Pan and Tilt
The pan and tilt head is the most common type of head found in cheaper tripods, such as the lightweight ones you can pick up at a Walmart. They offer the ability to make adjustments on two axes and are traditionally better for photography as the camera is in a fixed position. The dials provide for friction adjustment but the result is often jarred pans and tilts due to stick slip effect. Fluid Head
Fluid heads are the most common type of tripod heads used by cinematographers. Instead of using friction to guide the position of the camera, the head includes a fluid chamber inside to dampen the otherwise jerky motion a pan and tilt tripod head would typically provide. However, due to the fluid design, entry-level fluid heads can set you back at least $70. Tripods that advertise a "fluid motion" or "oil fluid" for significantly cheaper prices are often falsely marketing their products as a fluid head and don't provide the expected smooth pans or tilts an actual fluid head would provide.Ball Head
Ball head tripod mounts aren't typically used for filming but they can be used to quickly adjust for a fixed frame shot. The freedom of movement allows for more angles to position the camera and the knob at the end allows you to adjust the friction in the joint. However, because the ball is allowed to move freely when loose, the camera cannot maintain itself on a fixed axis when using pans or tilts.
After researching all the tripods available, I decided that a fluid head would be best not only in terms of smooth camera movement but also in terms of resources since my school allows for the loaning of equipment which includes pan and tilt tripods. So now I just need to finish analyzing reviews for different tripods before settling on the best one for this project.
No comments:
Post a Comment