What to Know About Tripods Before Renting

Tripods have a lot of small details to pay attention to in order to find the one that really suits your shooting style and personal ergonomic preferences. Here are just a few of the features different tripods offer:

Twist-Lock or Lever-Lock Legs
Many find that lever locks are faster and more secure but twist-lock is popular on really lightweight designs suitable for packing long distances.

Bowl Head or Flat Head Mounting
Bowl base heads and legs allow for really intuitive camera movements but are quite large and sometimes cumbersome. Flat head mounting is very common and adaptable to many head types.

Carbon Fiber or Aluminum Build
Choosing carbon fiber seems like a foregone conclusion given how much lighter and stronger the material is but not every project demands it and they are a lot more expensive.

High or Low Payload
A good rule of thumb is to add up the weight of your camera rig, double it, and then choose at tripod with a payload of that amount. Any more than that and you're needlessly carrying around a very heavy set of sticks. Any lower than that and you risk instability.

Additional Support on Tripods
Many tripods have center columns with hooks on the end to hang a camera bag or sandbag for extra stability (remember, it must be actually hanging and not sitting on the ground to work). Other tripods will have center or ground spacers to help with both stability and faster leg setup. Ground spreaders are recommended only for very flat surfaces, like studio floors, and not for work out in the field. Mid-level spreaders are great for unpredictable environments.

Check out these customer favorites:

Sachtler Ace M Fluid Head Tripod Kit: This bowl base system uses glass fiber reinforced composite material to remain relatively lightweight without sacrificing overall strength. It has a relatively lightweight payload but is a great choice for most mirrorless video setups. The fluid head is equipped with Sachtler's damping technology, which allows increased levels of control, smoothness, and reliability when tilting and panning.

Benro S8 Pro Video Tripod Kit: This 3-section, dual-stage tripod system is equipped with a fluid head that offers 8-step counterbalance and smooth panning with a pan bar that can be attached to either side. Additional accessory ports allow you to add lights or a monitor.

Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod: This is an incredibly versatile tripod with a built-in ball head, center column with hook (which can be removed to use the mobile mount great for vlogging), and a good payload of 20 lbs. It also can be spread to sit only 5.5" above the ground, a great feature for ground shooting.