How tall should your tripod be

If the tripod has a center post that allows repositioning of the camera higher, this height may allow you to shoot from eye level.

The head you choose to put on the tripod adds to total height, and should be factored in. A further consideration is that using a tripod with legs and center column fully extended often reduce sharpness. My latest tripod is 69 inches high at full height. My eyes are 66 inches from the ground. When I set up my tripod and add the tripod head onto it, it adds 4 inches.

For normal use I put the tripod at eye level, lowest legs only partially extended. I use the tripod without extending the bottom legs at all when sharpness is a critical factor.

It would be nice if my tripod were tall enough that I could avoid extending the bottom leg entirely and still look through the viewfinder while standing up straight, but the extra weight of a tripod that tall is over my baggage weight limit when flying.

An advantage to having a taller tripod is that when I need to shoot on uneven surfaces, I can extend one leg further to balance, for example shooting on a hill side.

Tripods are most stable with the least leg extension, so some manufacturers offer shorter tripods than the average. If you need to get very low to the ground, some full size tripods let you extend the angles of the legs out so wide the center of the tripod is as few as 4 inches above the ground.

Other models, with center columns allow removing the center column, then reinserting it upside down so that the camera can be lowered all the way down to the ground. For getting certain angles for certain shots, this capability is essential, so if you need it, be sure you choose one of these two options in the tripod you choose. Do you need it to fit in a carry-on bag or strapped to a camera bag? Do you need it to fit in a suitcase, whether diagonally or parallel to the sides?

Make some measurements and add this to your list of considerations if needed. They state the extra rigidity leads to extra sharpness. Contemporary tripods, with adequate leg thickness and improved rigidity will have less of an issue than older models. I continue to buy and use tripods with center columns, confident I can minimize the risk of vibration, because there are times when I need the extra height the center column offers.

I could also purchase a modular design, with a standard center plate, and an option to remove the center plate and put in a center column if needed. This sturdy hook is used to hang a sandbag or a camera bag for added stability. The weight pulls all three legs down evenly. This hook is essential for me on any tripod I buy. If you need to get close to the ground, you may find you require the center column to be removable.

This can be inserted upside down to hold the camera a couple inches above ground, getting the camera very, very low to the ground. A further consideration for a center column is the option to have a center column that pivots, so that it can be extended out at a perfect right angle or other angles as needed. These designs let you put the arm anyway you want it, including very close to the ground. I prefer a separate cross arm for stability, which attaches to the top of my tripod. In past years, maximum stability was achieved by three longer legs, as opposed to four shorter legs.

Others have pointed how to measure to your eye height. Here are a couple more thoughts. That Slik, if tall enough and I believe it is in the suggested sense, is a relatively "heavy" tripod.

That's not bad completely. It's quite a fine tripod for it's price range. Just that it's capable of handling substantially heavier kits than you have proposed. You might find it rather heavy for casual use if you decide to carry it too far. Also, as an older, three section design, it's not as compact as newer sorts that are set up to fold back over themselves and even less compact than a 4 section tripod might be. One thing to consider is if it has even more leg length than you "need.

Again, that's a positive in some situations. There are some relatively price comparable new "travel" tripods which claim to be dslr usable but I think are better suited to lighter mirrorless cameras which have the advantage of being much lighter and much more compact - but that also suggest to me that they are too light for dslr use and perhaps trade off other aspects of stability and vibration resistance to achieve their small sizes. As a sculptor I can say the adult male human head is about 9 inches in height and the eyes run along a line that bisects it so add 4.

I didn't devise a formula for the best tripod height I just created a formula to let the OP know how to determine the height of the tripod center column down. It's really up to the user to determine if the total height of the tripod is to low for that person's physique.

I also let the OP know that there should be some stoop when looking into the view finder so as to be able to see the top LCD easily. If you are stood on uneven ground such as the slope of a hillside or positioned on steps in town you need a tripod taller than yourself, for one or two of the legs will be well below your foot level when shooting, get the tallest tripod which fits your budget and weight requirements, unless of course you enjoy constantly bending down to see through the viewfinder.

Is it worth the hefty price tag? We take a look at the Cine, the high-end model in this series. The Nikon Z9 is the company's first camera to feature a stacked CMOS sensor, which brings a raft of new features, including blazing speed and autofocus performance to the Z lineup. Click through for our detailed first impressions of Nikon's latest professional ILC. The Sony a7 IV is the fourth generation of the company's core a7 full-frame mirrorless camera model, and it's the most advanced yet.

Click through for an in-depth look at Sony's latest full-frame mirrorless ILC. Nik Silver Efex Pro 3, one of the standout components of Nik Collection 4, is a black-and-white conversion tool that goes far further than the grayscale or black-and-white tools built into all-in-one photo apps. For some users, this app alone might be worth the cost of the whole collection — find out for yourself in our review. The Nikon Z mm F2. Get all the details in our full review.

These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both speed and focus for capturing fast action and offer professional-level image quality.

Although a lot of people only upload images to Instagram from their smartphones, the app is much more than just a mobile photography platform.

In this guide we've chosen a selection of cameras that make it easy to shoot compelling lifestyle images, ideal for sharing on social media. If you're looking for the perfect drone for yourself, or to gift someone special, we've gone through all of the options and selected our favorites. We looked at cameras with selfie-friendly screens, wide-angle lenses, microphone inputs and great video quality, and selected the best. Submit a News Tip! If you are primarily an indoor photographer, you might like the flip-switch legs, or turn-lever style.

Indoor photography has the luxury of having far less chances for tripod damage. When you're outdoors, remember, if it can get caught or snapped off Material Once you know what kind of legs you want on your tripod, then you need to decide what you want it made out of.

Carbon fiber is expensive, light, durable, easy to clean, handles the elements well, and has minimal vibration when I talk about vibration, I'm talking about a car driving by, people walking on a pier near you, water rushing by in a creek, etc.

Aluminum is cheap, lightweight, easy to clean, fairly durable to elements, but can have quite a lot of vibrations in certain circumstances. Aluminum is very receptive to vibrations. I've also seen quite a few of them bend or get dented so that they don't close right.

Wood is expensive, durable, very stable for heavy gear, and if treated correctly, good in the elements, very low vibrations, but it weighs a TON. It's not something you'll want to lug around longer than you need to. For people who do a lot of indoor work, or photography with very limited walking, wood tripods aren't a bad way to go. There are other materials as well, such as metal, basalt, plastic which we discussed and some combination systems.

For landscape and wildlife photographers, the tripod goes with them everywhere. Weight is a big factor. Carbon fiber tripods are the norm for landscape and wildlife photographers. Once you've lugged around a lb. IF you're an outdoor photographer, you're going to probably want the carbon fiber to minimize vibration, handle the weather, and not throw your back out while you carry it from place to place.

If you're an indoor photographer, you'll probably want a carbon fiber tripod, or wood. Lots of indoor work is shot on a floor that maybe receptive to vibrations, depending on how many people are milling about. What You're Supporting This is simple. Good tripods will tell you what weight they're rated for. If you're shooting a typical DSLR body with a mm lens, you're looking at maybe lbs. Don't put it on a tripod rated for lbs. If you do, you're dealing with a top heavy item now Take a moment to think about it.

Are you saving to buy that mm lens? Will you ever upgrade to a medium format or large format? Think about the weight you perceive you'll be putting on your tripod, then give yourself 5 lbs. Heads There are a lot of different options for this. Some people think that the tripod and head need to be the same brand, but often that's not the case. Many heads will work with different legs. For our discussion, there are two basic types of tripod heads. Ball-head and pan-head.

A ball-head is basically a ball in a socket kind of like your shoulder. You turn the knobs and then it moves whichever way you want it. The head usually has a couple little slots, so you can rotate the camera to shoot vertically. It's very easy to move, and make fine adjustments. Most ball heads have two knobs to turn in order to move the camera, one for larger moves and one for fine tuning.

My only complaint about this kind of head is that some models only have one notch for making the camera vertical, and sometimes this requires picking up the whole tripod and moving it in order to get things framed properly. Keep this in mind, the true test of a tripod's worth is how it will hold your camera when vertical.

Once you tilt the camera to the side, the balance has shifted. If you have a cheap tripod, this offset of weight could lead to a fall if you're not paying attention, or if a good breeze blows.

One of my early plastic tripods was blown over set up vertically. These tripods are just a different option. Some people like the compact, ergonomic design of a ball-head better. Some people like handles. I personally don't like the handles because they get in my way. Sometimes I'm not able to adjust the tripod the way I want because the handle gets caught on a leg, or part of the tripod. I've also had handles, or portions of them, snap off in use, or get caught on a rock or some other piece of natural wonder.

This should allow you to view through the viewfinder from a comfortable position! The table below provides you with a rough estimation for the ideal maximum tripod height according to your height! Again, these are just recommendations.

You could always go up or down around your ideal tripod height.