A reliable tripod is one of the important photography and video tools. Whether for photography amateurs or for professional photographers, the role of tripods cannot be ignored.


NEEWER N55C Photo Tripod

Why is a tripod so important?

A tripod is a support frame used to stabilize a camera to assist in achieving certain photographic effects. In other words, a tripod is to provide a stability for camera and lens.

Main reasons for needing such stability are for weight sharing, off-hand shooting, fixed camera position and stable exposure in four categories.

  • Share the weight.

If the camera and lens is very heavy, long handheld shooting such as stargazing, portrait photography and other scenes, you can use a tripod to share the weight to save physical strength.

  • Off-hand shooting.

Commonly used in video recording or live scenes, such as interviews, webcasts, conference recording, wedding recording, etc. When the shooter needs to use a video camera or camera to record video for a long time, a tripod can play a good auxiliary support role. Personal self-timer or recording will also use to tripod as a shooting tool.


Fixed camera position.

In video recording, fixed camera positions often use a tripod to keep the picture stable. In still photography, some professional creative techniques such as panoramic pickup, depth of field compositing, and time compositing all require multiple shots of the same location or even the same angle.

Stable exposure.

When shooting scenic subjects, such as the starry sky, the Milky Way or city lights at night, the need for slow and stable shutter, a tripod can come in handy.


NEEWER SAB264 Photo Tripod

What are the main types of tripods?

The most common types of tripods used for filming on the market today are mainly desktop tripods, octopus tripods, photography tripods, video tripods, etc. From different shooting needs, you can choose the most applicable tripod for shooting. 

Desktop Tripod

Table tripod, also known as a mini tripod, compact and portable its outstanding features. For photographers or photography enthusiasts, you can use a mini tripod for low angle shooting or macro shooting. In recent years, due to the rise of webcasting and self-publishing, desktop tripods are increasingly favored by shooters. For webcasters or self-publishing bloggers, a desktop tripod can be a good way to help them fix their phones or cameras to shoot anywhere, anytime.

 
NEEWER TP-DTGM Table Tripod and NEEWER M225 Table Tripod

Octopod Tripod

As the name implies, the benefit of the Octopus tripod is that it is like an octopus that can be coiled in a certain place to assist in shooting. The same small size as a desktop tripod and is easy to carry.

The difference between the two:

The Octopus legs are hoses, which can be screwed into any of its legs according to the actual shooting needs.

The octopod tripod can adapt to a variety of unconventional shooting scenarios, such as on the branches, railings and so on.

In today's popular era of Vlog, many video bloggers will also use the octopus tripod as a handheld shooting pole or in outdoor venues at any time to open the video or photo recording shooting.


NEEWER T30 Flexible Tripod

Photo Tripod

Photography tripods are commonly used by professional photographers for portrait or landscape photography. Commonly used in professional photography, this type of tripod in the material, structure, function and other aspects will have relatively high requirements.

Most of the aluminum or carbon fiber photo tripods on the market today. Compared to aluminum, carbon fiber tends to be lighter and easier to carry around for outdoor shooting. In terms of structure, the photography tripod can be summarized as a quick release plate, head, center column and four parts of the leg. The head is commonly divided into a ball head, hydraulic head, three-dimensional head, etc. Legs are generally round or square tubes.


NEEWER N55C Photo Tripod NEEWER TP-AMAAPB Photo Tripod

Video tripod

Compared to photography tripods, video tripods or film tripods are more suitable for dynamic objects or recording, while the structure of the tripod weight and other often have higher requirements, because the video tripod not only to stabilize the support of heavy cameras, but also with a professional head to facilitate video recording.

Usually, the legs of the video tripod are a double-row tube type, its stability and support will be stronger. In order to make the video shooting recording screen smoother and smoother, with the video tripod with a professional hydraulic head or three-dimensional head.


NEEWER TP75 Video Tripod NEEWER N284+G0 Tripod

What are the common functions of tripods?

In the actual photography process, each tripod can play its important role, just different types of tripods focus on the function of the point will be different. In general, tripods have the following common and important functions.

  • Height adjustment

Height adjustment is the basic function of the tripod, usually through the telescopic legs to achieve, there are a few tripods will use several sections of the center column to achieve the purpose of raising part of the tripod height.

Common tripod legs are 3, 4 or 5 sections, the fewer the number of sections, the greater the stability, on the other hand, the more sections of the tripod legs will be relatively smaller storage size. There are various ways to adjust the height of the legs, the common ones are trigger and knob. Trigger type is convenient and quick in adjusting the height, while the knob type will take some time but will be more solid.


NEEWER TP18 Photo Tripod

  • Panoramic shots

With the head, most tripods can achieve the panoramic shooting function. In the outdoor scenery shooting, 360 ° panoramic shooting function can play an important role, the full picture of nature or architectural scenery, etc. can be collected in the lens. In addition, in the video shooting, the panoramic shooting function of the head can help the videographer to smoothly record the full range of images.


NEEWER GM-MT Ball Head

  • Low angle shot

Desktop and octopus stands can easily achieve low angle shooting by increasing the grip angle between the legs and the ground due to their short and small size. In addition to changing the grip angle of the legs, most tripods are designed with the center column as a detachable structure, which can be inverted by the center column to allow for low-angle shooting.

NEEWER TP18 Photo Tripod

  • Tilt shot

In the hydraulic head, tilt shooting is almost a necessary shooting function. Through the hydraulic damping adjustment and the role of the pan handle, you can easily achieve the tilt and tilt shooting. For the ordinary ball head, also can be achieved through the rotation of the ball head tilt shooting, but the adjustable angle is more limited.


NEEWER GM24 Hydraulic Head

  • Monopod shooting

Unlike tripods, monopods have unique advantages in terms of portability and flexibility of use, and the flexibility of monopods can be brought into play in shooting soccer games and other large, irregular sports shooting situations.

And some monopods also have the function of hiking poles, in the shooting of wildlife or outdoor scenery, monopods can play an obvious dual role.

Many tripods today have a detachable design at the legs, which means that one of the legs is made into a detachable leg, so that by matching the legs with the head, the tripod can be converted into a monopod without the need to purchase a separate monopod.


NEEWER TP18 Photo Tripod

  • Adjustable damping

The hydraulic head has built-in damping, the purpose of which is to help the lens move smoothly when shooting video.

The more professional hydraulic head will be equipped with damping adjustment knobs, such as tilt damping adjustment knob and panoramic damping fine adjustment ring, so that the head with dynamic balance adjustment and horizontal adjustment function, in the premise of loose locking knob, but also more subtle control of the size of the shooting damping.

According to the actual shooting situation to go to the different damping can be adjusted to achieve the best photography and video shooting state.


NEEWER TP-75 Video Tripod Head

  • Adjustable handle

In video tripods, it is common for the head to be paired with a pan handle. By providing leverage through the handle, it is easier to cast the mirror.

In general, the handle can be disassembled and reassembled to adapt to left- and right-handed shooting habits. And, some handles also do a multi-section adjustable design, according to the actual shooting needs to adjust the length of the handle.


NEEWER TP-75 Video Tripod

Tripod purchase recommendations

  • Desktop Photography

If you often shoot small objects or often need to sit and face the camera, such as desktop photography, remote office, personal live video shooting, etc., we recommend you buy this desktop mini tripod.


NEEWER TP-DTGM Mini Tripod

  • Advantages: mini-portable; bracket or handheld dual-use; ball head head to adjust the lens

Compact desktop tripod, unfolded volume and storage volume are very small, can support desktop standing shooting or handheld shooting. With a ball head, you can change the angle of the lens shooting. Its use is also very wide, you can use to support the shooting of small objects, or low angle shooting or macro shooting, in addition you can use it with a cell phone or camera for live or video recording, etc.

 

  • Creative shooting

Sometimes perhaps in the outdoor shooting, cannot find a good flat shooting site, this situation will cause some difficulties for the shooting. If you have troubles such as this, we recommend that you buy this octopus tripod.


NEEWER
 T30 Flexible Tripod

  • Advantages: hose design; easy installation; random matching

The flexible hose legs can be installed and fixed on branches, railings and other objects at will, allowing you to do some creative shooting outdoors as you wish. Its compact size can be carried around, convenient storage, and can be matched with cell phones or cameras on demand, a wide range of adaptations.

  • Travel Photography

Outdoor travel photography is a lot of photography enthusiasts and even professional photographers will often do a thing, if you happen to have such shooting needs but worried about the need to carry a heavy tripod, then we recommend you choose NEEWER carbon fiber low center of gravity tripod.


NEEWER
 T18 Photo Tripod

  • Advantages: lightweight and easy to carry; anti-folding design; low center of gravity head; monopod.

Carbon fiber material, coupled with the anti-folding design, so you have a pair of lightweight and easy to store tripod, you can easily photography in the outdoors. Low center of gravity head can enhance the stability of the lens, giving you a good shooting experience.

It can also be assembled into a monopod, which can be used for photography or as a tool for outdoor hiking.

  • Video Shooting

In addition to photo shoots, video is also an important part of photography. Many photographers are often in the field for animal videography or astronomical observation, such as birding or stargazing. If you are interested in motion photography or astronomical observation, we recommend you buy NEEWER square tube small DV video tripod.

NEEWER SAB264 video tripod

  • Advantage: pan and tilt hydraulic head; storage volume is small.

With a small hydraulic head, built-in damping adjustment, the formation of dynamic balance, rapid lens switching, so that the shooting image smooth and fluid.

Square tube design, each leg fits into each other, minimizing storage volume.

Whether it is a small outdoor theater shooting, animal videography or astronomical observation, are more suitable for the choice.

  • Professional Recording

If you often move around in all kinds of professional video recording video, such as live conference, interview recording or wedding video, then we recommend you buy these two professional video tripods.


NEEWER TP75 Professional Video Tripod

  • Advantage: adjustable hydraulic head; double-row tube tripod; dual-mode quick release plate

These two tripods are double-row type legs, and with the center spreader, the installation of heavy cameras on the tripod can also provide high stability. The use of a professional hydraulic head, including the model TP75 tripod is a damping adjustable knob design to help shoot clearer and smoother video images. Dual mode quick release plate design allows your equipment to quickly switch between the tripod and DJI stabilizer.

  • Other shooting needs

Generally speaking, each tripod has its more applicable shooting scenarios, but if your shooting needs are richer, in order to avoid carrying a variety of tripods travel, we recommend you buy this DIY free assembly tripod.

 

NEEWER TP23 Free Assembly Tripod 

  • Advantages: DIY free assembly; a variety of tripod styles into one.

NEEWER TP23 This tripod's biggest advantage is the freedom of assembly, the parts are independent of each other, you can freely split the combination to form a variety of tripod models, such as small desktop tripods, monopods, large tripods, etc., so that you can travel with only one pair of tripods to meet different shooting needs.

About NEEWER

Founded in 2011, NEEWER is a multinational company integrating design, R&D, manufacturing and sales. Its headquarters is based in Shenzhen, China, with branches and subsidiaries established in the United Kingdom, Germany, and mainland China (Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hefei). The company was accredited as a national high-tech enterprise in 2020.

As a world-renowned brand of photographic equipment, NEEWER focuses on the development of software and equipment relating to photography, live streaming and videos. It has a wide range of product line-ups, including photography lighting equipment, such as: video lights, flashlights and ring lights; as well as video recording equipment, like: monitors and microphones; auxiliary light control accessories, notably soft boxes, tripods, lenses and filters, innovative Smartphone apps and more... It has succeeded in forming a complete social, commercial, and photographic ecosystem.