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One of the most common questions I am asked is "What tripod should I get?"

The key factors to look for are:

• Weight - light is nice, but not necessarily sturdy.
• Sturdy
• Quick adjustments
• Quick release mounting plate.
• Maximum height
• Easily adjustable head.
• Sturdy
• Durability
• Size (for travelling)
• Price
• Sturdy

Now, did I mention that it needs to be sturdy!!!

If you like shooting landscapes/seascapes like this shot below of the Southern Ocean smashing into the rocks below the cliffs at Kangaroo Island you will need a good solid tripod. In fact when shooting landscape and macro at small apertures your shutter speed will often slow right down and a good tripod is absolutely essential.

Kangaroo Island---- Nikon D800 Nikkor 14-24 f/2.8 ---- 2 seconds @ f/22 ISO 100 ---- Manda TG-284c Tripod with BT-3 ballhead.

Selecting your Tripod - (it needs to be sturdy) The main reason you are going to need a tripod is to stabilise your camera when you are in either, a low light situation, using a long lens (telephoto) or using a macro lens (close-up). It stands to reason then, that if you are shooting in low light with long shutter speeds, or with lenses where any vibration can cause havoc, that you need a stable platform to work from. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a good tripod and head, but skimp too much and you'll soon be tossing your bargain in the bin and buying something better. I see time and time again where participants arrive for a workshop with a 20 year old flimsy, spindly tripod bought at a garage sale (if this was you, please don't be offended:-) ). A good tripod will last you for life. Good brands such as Manfrotto, Gitso, Really Right Stuff and Three Legged Thing have all manner of spare parts available so if something does needs fixing it can be done so easily. Manda are a good economical alternative for affordable carbon fibre units. So what to buy? If you can afford a carbon fibre unit, terrific. They are light and very strong but, expensive. Manfrotto (and I must point out that I am not affiliated with Manfrotto, Gitso, RRS, Acratech or any other tripod /head manufacturer) offer aluminium and carbon fibre models of the same tripod. For instance the 055CXPRO3 and the 055XPROB are virtually identical to look at (see below) but that's where the similarities end. The carbon fibre 055CXPRO3 weighs only 1.6kg against the aluminium 055XPROB's 2.4kgs. The carbon fibre unit will safely carry an 8kg load whereas the the aluminium 055XPROB can manage only 7kgs.

Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Manfrotto 055CPROB

Price-wise though, the carbon fibre tripod will cost more than double it's aluminium twin. Move up-market to a Gitso Series 2 Carbon 6X Explorer Tripod - 4 Section G-Lock and you won't get much change from $1000.00 and you still need the head!

Series 2 Carbon 6X Explorer Tripod - 4 Section G-Lock

If you only intend to carry the tripod in the boot of your car and then only short distances to your photo shoot location then you may well be advised to save money on the tripod and put more into a better head because that's where things get even more interesting. Avoid tripods where the centre column cannot either be rotated to a horizontal position or taken out completely and replaced with a stubby shaft. If you can't do either of the above, then your minimum height will be governed by the length of the centre column. You will be stuck when it comes time to get down on the ground to get that perfect angle. Bringing Things to a Head Personally, I prefer a ball-head for ease of use and versatility. The 3-way adjustable heads are fine, but they are cumbersome and can be annoying to adjust. They come as standard on many tripods, but you can specify to buy your tripod with the head of your choice. If you were to choose one of the Manfrotto tripods mentioned above then a perfect tripod head to match would be the Manfrotto 054 Magnesium Ball Head. This head supports camera and lens to 10kgs and has a separate panorama knob adjustment as well as the ball head adjustment.

Manfrotto Mounting Plate Manfrotto 054 Magnesium Ball-head

Personally, I use the RRS (Really Right Stuff) BH-55 PCL: Full-sized ball-head with PCL (panning clamp). These units use the universal "Quick Release" (QR) system designed by Arca Swiss. Very strong, and able to hold a whopping 23kgs, they don't come cheap. If you have some big glass and a pro camera body then chances are you will be getting right up there in the weight stakes. A ball-head like the BH-55 will give you a positive lock that won't creep and give you issues with composing your shot. When travelling (by air) or on a long hike I use a Manda TG-284c and a Three Legged Thing 'Eddie'. 3 Legged Thing 'Eddie'  Another top brand with some beautifully engineered equipment is Acratech. Their GP-s Ballhead is a beauty and much lighter than the RRS ball-heads. They won't carry the same weight though, but they are an excellent product.

Really Right Stuff - BH-55 PCL: Full-sized ballhead with PCL Acratech GP-s Ballhead

You don't need to buy the same brand tripod and head. Do your research and you may find the perfect tripod may be from Gitso and the head may be from Acratech (or any other of many combinations). Most tripod base plates are universally compatible with many different brand heads so you really do have many choices available.

Happy shopping.