Tripods

Tripods are the staple means of supporting a camera for most photographers. The three-legged design of the tripod cannot be beat for its simplicity, portability, and stability. With a tripod the photographer has much less to worry about when it comes to keeping the camera still. For this reason, tripods work well with cable releases or remote control camera work, which depend on having a completely stable camera.

Tripods can be extremely basic or complex in their design. The cheapest tripods are simply three-legged structures made of cheap metal with a very basic camera mount at the head. The more upscale ones can have a host of features, such as leveling devices for the legs, interchangeable camera mounts, and an extended center post that allows for the camera to be propped below the normal level of the tripod’s camera mount. Some tripods also have spikes that can be attached to the feet so as to stabilize it better on certain terrain.

Tripods

Tripods can be sold with a very wide price range, depending on how accessorized it is. They can range from just costing $70-80 to several hundreds of dollars for the most professional models. A quality tripod will usually feature adjustable settings on the camera mount that allow minute adjustments to the camera position without even having to upset the positioning of the tripod’s legs.

Camera Tripods

The camera mount atop a tripod can work in two different ways. It can be made so that it can move very smoothly in a lateral fashion, so as to make panning shots very easy. The mount can also simply hinge on a ball-joint, which gives much greater flexibility for the angle at which the camera can be mounted, but also makes it difficult to achieve smooth panning and zooming shots. The smooth-panning camera mounts can also be ideal for making wide, panoramic shots that require a very steady, linear movement to execute well.

Ambico Tripods

Miniature tripods, which are also called table-top tripods, are often used for scenarios where a regular tripod would be too large to comfortably fit into the area where the shooting is to take place. They are usually less sturdy than standard tripods. There are also camera clamps, which are like tripods but have a C-clamp instead of three legs. They are useful in the same way as a table-top tripod can be, but only if there is something that the clamp can attach to.