Mini tripods or table top tripods

Mini tripods, which are sometimes called table top tripods, are useful in situations where a conventional tripod can’t be used, or where it is preferable not to use a conventional tripod.
They can be used to photograph very small objects at a very close range and at the same level as these very small objects, for example.

Mini tripod or table top tripod

How to use mini tripods to photograph valuables
These objects might be small valuables which the photographer wants to photograph for security reasons. If the valuable is ever stolen, the photograph of it can be handed to the police, who can use the photo. to help trace it.
Typically, the valuable is placed on a table and the mini tripod is set up close to it. Or rather, as close as the lens on the camera will focus on it. Usually, a photography background is arranged on the table and behind the valuable. The lighting is carefully arranged so that every detail of the valuable is recorded in the photo.
Mini tripods in outdoor photography and videography
Mini tripods or table top tripods can also be used in situations such as outdoor photography or videography where the photographer, videographer or film maker doesn’t want to carry a full-sized, much-heavier tripod around with him or her.
The problem with using mini tripods in outdoor photography is, because they can only be extended to about one foot in height, they have to be placed on something to raise them to a more conventional height.
This something can be a flat outcrop of rock, for example. Or a picnic bench, the kind that are often found in the rest areas of national parks.
If it is placed on a flat rock, the rock will have to be approximately the correct height, and it will also have to have enough area for the legs of the tripod to spread out on it.
Mini tripod typical specifications
The specifications of mini tripods varies, but many are around one foot (300mm) in length and around 1 pound (2.2 kg) in weight.
In photo: mini tripod with a 1 foot long (300mm) ruler placed next to it, to show the dimensions of the tripod when the legs are fully extended.