{"id":11464,"date":"2019-03-13T20:05:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/?p=11464"},"modified":"2019-03-13T20:05:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:05:15","slug":"best-travel-tripod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/best-travel-tripod\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Travel Tripod"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bestWith so many tripods on the market at vastly different price points, and yet apparently not a huge amount of difference in spec between each model, choosing the best travel tripod for your next photography trip can seem like a daunting task. <\/span><\/p>\n

And given that many of the most essential features of a good tripod are unfortunately also precisely what you want to <\/span>avoid <\/span><\/i>in a travel kit, we shouldn\u2019t pretend that choosing a travel tripod is a straightforward affair. Certainly, some compromise will be in order. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, by arming yourself with the right information, it becomes a lot easier to make good decisions about the kind of tripod you should purchase. Read our guide to choosing the best tripod for travel photography and half the battle will already be won. <\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, we\u2019ll suggest some of the most important points to look out for when choosing a travel tripod, and even include a list of some of the best travel tripods available right now so you can use this as a starting point for your own research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bon voyage!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

What Makes a Tripod a Travel Tripod?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Theoretically, <\/span>any<\/span><\/i> tripod can be a travel tripod. It just needs to travel. <\/span><\/p>\n

In practice though, some tripods travel better than others. <\/span><\/p>\n

Convinced that your dedication to the art of photography transcends any \u201cminor\u201d concerns such as the weight of a bit of extra kit, you eagerly cram your faithful old steel-tubed Manfrotto into your suitcase. But let\u2019s see just how much use you make of that deadweight once you get to your final destination!<\/span><\/p>\n

Put it this way: a tripod that gets left in the hotel room for the entire duration of your trip is <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> a travel tripod.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are Some Other Things a Travel Tripod is Not:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Unless you are the kind of person who especially relishes the thought of engaging in protracted arguments with law enforcement officers in the world\u2019s major international airports, a travel tripod is <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> a tripod that is too long to fit into your checked baggage when folded away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

True, some tripods will even shut down to a size small enough to fit into a carry-on bag. But given the somewhat paranoid age in which we live, and the lack of consistent rules, there\u2019s no guarantee that the sturdy metal bars you are carrying will not be viewed as a potentially lethal weapon and duly confiscated before departure.<\/p>\n

So even if you are<\/i> up for a fight with the personnel running the x-ray machines on every stopover, there\u2019s a high risk that you will eventually lose one of these run-ins, and be faced with the dilemma of either ditching your $1,000 Gitzo in the airport or being refused entry to your flight.<\/p>\n

A travel tripod is <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> a tripod that already has some long-term problems that you\u2019ve meant to take a look at for a while now, just as soon as you have the time. So, for example, a travel tripod doesn\u2019t have loose parts that you\u2019d tighten up if only you could find that allen wrench. And a travel tripod does not have any missing or faulty pieces patched over with gaffer tape. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is because anything that\u2019s even a slight inconvenience when using the tripod <\/span>now<\/span><\/i> will be amplified by a magnitude of 10 <\/span>once on the road<\/span><\/i>. So make sure that your tripod is in perfect working order before you leave, otherwise, that featherweight carbon fiber model you paid so much for could quickly end up feeling a lot more like a ball and chain: too much hassle to use, but too valuable to consider getting rid of.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should go without saying, but a travel tripod is probably neither made of wood nor was it bought from an antique store. Even though such a tripod might be a pretty good solution for some really big analog field cameras when used close to home, it\u2019s not the kind of thing you can throw into the hold of a plane with much confidence that it\u2019ll come off the luggage conveyor unscathed at the other end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, given that halfway up Mount Kilimanjaro at 5 AM is probably neither the best place nor time to realize that you don\u2019t like ball-heads after all, ideally, a travel tripod is <\/span>not <\/span><\/i>one that you\u2019ve never used before. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not always possible to field-test a tripod before purchasing. But at the very least you should try to visit a store and put your main travel tripod candidates through their paces before deciding on which to go for. If possible, once you\u2019ve made the purchase, it could also be beneficial to take it for a test run closer to home before embarking on the big trip. While it might be too late to return the item at this point even if you <\/span>do<\/span><\/i> find some problems with it, at least you will be forewarned of any potential issues and can make plans to rectify them or adapt to them before your departure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Naturally, the validity of the above advice somewhat depends on what kind of travel you plan on doing. If you\u2019ll mostly be using your tripod on road trips where the subjects of your photos will be no more than a few yards from the nearest parking lot, you can likely continue using whichever tripod you would typically use, without investing in something new.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having established what does <\/span>not <\/span><\/i>make for a good travel tripod, we are now in a much better position to consider what <\/span>does<\/span><\/i>. But this is where things become a little trickier, as a good travel tripod effectively has to meet two entirely contradictory demands: it needs to be (A) a good tripod, while also being (B) suitable for traveling.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which Main Criteria Make for a Good Tripod?<\/h3>\n