The first thing to consider when investigating tripods is whether the head can be separated from the leg-set without the use of farm implements. In other words, whether the components are available separately, because no self-respecting videographer needs to consider any tripod components that are not. The second consideration is the head. This is the "money" part of the system: it can make or break your production. Here is where you show your talent and please your clients, because, as a videographer, you are expected to "render" your ideas visually, and that means nice steady pans, zooms and tilts. Heads come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can cost anywhere from a few dollars to several thousand. Just as you interact with any subject you are taping, you interact with the tripod head. You become "one" with it, learning just how it reacts when you suddenly pan or tilt. You learn exactly how to adjust it for each situation. If you treat it properly, it rewards you with fabulous pans, gives you years of service and pays for itself many times over. So start with the best head you can possibly afford, even if you have to compromise on the leg set.

When selecting a head, you should consider the weight of the camera you are using. Obviously the heavier the camera, the sturdier the head must be, but, if it's too sturdy and mismatched to your camera, you will find the resistance on the drag settings are just too strong. This results in jerky movements, especially when starting and ending pans and tilts, even when the settings are at minimal. On the other hand, if the head is too small, you will find the head does not control the movements you try with your camera. The key word here is "control." Your tripod head must control the camera with ease and finesse. This leads us to which type of head to search for. Ideally, your first choice would a true fluid head. This head controls resistance hydraulically with fluid, similar to the hydraulic suspension system on any machine. This system allows for extremely precise control of the resistance and offers the advantage of not overheating the surfaces when you are continuously panning and tilting. It's not like your tripod head is going to catch fire, but, if you select a friction head, it controls by just that: friction. Friction generates heat, and, with long shoots and lots of pans such as you might find on your stage performance, that friction will change the characteristics of your settings. So, if you can live with re-setting the "drag" on your tripod frequently, and you are on a tight budget, any high-quality friction head will do just fine.

The third thing to consider is the leg set. The legs determine the weight of your tripod, which is critical if you are going to carry it around. If all specs are equal in the tripods you might consider - such as camera size rating, height fully extended and closed size - the one thing that will clearly differentiate them is price and weight. Tripods are available in either aluminum, carbon fiber, wood or a combination of the three. Generally speaking, the price goes up as the weight goes down, so we can get away with a low-cost, high-quality tripod for our stationary tripod, one with a basic head and sturdy, fairly heavy all-aluminum construction. But for the tripod we carry around, set up and take down, open and close and, frequently, toss around, we need a lightweight one. This one can be all-carbon fiber, which would be the lightest, easiest to set up and by far most expensive. Or you might choose a carbon fiber/aluminum combo material, which would be a nice compromise of price versus weight. Or you might go "old school" and choose a nice wood tripod, as many shooters do. They choose wood because wood tripods are incredibly sturdy, weigh relatively little and absorb vibrations quite nicely. There are basically two styles of folding tripods. The first type has been around for hundreds of years. Its tried-and-true design - sometimes referred to as a "crutch" design - has legs with a two-piece side-by-side arrangement at the top - or yoke - of the tripod and a single-piece tube on the bottom. The lower tube slides between the two top tubes and provides very sturdy leg. It is quite fast to set up, because there are only two sections, and can be very lightweight. This type of tripod is usually trussed, or secured with chains, straps or bars suspended between the legs.

The lightest and most compact leg-set features single telescoping tubular legs with three sections. Though not as sturdy as the two piece type, it provides the advantage of folding up to a very small package, which comes in handy on shoots that require you to trek long distances. It is a bit slow and noisy to set up, because each leg has three sections, each of which has its own latch, which leaves you with six latches to open and close and six leg sections to extend. Of course, the most important consideration is always cost, and this is where you really can save money. By purchasing the right system in the first place, you won't end up tossing away problem tripods.

A good way to start out is to buy the nicest head you can afford and match that to a lesser set of legs. As you grow as an artist, you can then migrate to a nicer leg-set and end up with a really nice tripod and a back-up leg-set. Once here, you can then buy a sturdy but cost effective head and have two functional tripods, one for stationary shooting and one for the thing that brought you to video in the first place: making fabulous video footage with beautiful pans and zooms!