Regular tripods come in a variety of configurations - but some of the basics are as follows:
1) Legs are made up of a number of sections that telescope. It is common for there to be 3 sections, but you could have any number. More sections means more joins and where there are joins, there is movement. Even when locked the extended legs are not as stiff as a single piece. For minimum movement, the idea is to have as few sections as possible and have an effective locking system. However, for a given height, fewer sections means they will be longer - and this will result in a larger package to cart around. Tripods with more sections will be shorter and easier to carry around - and because they were designed for high portability, they tend to be lighter (and flimsier) ... which means they aren't going to be as rigid.
2) Leg locking. There are situations where the ground will not be level or you are working on a step or some other obstacle will mean the legs of your tripod will be of differing lengths for it to be set up correctly for the shot. In these cases, the leg locking mechanism will need to operate with full effectiveness at any point in the travel of each leg. This is not normally a problem for the larger units, but just one thing to check when you are buying one. With the smaller portable units, make this a definite check.
3) Centre lift column. Just an easy way to get some height adjustment, without having to fidlle around with changing leg lengths. Not essential, but if you have a choice - get one with this feature.
4) Leg bracing. Good for stiffening up the whole tripod so things don't move around. Also keeps legs in place if you are moving the whole tripod around. If you are going for extreme telephoto, this might be worthwhile, but I wouldn't get too anxious about this when starting out. It adds weight and cost, too.
5) Head. Some tripods have a simple 1/4" whitworth thread (the standard thread for just about all cameras) on a basic swivel. I would recommend going for a pan & tilt head. That's the one with the arm out the back, like in the photo below.
Last - and perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT is a remote shutter release. In the days of film cameras, this was done with a mechanical device called a cable release. They would screw into the shutter release button. These days, there are electronic devices as well, but whatever you do, make sure you have one when working on a tripod. The reason is very simple ... when you press the shutter release on the camera body, the camera WILL MOVE. Even top professionals can't completly eliminate this movement. It may cause your framing of the shot to change, but it will certainly add some motion blur ... which is one of the chief reasons tripods are used. If using extreme telephoto it can render your shot unrecognisable. However, if you are doing close up work, such as portaits, in good light with short exposure times, you could get away with your finger on the camera ... just remember to squeeze the camera, not just push the button down.
Example of a 4 section tripod with centre lift and a pan/tilt head fitted.
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