BUYING A TRIPOD

Like it or not, you will find it very difficult to take good landscape or macro photographs without a tripod to support your camera. Although your image may appear sharp when viewed in the review screen of your camera, it will usually show signs of camera-shake on a computer screen.

Image stabilised lenses do help cut down camera shake in action and portrait shots, but are of limited value for the long shutter speeds required in landscape photography, or the close proximity to the subject in macro shots.

Choosing the Right Tripod

Unless your tripod is heavy and rigid enough to keep your camera stable when used outdoors in breezy conditions, you will have wasted your money. Some models come with a hook on the centre column - you hang your camera bag from this hook to add weight and stability. Lightweight tripods are best-suited to indoor use.
Good tripods don't have to be incredibly expensive, the HQ Aluminium Tripod Pro, shown on the right, costs around £40. Manfrotto make a wide range of tripods from around £55 up to several hundred.

Features to Look For

Tripod Heads

Most tripods come without a head, so that you can choose the one best suited to you. Ball heads, like the one on the right, are easy to use, having just one adjustment that allows you to rotate the camera to many different positions. Avoid tripod heads with three different levers, they take too long to adjust.

Quick Release Plates

All the better tripod heads come with quick release plates. These screw on to the bottom of your camera and click into place on the tripod head, allowing you to remove the camera quickly and easily from the tripod.

Central Column

If you want to use your tripod to get very low for some shots, the central column can get in the way. You might prefer to choose a tripod like the Benbo Trekker, which allows you to position your camera almost anywhere you choose - great if you like to photograph wild flowers.

Other Camera Supports

If you really can't face carrying a tripod, you might consider a Gorillapod, shown right, which has flexible legs that wrap around any convenient fence, branch etc. They are useful up to a point, but only when there is something that you can attach them to at the right height. The larger ones will support an SLR with a fairly light lens.

Also useful are beanbags, which again can be placed on a convenient support, or directly on the ground, and moulded to hold your camera in place.