Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-28)

42 22 June 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Stick ’em up

Choosingtherightsupportforyourneedsdoesn’thaveto

bedifficult.AndyWestlaketalksyouthroughtheoptions

I

suspectmanyphotographershavea guiltyfeeling

lurkinginsidethattheyshouldreallybeusinga

tripodmoreoften.Whiletheremarkablehigh-ISO

andimage-stabilisationcapabilitiesof modern

camerasallowhandheldshootingin incrediblylowlight,

usinga tripodwillletyouselectthelowestISOforthe

bestpossibleimagequalityoruselongexposuresfor

creativeeffect.

Theproblem,of course,is thattripodsarebig,heavy,

andawkwardtosetup– orat least,theyalwaysused

tobe.Thegoodnewsis that,if you’vebecomeallergic

totripodsafterluggingarounda chunkymetalbeast

weighingseveralkilograms,thelatestofferingsarelighter

andmoreportablethaneverbefore.

Technologyanddesignhaveadvancedmassivelyin

recentyears.Carbonfibrehasgonefrombeingan

expensiveluxurytoa mainstreammaterial,providing

bothlighterweightandsuperiordampeningof vibrations.

Manymodelsareavailablein bothmaterials,andI’d

always recommend carbon fi bre if you can afford it. Also

wherethree-sectionlegswereonceconsideredde

rigueur,four-orfive-sectionmodelsarenowstandard,

givinga shorterfoldedlengththat’smoreconvenientto

carry,especiallywhencombinedwithreverse-foldingleg

designs.Anti-twistleglocksmakesettingupquickerthan

ever,whiletheArcaSwissdovetailpatternhasemerged

asthedefactostandardforquick-releaseplates.

In a marketthatwasoncedominatedbyManfrotto

andGitzo,there’salsoa widerrangeof brandsto choose

from.NewernamessuchasBenro,3 LeggedThing,

FeisolandSiruiprovideinnovativeproductsat

competitiveprices,whilelongerestablishedbrandssuch

asVanguardandVelbonalsohavesomefineofferings.

Naturallythegeneralruleis thatyougetwhatyoupayfor.

Asexpectedwithallthiscompetition,there’sa wider

rangeof tripodsandheadsonthemarket,butthis

meansthatchoosingthebestoptionforyourneeds

canbeconfusing,tosaytheleast.Readonforour

overviewof what’savailable,andour recommendations

for the best kit on the market.

Formore

information

Benro

http://www.benroeu.com

Cullmann

http://www.cullmann.de/en

Feisol

http://www.feisol.eu

Gitzo

http://www.gitzo.co.uk

Joby

http://www.joby.com/uk-en

Manfrotto

http://www.manfrotto.co.uk

Sirui

en.sirui.com

3 LeggedThing

http://www.3leggedthing.com

Vanguard

http://www.vanguardworld.co.uk

Velbon

http://www.velbon.co.uk

WildlifeWatching

Supplies

http://www.wildlifewatching

supplies.co.uk

Atiltingcentrecolumn,

gearedhead

andmacrosliderare

allusefulfor

shooting close-ups