How to buy the best tripod for under £150

You might think that, with the latest generation of image stabilised (IS) lenses, tripods have become all but redundant, but nothing could be further from the truth. For any subject that needs careful composition and framing, you can’t beat a sturdy tripod for locking the camera in position.

In particularly dull conditions or for night scenes, a good tripod adds a level of solid support far beyond what image stabilisation has to offer – and there are other advantages as well. One popular pursuit is the creation of HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, where you take a series of shots of the same scene with different exposure values, then combine them into a single image with full detail in the highlights and shadows. A tripod is essential to ensure that the camera doesn’t move between shots.

Yet another possibility is panning between shots so you can stitch images together to create panoramas. A carefully levelled tripod makes this quick and easy. Finally, using a Self-timer delay with a tripod enables you to literally put yourself in the picture. All in all, a tripod is one of the most versatile tools in a your arsenal.

Similar only in shape, tripods vary tremendously in size and weight and in the features they offer. Small, lightweight ‘travel’ tripods  are great for travelling but might not give the same support as sturdier models that aim to offer a suitably firm foundation for both indoor and outdoor photography. Inevitably, this means a chunkier build, longer legs to give a height advantage and heavier weight to keep everything steady.

Exceptions to this rule are fibreglass or carbon-fibre tripods but, if you're keeping your eye on cost you might need to ruled those out too because they’re much more expensive to buy. Many of the more ‘serious’ tripod manufacturers such as Giottos and Manfrotto supply tripods and tripod heads separately. Other companies concentrate on the consumer market, rather than professionals, and supply tripods complete with heads to keep costs down.

If you go for a tripod that allows you to swap the head for a different make or style, this can be useful because some photographers prefer the fine-tuning positional benefits offered by a traditional three-way tripod head, which has separate locking controls for pan, tilt and swivel. Others like the speed and ease of positioning afforded by a ball-and-socket head, where a single clamp locks all directions of movement. Either way, it’s good to have the choice and it’s nice to be able to use each type of head as conditions dictate without having to invest in or carry around two complete tripods.

Other mod cons often fitted to the latest tripods include multi-angle (rather than fixed angle) legs, which give a much lower minimum shooting height and are ideal for use in tight spaces or on particularly tricky terrain. Some models also feature split or reversible centre columns, so you can invert the column and shoot from ground level between two of the legs. Built-in spirit levels can also be handy for ensuring the head is level, which is particularly useful for architectural and landscape shots, as well as for multi-shot panoramic sequences.