Just as a carpenter has more than 1 type of hammer and painters own many types of paint brushes, a photographer should own many types of tripods. Why? Every photographic situation is different and requires a different approach to solving stability and/or camera movement problems. You wouldn't want to take a heavy tripod on a long hike or into a football game. You cannot use a tripod that does not have low angle capabilities for taking macro shoots of flowers that are close to the ground. A tripod designed for video use will not work well for still photography.

 

Before shopping for a tripod write down the situations where you found that you most needed a tripod. Make a column for the features that would have worked best to take that photograph; ie if you were shooting flowers and they were low to the ground, you would write low ground clearance or if you frequently take long hikes and weight is an issue, write low weight. When you are all done with the list, number them in order of importance. So, if you had to give up a feature because it cost too much, what is the first feature to go.

 

Finally, write down your budget. Don't forget that many of the better tripods are sold with the legs and head sold separately. Budget for a head too! Choosing a head will be covered in a different guide.