Best Value Tripods 2019

Jeff and Mark Morris talk about the features/options in tripod legs and ball heads along with the best value options for both.

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How and Why Choose Your Top Ten Annually

Check out the latest Photo Taco Podcast episode where Jeff Harmon talks about how to use Lightroom Classic CC to go through the process of choosing your Top Ten images for a year as well as why any photographer should do that.

Tripods For the Rest of Us!

In this episode we are going to talk about practical recommendations for tripod legs and ball heads.  Not the usual thing you get where a professional photographers, who may be sponsored by a manufacturer, tells you that you must spend thousands of dollars on a tripod and ball head.  

Not to say that doing so isn’t worth the investment, because I believe it is. It just isn’t something practical for me to even think about spending that kind of money on a tripod and I think that resonates with a lot of listeners of the show.

What Does Mark Morris Know About Tripods?

So what does Mark Morris, the guest on this episode, know about tripods? Why is he qualified to talk about them?

Mark: Several years ago I did a large scale review project for Improve Photography.  I worked with a vast array of the different tripod and ball head manufacturers. After spending several months with an absurd number of tripods and ball heads, I actually took the show on the road, and presented “The Tripod Roadshow” at a number of different venues across the eastern United States.  

Before we jump into any specifics, I’ll share one general observation that I made back when I was working with so many different products:

* The manufacturers all have a VERY good idea of what quality and features are presented at different price points.  It’s very rare that you find an enormous inconsistency between brands. If you are looking at $250 legs from Brand X, and $250 legs from Brand Y, there is a strong likelihood that they are going to be quite similar in build and value. * Another overarching truth: You are going to place a very large amount of trust in a Tripod and Ball Head.  Sometimes I look at my setup and realize that there is nearly $10,000 worth of equipment on top of a ball head and tripod.  Just something to seriously consider: don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. Get a support system that you really trust, and that is STURDY.  Saving $100 because you feel that good tripod equipment is over-priced just doesn’t make sense, in my opinion. Learning the hard way can be VERY expensive.

What Are the Best Value Tripod Legs?

The best value tripod legs for photographers in 2019 are the Benro TAD27C that run about $230 (does not include ball head). A close second is the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-labe...