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A good tripod is often the reason behind a great photograph. However trained and steady your hands may be, beyond certain focal lengths, a perfectly steady shot is not possible without a tripod. The tripod steadies the camera at any desired height and angle. These are used for video shoots too.

The equipment has three legs that support the centre post, giving it strength and stability. These legs can be adjusted to reach the desired height. Also, the top or the head can be elevated or lowered. The head contains a thumbscrew to hold the camera. The head’s joints allow the camera to swivel and tilt. This movement is done with a handle attached to the head of the tripod. Tripods also have a level indicator for the legs, that indicates whether the legs are at proportionate distance from each other or not

Tripods differ according to their uses. An amateur photographer may buy a cheaper aluminium tubing tripod with rubber stops at its feet. But a professional photographer may go in for an expensive wooden tripod that comes with separate heads.

Then there are the highly expensive carbon fibre tripods that are strong, yet very light. They are ideal for carrying to locations that require any kind of climbing or trekking. Expensive tripods also have a feature that allows the head to tilt upside down so as to take a shot from a lower angle with the legs opened wider.

There are also tabletop tripods, often called tablepods. A one legged equipment, otherwise similar to a tripod, is called a monopod. It allows the photographer more mobility while giving him as good a steadiness as a tripod would.

Tripods are available in small sizes for carrying in a bag. Some are compact and lightweight but can be extended to full size. But these don’t hold very heavy cameras. And then there are full sized tripods for people who don’t care about carrying the weight around as long as they get the perfect picture.

While setting up a tripod one has to lock the legs before adjusting the head. If the ground is not level, then it’s advised to lock one leg at a time. Also, when using a digital camera, the image stabilisation function should be turned off so that it doesn’t clash. There are bottle cap tripods for digital cameras too. These fix the camera easily, allowing easy clicking for night shots and self-portraits.

Tripods are especially useful in macro photography, where very small images are magnified before shooting. They are also perfect for a nature and long exposure photography, slow or high shutter speeds and when there is less light. For a shake free photograph, tripods are always the perfect solution.