Tripod & Monopod Heads

Some Guidelines & Comments:

1. Make your support choices from top to bottom: the ballhead you choose depends upon your camera and lenses, and the tripod legs you choose depend upon which head you pick. All components should complement each other.
2. In choosing the right tripod legs for your ballhead, the rule of thumb used to be that the minimum leg mass ought to be ˜ 2½ times greater than the mass of the head (not including camera/lens). With today's high-performance carbon fiber models, you could arguably drop to ˜ 1½ times—assuming disciplined technique. But drop below this ratio, and you'll start off too top-heavy.
3. Favor 3 section/leg tripods— avoid 4 section/leg models for most applications. That 4th leg section is very narrow and the extra leg joint is just one more potential point of weakness. Also,cinching an extra joint on each leg can be a hassle. But do consider the 4 section/leg models for travel and portability. Their overall folded length is shorter than 3 section/leg models, so they fit into smaller spaces.
4. Consider that you really may need more than one head/leg setup if you shoot with both short lenses and “heavy artillery” (500mm- 600mm), because the compromise implicit with a single setup is too severe.