The Best All-In-One Tripod for Beginner and Professional Photographers (and how to choose one)
It can be very hard to find the best tripod because it all depends on your photography niche, your budget, and many particular features you will want to think about before getting yourself one. Getting an all-in-one tripod would be the way to go regardless of whether you’re a beginner or a professional photographer. You will get a lot of versatility when experimenting with different photography niches!
For a complete review of my recommended best all-in-one tripod, watch the video above. I showcase this sexy looking tripod (I love the colour scheme), and all its amazing features!
Otherwise, you can keep reading below to learn all the things you need to look at when deciding on getting a new tripod for your photography work.
1. PHOTOGRAPHY NICHE
If you’re into a specific niche, it will be easier to choose because you will need very particular features to be able to develop your work. The photography niche really dictates the features you need to look at when choosing the best tripod.
For example, if you are a landscape photographer, you will want to have a level to make sure the tripod is located properly over uneven surfaces. You will want a rotatable panoramic head to be able to take panoramic shots, and you will want a very high tripod that gives you versatility and high angle views.
If you are a wildlife photographer or a sports photographer, you will appreciate a tripod that has the option to convert into a monopod. A monopod is crucial for those who want to shoot with big and heavy zoom lenses. It will give you stability making your pictures way sharper, and you won’t end up with pain in your arms the day after! :D
Being an interior photographer, you must also have the level and written details of the exact degrees in your tripod’s rotatable panoramic head. Yes, you definitely need this feature too to take panoramics of real estates, venues, buildings… You need a tripod that can help you to be very precise with your work.
As a product photographer, you will definitely appreciate having a horizontal center axis. This way you will be able to shoot flat lays and have more versatility with those top-down shots.
Macro photographers? Having an inverted center axis will allow you to locate the camera at a very low angle so you can take those sharp photos of insects, plants, flowers…
I could carry on forever as there are so many photography niches out there. But you get my point. And if you are like me, who loves shooting within many photography categories, you will benefit A LOT from having an all-in-one tripod!
This tripod has all the features I’ve just mentioned and it’s super affordable. But if you are into a very specific niche, you may want to choose a basic one rather than this one. This is why you should keep reading to learn about every feature before you decide to get one! :)
Affordable all-in-one tripod. Click the image for details.
2. LOAD WEIGHT
This is a super important feature you need to consider. I was personally affected by this. My Canon 5DMKIV with my favourite (huge and heavy) 105mm from Sigma, were too much for my basic tripod. It was ok when shooting horizontal photos but when I tried to shoot vertical, my tripod wouldn’t take all the load.
Make sure the load capacity of the tripod you are going to get, will be more than enough for the gear you’re going to use. And think ahead. Don’t get a very basic tripod you will have to upgrade in a year or less. You would end up losing money!
3. TRIPOD HEAD
There are many different systems to choose from. However, I’ll tell you right away to get a BALL head tripod! They are the most versatile and comfortable to use. At least, this is my own preference after over 13 years of experience. I don’t like any other system and I’m pretty sure you won’t either after trying this one. :)
A time ago, ball head tripods used to be very expensive but now they are super affordable. And by the way, the bigger the ball, the better the stability so make sure you check its size as well.
4. LEVEL
This is a feature not all tripods have. I didn’t care too much about this when I got my first one. I used to rely on the ball head and make sure the horizon was straight when I was shooting. However, it’s definitely way better to have a level. And if you are an interior photographer or a landscape photographer, you definitely need one!
5. ROTATING PANORAMIC HEAD
This is a must if you are a landscape photographer because you will want to get panoramic shots. You can rotate the head of the tripod 360 degrees to take as many shots as you like and then, merge them in Adobe Lightroom or whichever software you have. This way you will get incredibly precise panoramic photos.
This is an amazing feature as well if you are into video. I personally love doing smooth pannings and a rotating panoramic head allows you to do this.
6. INVERTED CENTER AXIS
There are tripods that have the possibility to invert the center axis. This is a joy for macro-photographers because they will be able to get the camera super close to the floor, and they will get to shoot super steady photos of plants, insects, flowers… But you can also use it for any kind of creative low angle shots and low angle video footage.
7. HORIZONTAL CENTER COLUMN
Most of the tripods don’t have this, but a horizontal center column is such an amazing feature to be able to take some flat lays. Those top-down shots when shooting product photography for example.
Flat lay shot of some of my gear
Some horizontal center columns, also rotate 360 degrees. This feature makes it very easy to take panoramic shots. And for video, you can set the camera and record while panning 360 degrees, I think it’s such a great feature for both video and photography lovers.
8. TRIPOD HEIGHT
Not much to say here as it’s quite obvious. But you will want the highest tripod you can get! It will give you more versatility when trying to shoot high angle views. And if you are tall, you will definitely need it if you don’t want to bend over constantly when taking pictures. Not too good for that lower back…
9. TRIPOD WEIGHT & SIZE
We all know that as lightest the tripod, the less stable it would be under windy conditions or when placed over an uneven surface, which happens a lot when shooting in nature.
But there are some out there that are very sturdy and they are not that heavy. You will want to look into those. If you are planning to move around and travel a lot with the tripod, you will want a reasonable weight and a reasonable size.
So many tripods are super retractable and they are super easy to carry. Again, you will definitely prefer this.
10. MONOPOD CONVERSION
Yes! Some tripods have the option to remove one of the legs. That leg can be attached to the center axis to become a monopod.
A monopod is tremendously useful for those who shoot with big guns! I wish I had one when I was doing surf photography back in Spain because I can promise you those zoom lenses are heavy!
Using my Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L
A monopod would have given me support and stability. This way I wouldn’t have had to shoot handheld.
THE BEST ALL-IN-ONE TRIPOD
So now, what if I tell you that every single thing I mentioned is covered by my new main tripod?
I talked to you a few times on my channel about K&F Concept because it’s such a great and AFFORDABLE brand. I’ve bought some of their filters for my lenses but I’ve never got the chance to try out one of their most popular photography products: TRIPODS!
I recommend this one because it’s an ALL-IN-ONE tripod that covers the needs of every single niche. And if you know my work, you know that even though I’m a portrait photographer, I do shoot within many niches. :)
These are some of the features:
Model: SA254T1
Height: 2,39cm / 90 inches
Load Capacity: 22lb / 10kg
Weight: 2kg
Panoramic Shooting 360 degrees
Double Center Axis
Transverse Center Column
Low Angle Photography
Detachable Monopod (2,50cm height)
CONCLUSION
The price of this tripod is super affordable for everything it offers. BUT your needs may be different to mine so you may want to get a very basic tripod because you don’t need all the features of this one. We all do different work after all.
With everything I explained in this post, you should be able to have a better understanding of how to choose the right tripod for you and your photography needs.
However, if you have any questions and you want to know more about this tripod, please ask me in the comments below. I’m always super happy to help!
I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful! :)
- YOU WILL ALSO LIKE THESE POSTS:
If you want to know more, check my Youtube channel for weekly videos about Photography, Tutorials, Vlogs, and Creative inspiration! I hope to see you there!
CHECK OUT MY PREMIUM PRESETS BELOW:
PIN THIS ARTICLE ON PINTEREST ↓↓
