its protection.

Quick loading plate and pan-tilt panel

The rapid assembly system mainly comprises a rapid assembly plate and a pan-tilt panel, wherein the rapid assembly plate is fixed on the pan-tilt for locking the pan-tilt panel; The pan-tilt panel is generally installed at the bottom of the camera (or lens), and can be quickly installed on the rapid assembly board when a tripod is needed. Most quick assembly boards include a pan/tilt panel, which is only used to quickly assemble a camera. If you want more than two cameras to share a tripod, you need to buy another pan-tilt panel of the same model for backup.

In addition to providing the function of quick installation of the camera, the quick installation system also has the function of "shock absorption", which can alleviate the "self-shock" caused by the lifting of the camera mirror, or external shocks such as ground vibration and wind blowing. The quick-loading plate made of magnesium alloy and cork has the best "shock absorption" performance and light weight, which helps to reduce the weight of the whole tripod. If you use large or heavy photographic equipment, you should choose a wide pan-tilt panel when purchasing. The larger the contact area, the higher the stability. There are two accessories related to the quick loading system, which are very practical and recommended to everyone.

The central axis is the product of compromise. In order to make the tripod reach a certain height in a lighter and smaller state, the central axis was produced. At the same time, the central shaft also provides a good means to quickly adjust the height, which is very convenient to operate. However, due to the structural characteristics of the central axis, it is easy to become the most unstable factor in the whole tripod system. Because its fixed point is relatively small, and the distance is far away, and it is not a triangular fixed structure, under the condition of poor product tolerance control, the whole tripod is easy to fall down, causing irreparable consequences.

Central shaft lifting mode

There are two ways to lift the intermediate shaft: gear lifting and fast intermediate shaft pulling. There are several ways of gear lifting, such as flat teeth and oblique teeth, and the advanced tripod adopts turbine crank lifting. The advantage of this type of central axis is that it can adjust the height while taking pictures, which is convenient for accurate composition; The disadvantage is that when unlocked, it slides quickly due to gravity, which is easy to damage the equipment and even cause the tripod to fall. Some professional foot stands have built-in damping devices (such as Jin Zhongai Mountain Family), which can avoid the phenomenon of rapid descent when the lifting shaft is loosened. The other kind of quick central shaft can be quickly pulled out or restored to achieve the purpose of height adjustment, but it is not conducive to fine adjustment. In addition, a fast central shaft can achieve a lower working height. Some central shafts are designed in two sections, and the minimum working height can even reach more than 20 cm after a large opening angle of the central shaft is removed, which is convenient for low altitude shooting or macro shooting of low subjects. There is also an "inverted central axis" function, which inserts the central axis and the tripod together for low-altitude photography.

The central axis is only used to fine-tune the height of the tripod. Try not to lift the intermediate shaft first when using it, because many unstable factors are generated from the intermediate shaft. Therefore, some manufacturers even omit the central axis, one is to reduce weight, and the other is to consider stability.

When choosing a tripod, choose a tripod with a long sleeve to avoid shaking. In addition, when investigating the working height of the tripod, it is very important to pay attention to the height of the intermediate shaft and not to lift it. In addition to the tripod body and tripod head described above, small accessories such as tripod bags, stone bags and hooks are also very important for carrying and using.

The tripod bag is very important for carrying and storing tripods. When carrying, it can prevent the tripod from colliding with the body, protect itself and others from harm, and has a beautiful appearance, which is especially suitable for carrying in crowded places. When stored, it can be dust-proof and moisture-proof to avoid rust and deterioration. Most tripods come standard with tripod bags, and some advanced tripods need to purchase special tripod bags separately.

Stone bags and hooks are practical accessories, which can not only increase the weight of tripod, but also improve the stability of tripod when necessary. There is no absolutely stable tripod, and the stability of general tripods can meet the requirements according to the different bearing weights. However, in special circumstances, such as places with strong wind in the wild, the stability may be challenged. Hang the stone bag on the three-leg pipe and install stones or other heavy objects until the stability requirements are met. Buying heavy objects such as camera bags with hooks can also improve stability.