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Quick Overview
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Editor’s Pick | Best Budget Video Tripod | Best Professional Video Tripod | Best Manfrotto Tripod for Video | Best Travel Tripod |
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5 Best Video Tripod in 2022
MeFoto GlobeTrotter A2350Q2T - Editor’s Pick
Highlights:
- It has a height of 162 cm and should naturally wobble, yet it’s surprisingly sturdy.
- It’s an all-round, versatile tripod with foldable legs that reduce its length by half.
- It weighs 4.2lbs but can carry a camera four times its weight (most sophisticated DSLR cameras) without shaking.
Out of all MeFoto’s tripods, the GlobeTrotter is the biggest and comes in various colors.
Although its 4.2lbs weight makes it one of the heaviest among MeFoto’s productions, considering that most tripods have an average weight of 5lbs, it still fits in the lightweight tripod category. So carrying it about in a bag won’t leave your shoulders feeling sore when you retire for the day.
And if 4.2lbs is a tad heavy for you, you can go with what I call MeFoto’s “featherweight” version of the GlobeTrotter that weighs 400g less.
I believe travelers will find the foldability of this tripod highly beneficial when they compact its 162cm length into a bag less than half its size.
When you fold it, it’ll measure about one foot and several inches, meaning you can have a vehicle filled with travel luggage and still find space to squeeze your tripod into.
Manfrotto 290 Dual MK290DUA3-3WUS - Best Budget Video Tripod
Highlights:
- The bar at the center columns pivots at 90° degrees and enhances focus during shots.
- The clasp leg-lock device makes it easy to extend the tripod legs, saving valuable time.
- Its mass of 4lbs makes it portable and also capable of supporting cameras twice its weight.
Manfrotto has been in the tripod-producing business in Italy for the better part of 50 years, so you can trust them to provide customers with a simplistic, best budget video tripod.
The Manfrotto 290 has a clasp lever system, so you can simply uncork and quickly extend the legs compared to the twist and lock system of other products that takes time to twiddle before you can extract and retract the tripod legs.
When you add that to the fact that you can raise and lower the rod at the center column to get more shots from a higher angle, you’ll admit that this truly deserves to be the best budget video tripod on the market.
Perhaps, the handiest feature, which still centers on the center column, is that you can extend the rod 90° outward for an even sharper focus. This leaves your camera looking like a ‘boom mic extension,’ which I think is excellent for enhancing focus during microphotography.
Cayer BV25LH Carbon Fibre Heavy Duty Tripod Kit - Best Professional Video Tripod
Highlights:
- The double handle eliminates jerks that cause blurriness during shooting.
- It’s composed of carbon fiber which makes it strong enough to shoulder heavy cameras.
- The 75mm bowl head allows any camera to fit snugly and securely during filming.
Cayer might not be a global brand known to many, but they aren’t wet behind the ears.
This version of Cayer’s Tripod easily earns it the title of best professional video tripod, and that’s because, from the pan handle and tilt head, to the design and construction to sturdiness and portability, it scores a four out of 5 marks in every department.
Personally, the two-handle pan head is my favorite feature.
Tilting the camera head with two hands on both handles allows for a more seamless turn, ultimately leading to an error-free shoot.
That’s not all.
The carbon fiber composition makes it light for travel yet adds solidity to the tripod and imbues it with enough strength to carry heavy GH5 cameras and Olympus lenses, thus making it a contender for the best professional video tripod.
Manfrotto MVH502A Fluid Head with Mid Spreader - Best Manfrotto Tripod for Video
Highlights:
- It’s an all-round tripod with features worthy of its cost.
- Its fluid head technology makes tilting and angle shots so smooth.
- The tripod’s spread reinforces its stability and prevents tottering.
Manfrotto wanted a tripod that would give graceful fluidity and seamlessness when the highest demand for finesse is called for during filming, so they made the MVH502A one of the best Manfrotto tripods for video.
Professional photographers and videographers can now shoot ultra-high quality 360-degree videos without fretting about jerks and clumsy mistakes during the process.
The drag setting embedded in the tripod also allows you to measure the amount of friction—ease of rotation—and dictate the pace of capturing during filming.
Its aluminum body gives it added weight, and when the mid-spear contraction is spread out, it’s almost impossible for the tripod to vibrate from favorable impact.
Further, the bottom of the tripod’s legs are interchangeable; rubber legs that prevent slipping on slick surfaces can be removed to reveal spikes that hold the tripod steady in uneven terrain.
The tripod also features a removable panhandle that you can switch from left to right depending on your dominant hand. Combine all of these fantastic features and see why I choose the MVH502A as the best Manfrotto tripod for video.
Three Legged Thing Winston 2.0 - Best Travel Tripod
Highlights:
- The tripod is lightweight and can be carried about with ease.
- You can convert one of three legs to boom arms for a more focused shot.
- You can remove the ball feet to reveal spikes.
When I was scouring the internet for the best travel tripod, a unique three-legged offering hooked me from the word go. Apart from the futuristic design, I wanted to know why the tripod was named Winston.
It was named after the great British prime minister Winston Churchill because the tripod embodied Churchill’s rugged and tough qualities.
For one, the tripod weighs only 4.12lbs, which is vital for mobility but can shoulder weights reaching an outstanding 88lbs—that’s 20 times its size. Talk about giving the ant a run for its money.
Furthermore, Winston’s retracted height of 4.7″ can extend to 71.6″, which just makes it a must-have for every traveling photographer/videographer.
In addition, despite its towering height, Winston remains unfazed by wind turbulence during shooting owing to its intense carbon fiber makeup, which means you’ll be less fearful of blurry shots when shooting at high altitudes.
Everything about this 3LT product is so accurately adapted for traveling, and if this is not the best travel tripod out there, then I don’t know which is.
Factors for Choosing the Best Tripods
There are no fixed criteria for selecting a tripod. Most times, your choice will depend on your needs.
For example, a nature-enthusiast will want a tripod that can easily fit into a small bag and is light enough for carrying about. A movie director might be looking for something to withstand the weights of heavy camera rigors of everyday filming.
Nonetheless, there are certain features experienced photographers and videographers look out for in a tripod, and I’ll throw some light on them now.
Let’s shoot.
Load Capacity
Zero-motion steadiness is what every photographer/videographer wants during a shoot. Any slight shake and the shots from that scene could be damaged. What’s worse is when you don’t discover the blurry images until post-production and editing.
Sometimes, the culprit might not be the tripod; the culprit could be you. This is because every tripod has a loading capacity—the number of pounds it can carry before its legs start to shake.
Consequently, when you don’t check the load capacity and mount a piece of equipment that’s too heavy on it, you affect its weight stability and the crispness of your shot.
It could even get worse.
The tripod might topple over. And there goes filming equipment worth thousands of dollars splintering across the room.
Check the load capacity on the tripod’s manual or product description page before making a purchase.
Height
The higher you go, the higher your tripod should be.
Bending down to look through a camera lens is a no for me. Imagine having to do so countless times while shooting through the week; that’s a recipe for back pain.
Make sure the tripod’s height is comfortable for you. Also, going for a tall tripod can help you capture shots from high altitudes when you want to.
Quote Box
Taking shots from a high altitude requires not just a tall tripod, but a sturdy one that can withstand turbulence. So check for tripod height and solidity before you buy.
Brand
A survey that focused on customer behavior was conducted on Amazon and discovered something interesting.
7 out of 10 customers purchase a product from a brand they’re familiar with. (1)
It’s obvious, isn’t it?
The fear of the unknown makes us stay within the confines of our knowledge.
And if many people are using a product, then it’s working fine, right?
But aside from familiarity, the foremost reason folks purchase from global brands is the belief that they’ve been in the business for long and are compelled to create products that satisfy customers’ needs.
Consequently, choosing big-name tripods might be worthy of consideration when making your next purchase.
Although, as you know, branded products might be overpriced, you still need the guarantee that big companies provide, especially if you’re still an amateur.
Head
Another pivotal component that should influence the tripod you buy is the head type. There are several tripod heads in the market, but the most popular are fluid heads, ball heads, and pistol grip heads.
- Fluid Head. Fluid heads find more application in the filming field. And that’s because fluid heads are built for smooth camera rotation. A camera mounted on a fluid head can entirely revolve without hitches during filming. They mostly come with drag settings: a regulator that creates or reduces friction, which in turn slows or quickens the camera’s revolution.
Ball Head. In the photography field, ball heads reign supreme. However, there’re still photographers who prefer tripods with fluid heads. In a ball head tripod, the camera is locked into position using a lock screw. The downside of the ball head is that minor tilts in tight angles are pretty challenging to make.
Pistol Grip Head. The pistol grip head name is a derivative of the pistol trigger. It uses the same ball head mechanism, albeit a pistol grip replaces the locking screw, making it faster to mount and unmount a camera.
Composition
A tripod composition doesn’t matter that much, but if you’re very detailed and want every bang for your buck, you might want to pay attention.
Wood, stainless steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, etc., are some of the materials used to make tripods.
Wooden tripods aren’t common and don’t last that long. Aluminum and steel tripods last long alright, but can feel cold or hot to the touch, depending on the weather. Carbon fiber is more durable, long-lasting, and temperature-resistant than others.
So if you want to pick the best video tripod, you might consider one made from carbon fiber.
The tripod you use matters because its stability can make or mar your video or photo shoot.
Yes, you must use a tripod if you want to shoot a decent video with some touch of professionalism. Your hands just aren’t steady enough.
There is no number one brand; it all boils down to your video needs and personal preference. But, some big names are Manfrotto, 3 Legged Thing, Gitzo, etc.
Conclusion
A video shot with a tripod almost always comes out beautifully well, and the best video tripod can add immaculate perfection to your project.
Depending on your shooting goals, you can pick from the myriad of tripods available but make sure to consider tripod heads. Weight, height, sturdiness, and composition, as you choose.
After many comparisons, I believe MeFoto’s GlobeTrotter qualifies as an all-round, versatile tripod because of its incredibly tall—yet short and foldable—height. Further, despite its sturdy nature and ability to carry four times its weight, it’s not too heavy to carry about.
Do you agree with my take on the MeFoto GlobeTrotter? If not, which do you think is the best video tripod?
Let me know what you think by commenting below.
References:
- The 2019 Amazon Consumer Behavior Report. Based On a Survey of 2,000+ U.S. customers. Pg 23. Retrieved from https://fv.feedvisor.com/rs/656-BMZ-780/images/Feedvisor-Consumer-Survey-2019.pdf