A tripod will help eliminate many of the headaches of wasted opportunities, and opens the door to new creative techniques for the budding photographer. With all the hardware available, though, what do you really need? Read more to find out what to look for when shopping for your first tripod.
For the budding photographer, few experiences are as rewarding as capturing a perfectly framed and exposed image of a majestic landscape bathed in the vibrant hues of a setting sun. Likewise, no experience is more frustrating than realizing that instead of that inspiring image you had envisioned, you ended up with a blurry, grainy soup of colors not even your mother could find beauty in. Once you lose enough opportunities to shaky hands and slow shutter speeds, you'll realize the easiest answer to your agony is to invest in a tripod.
A tripod instantly eliminates those missed opportunities, and opens the door to new creative options. As a general rule, if lighting conditions and camera settings mean the appropriate exposure time for your shot is longer than 1/60 second, your choices are using a tripod, or accepting the inevitability of a blurry shot. A tripod also allows you to experiment with a whole new world of photography, including extended exposures and unique shooting angles. What kind of tripod to invest in depends on the photography you do, so what should you look for?
Tripods are actually kits built from two major components - a set of tripod legs, and the tripod head. The tripod head acts as the interface between the tripod legs and your camera, and allows you to adjust your camera's position. Less expensive tripod kits often come with the tripod and head integrated as one unit, while higher-end kits typically are sold in separate parts.
If you usually shoot in moderately well-lit areas with a lightweight point-and-shoot camera, then an entry-level one-piece tripod kit may be all you need. However, if you use a heavier SLR camera, and look forward to taking pictures in a variety of shooting conditions, a two-piece tripod kit from a quality manufacturer is a wise investment.