tripod

i am a new photograpgher and am looking for a new tripod. Whats different kinds are there? and i am also interested in pano-heads. Do pano-heads come seperately or come on the tripod? and also how do you use a pano-head. im sorry that these sound like really dumb questions but i am new at this.


Thanks alot, matt

There is a good overall "Tripod 101" that might get you started. Follow the link to Support Synergy for more. I documented on my hobby website what I have found that works for me.

A pano head will come separately. Almost all decent tripods are sold as a set of legs, and you purchase the head separately. Many places like Adorama and B&H will offer them together as a "kit" but it's basically the same thing as buying the separate pieces.

I have never used a pano head. A pano head rotates on a special point. I haver heard it called the nodal point, but I have also heard that that is wrong. Either way, it is designed to rotate on a more precise axis to keep things better aligned for when you stitch the images together in post processing.

If you are interested in panoramic photography, you will want to learn about parallax and nodal points. There is an informative discussion of that on the website previously linked to as well here.

Whether you purchase RRS gear or not, their website still has some very good information.

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Originally Posted by phish123

i am a new photograpgher and am looking for a new tripod. Whats different kinds are there?

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There are many many many different kinds although the most variation will be with the heads. The difference between legs is usually just materials, size, weight etc. Carbon Fiber legs are more expensive than metal, but are much lighter and don't get really cold to the touch like metals do. There are arguments over which are "stronger" as each type is stronger and weaker in it's own way, but I'm not going to get into that here.

If you like to do panoramic shots, a pano head may be a good choice for you as it will work very well for these types of shots. It will also work well for non pano shots, but will usually not be as quick to set up and move around as say a ball head.

Good brands are Bogen/Manfrotto, Gitzo, Giottos amongst others.

I advocate buying a good tripod/head and actually using it, but many on this site never use one. It really comes down to personal preference and style of shooting. For pano it is a must, for macro it really comes in handy too. For other styles of shooting it becomes less important. A good tripod will last for decades.