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From budget stabilizers to professional kits, here are our favorite tripods to keep your photos on the level. By Greg Scoblete
Whether you shoot in the cozy confines of a studio or atop mud-streaked mountains, a good tripod is a must. As HD video recording has become an integral feature In most digital SLRs, tripod manufacturers have responded with smoother panning heads to ensure you'll be able to cleanly track your moving subject. While carbon fiber has lost a bit of the wow factor (we get jaded quickly in this high-tech era), it's still the material of choice for high-end stabilizers expected to carrythe weight of telephoto lenses.
Joby GorillaPod Hybrid
Not all tripods are created equal and Joby's GorillaPod is certainly a different breed, designed for unconventional angles and environments where a standard tripod design with rigid, Interlocking legs just won't do. (Think tethering to a street lamp or upside down on a tree limb.) The company's Hybrid model Is capable of supporting interchangeable lens cameras up to 2.2 pounds in weight with leg joints that can rotate a full 360 degrees for locking securely around most surfaces. Rubberized foot grips steady the GorillaPod Hybrid on flat surfaces and a built-in bubble level in the tripod head guides you to a level shot.
PRICE: $40
INFO: www.joby.com
Redged TSC-428
The TSC-428 from Holland-based Redged features a four- piece carbon fiber construction and Is capable of support- ing up to a hefty 26.46 pounds (the tripod Itself weighs In at a trim 2.87 pounds). It can be used In a range of heights from 9.44 Inchesto 5.05 feet and has retractable spikes Inside the rubberized feet for getting a better grip on different outdoor terrains (no spikes In the studio, please). The legs are adjustable In three positions and are non-rotating, so all three can be opened simultaneously forfaster set up. They're also en- cased In all-weatherfoam soyou can lugthem around comfortably when the weather goes sour. You can pop off one of the TSC-428's legs entirely and use It as a monopod. The center mounting stud Is removable and offers a 1/4-mch mounting tread on one side and a 3/8-mch thread on the other for greater compatibility with third-party tripod heads. If you...