On Sun, 25 Nov 2001 06:59:59 GMT, "Mike McAuley" wrote:

>I was looking at Manfrotto's website, and they separate their
>tripod / head line into two distinct categories: Photo and Video.
>
>What's the difference?

Briefly, DG covers it, above...
For photo, the requirements are that the tripod/head
be sturdy enough to resist unwanted movement for the
gear-type used (if short FLs and/or little shutter/mirror
shake, the requirements are FAR easier to meet than with long FLs and/or high shutter/mirror shake),
damped well
enough to make the vibration period after shutter release
relatively short (good damping and rigidity are
contradictory aims - and it explains the loose joints
and non-stiff materials used in some of the best still-
photo tripods), and that it be equiped with head controls
that permit easy aiming, and which also permit locking the
aim without shifting it. Tripod/head combinations that
do all the above well are both rarely-used and expensive
(expect to pay at least $500-600 to start to fulfill these
basic requirements).
For video, the requirements are that the tripod/head
be sturdy enough to resist unwanted movement for the
gear type used (this includes leg and joint stiffness
great enough to prevent "wind-up" with the stiffness of
the head movements selected [good damping is traded off
for rigidity, to prevent back-movement at the end of
the movement - doubled legs help with this, as can
a "spreader"]) - the top of the tripod where the head is
mounted *must* not move/twist during operations...),
and that the head be easily aimed and not resist desired
movements, but damp undesired movements (not an easy
thing to design for - it requires excellent bearings
with little resistence and "slop" combined with a very
smooth damping system [usually with fluid in concentric
overlapping rings in the head - with the best providing
both minimal resistence to, but maximum damping for,
motion {contradictory aims, but the best heads do it
well...}]). Basic models start around $300, but good
video tripods cost multiple thousands of dollars
(best: looking for a good used one, often $500-700
for one that originally cost several times that).
The $200-300 Libec/Bogen tripods are acceptable for
some uses (and lighter - I usually lug my Bogen
to a location instead of the much heavier Cartoni,
unless I have need for its advantages [I don't have
the money for the top-end light carbon-fiber
versions...;-]).
So, basically, the requirements are different for
good video and still-photo tripods - but at the
"low" end, in a pinch, for some purposes, you
can interchange them (and some still photographers
like using big video tripods for their rigidity and
easy movements with big lenses...).