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But it's a measure of the quality of the items as well - the cheapies don't take rough treatment. That's probably mostly as a result of being exposed to kids (of any age) who don't mind taking things that aren't fastened down, or who just play around and bang things around when not supervised, etc. There was a time frame where it seemed every tripod I saw on display as I was shopping at Target, WalMart or even the big electronics chains, was broken or had missing pieces.

A discount department or electronics store will have fewer items to choose from, perhaps less experienced help. A good camera store will have an assortment of tripods or heads and legs and may have some suggestions on bargains that they haven't found too many problems with. Gentle handling is less stressful on the gear as well. Putting heavier gear on it will push the costs up, lighter gear is less stressful. To get one that isn't too fragile or has less springiness, and will likely take at least some banging about, you are going to be from $70 to $100 or so. So, I'd guess (haven't looked at the local discount stores recently), that to get a useable tripod, one that is not going to be just too short or too light except for the lightest cameras, that the $40-$50 range will probably get one that's at least big enough to be useful. Too heavy a camera so you try to tighten the fittings too hard, they can break. So the amount of handling, risk of dropping, falling when handled, dropped when shoved around the closet, etc., adds to the potential to just break one. Then on too inexpensive a tripod, the materials and workmanship aren't real great so they are fragile compared to better grade pods. The heads aren't real precise on inexpensive pods so they may be sticky or slippy or both. Too heavy a camera/lens may be hard to tighten up in an inexpensive pod. But too heavy can still make the tripod and head combination springy. You can usually find pods with hooks or just hang a camera bag or other weight to help solve the weight/balance problem. A smaller camera or dslr with a light lens can be supported on a lighter pod.

especially if windy or if people might be bumping into it.

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Stooping is free so a shorter pod can save some money but if you use it a lot, it's really inconvenient at best and uncomfortable quickly.Īlso, if the camera is 'too heavy' for the tripod, extending the center column can make the whole thing tippy again, keeping the column down is less tippy but a heavy camera on a light tripod might always be risky.

So getting a tripod that's comfortably tall enough for you to use without too much stooping or too much extension is recommended. Then, the more extension, the more leverage adds to the problems. Extended center columns get shaky because the cheaper the legs, the less well they hold it because of of weight and spring in the materials. When it comes to stability, the less you extend a center column, the better. If a tripod is too short, you'd want to extend the center column. There are some trade-offs that can be made as long as one is aware of them. I do expect that redundant heads for different things not withstanding, that I'll end up with a legset and head that's at or over $200 to maybe $250. I know I can't spend that much even though over time, I'll replace (have actually) some cheap heads and eventually will get better legs, I'll probably never get to Arca Swiss compatible plates, never get a super ballhead over $300, never get CF leg sets, etc. There will be those who assert that one will need to spend hundreds if not over a thousands dollars to get a long term reliable, sturdy, stable tripod with a good head and good quick release system.

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