One of the most useful accessories any photographer can have is a tripod, suitable for anything from allowing you to get sharp images at longer exposures or to take some of the weight and strain off your neck and back. There are a ton of options out there, however, and if you are wondering which one is right for you, check out this awesome video that will give you five tips for choosing the correct option.
Coming to you from Gabriel Biderman with B&H Photo and Video, this great video will give you five tips for choosing the right tripod for your work. While there are absolutely places where you can save money when it comes to buying gear, I think a tripod is one piece of equipment you should not cut corners on. First of all, you are trusting it to hold thousands of dollars in equipment, so you will want to know your camera and lens are secure. Furthermore, a good tripod tends to be much more stable and will allow you to get better images. Lastly, a quality tripod will often last you the length of your entire career if well taken care of. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Biderman.
Good advice for anyone thinking of buying a tripod. My advice don't buy the cheap cheap ones. They are a waste of money. A Gitzo Traveller is an expensive tripod but really excellent. It's gone everywhere with me. Twist lock versus clip lock is a tricky one. If you buy a twist lock you really need to understand the mechanism and what the white plastic bits do and how to put them back in correctly. It's very easy to go more than a quarter turn and the leg fall off.
The heads are another tricky set of choices. I've found a levelling base really helpful, it stops having to adjust tripod legs. I've all types of heads, hard to say which is better. They all have their uses. A gimbal is great for big heavy lens but are big items in themselves. Ball heads are good but you need to be careful you are holding your camera when you loosen. Swiss arca style fitting is better in the long run. 3 way heads are good for levelling the camera but full of knobs. Lots of choice almost too much. A bit like camera bags, there is no ideal tripod. It depends on what you need it for.
I think of buying a tripod as a onetime purchase, that high price should be divided by the number of years in use.
Of the three tripods that I've purchased over my 27 year career, only one was bought new. I eventually gave it to a friend and replaced it with two used Manfrotto tripod, one was light with a 90 degree column for airline travel and the other more robust for local shoots. I believe that the two used tripods cost as much as the one new model.
I purchased a Manfrotto tripod back in the 80's (Bogen at the time) and I owned it up until 2019. Legs and head together cost a little over $300 when it was new, about $700+ in today's money. Solid as a rock and just as heavy, the thing was durable and reliable. Buy a good tripod and it really can last for decades. I only sold it to get a lighter weight carbon fiber model.