Why a good tripod makes so much difference to your photos and how to choose yours
By Simon Pollock
Today we take a look at the Manfrotto 190XB
If like me your hands can sometimes be a little shaky, there is a lot to be said for using a tripod to remove a lot of that camera shake from your images and to help you to make nice, sharp images. One thing I've noticed a lot of when wandering the streets of London is that a lot of people, mainly tourists and travellers, have a lightweight tripod that they carry around with them, the only problem with this is that, a lot of the time the tripods are the cheapest tripods available as a "free gift" or a light weight tripod from a trinket type shop. You know the ones, the legs wobble about everywhere and eventually snap, rendering your tripod a monopod! - While these tripod's may be OK to use with a compact camera, the moment you pop even a smaller, entry level dSLR camera on the top you are going to get sway, shake, rattle and roll!
There are some general guidelines to consider when purchasing a tripod.
Make sure your tripod is tall enough to bring your camera up to eye level without extending the centre column, you camera will be less stable with the centre column extended.
Generally your tripod "weight rating" wants to be about twice that of what you plan to put on it, so if you're using a Canon 5DMk2 and a Canon 24-70mm lens, the package weighing in at just under 2kg's you will need a load rating of about 4kg's - This is very important, you want a stable tripod, not a bowl of jelly!
A good tripod head can make the difference between a usable tripod and not in this example to keep things on the lighter side, I use a Manfrotto 486RC2 There are two main types of head that you could use, The pan-tilt head and the Ball head (described below)
Different manufacturers use different methods to "lock" the legs in place. If your tripod slides down while you're composing that shot the picture might turn out slightly different to how you imagined! Again, there are a couple of different methods - the "lever lock" (As the Manfrotto in this piece uses) and "Twist" locks that can be found on some Gitzo models and so on. Both methods work well.
Most tripods are made from Aluminium these days, with higher end products popping up manufactured from Carbon Fibre. If you're hiking long distances or need to pack VERY light, maybe a Carbon Fibre tripod would suit you. (With high quality lightweight comes high quality price!) Another reason you might use Carbon Fibre would be if you spend a lot of your time photographing in or around water as it doesn't corrode like Aluminium.
When you consider the price of a tripod and think "Whoa, that's expensive" keep this in mind - Tripod technology, unlike camera technology doesn't evolve anywhere near as quickly! A good quality tripod will last you ages unless you plan on buying a bigger, heavier lens every month!
The recently redesigned 190XB is lighter and slightly more compact than the old one (Which I use almost daily without incident) and the ergonomics of the leg angle mechanism and the leg locks themselves have also been redesigned and improved.
Some tripods can sit down almost flat to the ground which is very good for shooting macro images and getting a low perspective on a shot, it¡¯s also good in the case that you have an odd set-up for a photo shoot in your kitchen!
There are a couple of alternatives to lugging around a full-size tripod, they’re not always great but if you’re in a tight spot you could use a Gorillapod – These wrap around objects with their “Gorilla like legs” and come in a couple of different sizes from compact to SLR Zoom.
I have tried everything over the years, from balancing my camera on a rock to leaning it on a friend's shoulder! Nothing works as well as a good, sturdy tripod!
 "Why a good tripod makes so much difference to your photos and how to choose yours")
The recently redesigned 190XB is lighter and slightly more compact than the old one (Which I use almost daily without incident) and the ergonomics of the leg angle mechanism and the leg locks themselves have also been redesigned and improved.