Tripod Reviews

There were so many three-legged accessory creatures at the last Photo Plus Expo in New York that for a moment I thought I was at a petting zoo in Chernobyl. Seriously—I dreamed I was surrounded by a herd of tripedal giraffes with skinny, hairless legs. The experience made me realize that for most photographers, choosing the right tripod is more difficult than searching for the right emoji on a smartphone while wearing mittens. Henceforth and therefore, here’s a non-zoological look at a trio of terrific tripods.

Peak Design just launched a Kickstarter campaign for a travel tripod. Packed with innovative features, this extremely compact marvel is available in aluminum alloy or carbon fiber, supports a payload of up to 20 pounds and is not much bigger than a Philly cheese steak sandwich—or the footlong hot dog shown above—when folded up (3.1 x 15.5 inches). We had a chance to put an early sample through the paces; here’s our hands-on report.

Tripods come in many sizes, from tabletop models to heavy-duty camera stands designed for studio use. Because of the variety of types, styles, and even colors, there’s rarely a one-size-fits-all tripod for most photographers. And, like eating potato chips, you can’t have just one.

You need a tripod. If you shoot video, panoramas, fireworks, time exposures, selfies or macro work in addition to general picture taking, you may even need two tripods. Selecting a tripod that matches the way you work is important, and not at all difficult if you approach it in the right way.

What do dogs do on three legs, and why should we imitate them? 

“Show me a home where the buffalo roam…and I’ll show you a really messy house.” —Anonymous

Why do tripods have three legs instead of four? There is a reason, and we’ll get to it in a moment, right after we take a long, close look at a 3 Legged Thing from across the pond.