Giottos' cheap and flexible tripod won us over

Nice design ; Easily adjustable ; Excellent value for money

Cheap finish

It has much more versatility in this mode and, thanks to a Head Rotate Control, it's easy to rotate the column/boom to point in any direction

Gitzo's premium tripod impressed us with its superb build quality

Well-built ; Simple and easy to use ; Lightweight

Not very flexible ; Pricey

Simple and comparatively limiting, but the engineering is superb

We think this Manfrotto tripod is good without being great

Lightweight ; Flexible ; Cheap

Not very solid or sturdy

Manfrotto's 804 three-way head is quite compact, thanks to its short handles, but a little 'sticky' in its movements

The more robust build of this tripod makes it feel much sturdier when in use

Sturdy, robust build ; Competitive price ; Lightweight

Not as good looking as other tripods ; Has a tendency to 'stick

The 804 head is a trifle 'sticky', but the weight and stability of the 055 make this less of an issue

The NGET1 is a very clever and fast tripod to set up

Easy to set up ; Well-designed

Not as sturdy as we'd like

It's very clever and a fast tripod to set up. The centre column splits and reassembles as a boom

The innovative design of the Uniloc tripods is one that people will either love or hate

Quick to set up ; Flexible ; Once mastered, this is a great tripod

Can be tricky to get used to ; Finding one can be tough

Disadvantages? The two-section legs are long when folded and don't give the same height as the others when extended

The rigid metal legs fold out individually

Excellent construction

Price hard to justify

The rigid metal legs fold out individually, and they're fixed to a good-sized ball and socket head. It only takes a few seconds to set the tripod up, and position the camera ready to take a photograph

You need a fair amount of muscle to manoeuvre the MT9170

Extremely stable, Nice ball and socket head

A bit too heavy, Somewhat complicated

This is a massive, strong tripod whose weight and complexity mean it's best confined to the studio and relatively static positions. It's just a bit too heavy and complicated for general use

The 450R is actually very stable for a tripod at this price

Easy to use, Great value for money

Some wobble at full column extension

This is a good tripod. It's not flashy, it's not particularly flexible, it just does what is says on the tin. If your tripod needs are simple, we'd suggest that the Velbon 450R makes your buying decision pretty simple too..

This tripod is quite long even when collapsed

Extraordinary flexibility

Doesn't have a great maximum height

The Uni-Loc is versatile but demanding. It loses rigidity beyond chest-height but at or below these levels it's superb. However, while the Uni-Loc pan and tilt head we tested is strong, it is somewhat stiff in action