How to Choose a Video Tripod: 75mm vs 100mm Bowl, Payload and Hi-Hats

Last updated November 2026 by the team at Filmgear Canada in Vancouver.

The short answer

Weigh your camera the way you actually shoot with it: body, lens, cage, monitor, mic, battery and plate. Then buy a tripod whose head rating sits comfortably above that number. Not the legs' rating, the head's. That one habit prevents most of the tripod regret we see.

Under about 6 kg with a mirrorless or small cinema camera, a 75mm system is right, and the Teris TS-H7CF-Q or TS-H12CF-Q will carry you for years. Once the rig grows a matte box, follow focus and a big battery, move to a 100mm bowl like the TS-H14CF-Q or TS150CF-Q. And if you need the lens a few inches off the floor, no tripod gets there: that's what a hi-hat is for.

In this guide:

• How to work out the payload you need
• The number on the box vs the number that matters
• 75mm or 100mm bowl?
• Counterbalance: why a light camera can still nose-dive
• The upgrade line, side by side
• Which one should you buy?
• When you need a hi-hat
• Legs: carbon or aluminium, ground or mid-level spreader
• The warts
• Buying in Canada
• FAQ

How to work out the payload you need

Don't add up spec sheets. Build the camera exactly as it goes out the door, hang it off a luggage scale and write the number down. Spec sheets leave out the cage, the cables, the V-mount and the plate, and people underestimate by a kilo or more every time.

Then do it a second time with the lightest setup you'll ever put on the tripod. Interview with a small prime and no monitor, say. You need both numbers, and the reason is the counterbalance section further down.

Our rule of thumb on the shop floor: if your heaviest build is within about a kilogram of the head's rating, go one size up. Rigs only ever get heavier. Nobody's ever come back to tell us their camera lost weight.

The number on the box vs the number that matters

This is the bit most product listings blur. A video tripod has two parts, the legs and the head, and they don't always carry the same rating. When they differ, the head is the one that decides what you can put on it, because it's the part that has to hold the camera still at an angle.

Neither SmallRig number is hidden. SmallRig prints both on its own product pages. But "8kg" and "15kg" are the figures in the product names, so they're what people remember, and the Tribex SE's legs are rated two and a half times higher than its head.

75mm or 100mm bowl?

The bowl is the cup at the top of the legs that the head sits in. The head has a half-ball underneath, so you can loosen one handle, tip the head level while watching the bubble, and lock it. No fiddling with three leg lengths on a hillside.

The two common sizes are 75mm and 100mm, and the ball has to match the bowl. A 75mm ball rattles around in a 100mm bowl, and a 100mm ball won't go into a 75mm bowl at all. When someone orders a head and legs separately, this is the mismatch we'd most like to catch before it ships.

• 75mm: mirrorless bodies, small cinema cameras and camcorders, with a lens, a monitor and a mic. Lighter, quicker to carry, and enough for most wedding, corporate, church and documentary work.
• 100mm: a fully built cinema camera with a matte box, follow focus, a large monitor and a V-mount. It's also the size most hi-hats, sliders and rental-house accessories expect.

Only one direction can be adapted. The Teris TS-BA75 sits in a 100mm bowl and gives you a 75mm one, so a 75mm head can ride on 100mm legs or on a 100mm hi-hat. It's aluminium, about half a kilo, and B&H lists it at 50 kg. There's no adapter that lets a 100mm head into a 75mm bowl. If you think you'll grow into 100mm, buy the 100mm legs first.

Counterbalance: why a light camera can still nose-dive

Fluid drag makes a pan smooth. Counterbalance is a different thing: it's a spring that pushes back when the camera tilts, so the camera stays where you left it instead of falling forward. Without enough of it, you tilt down to the altar, let go of the handle, and the lens keeps going.

The setting has to match the camera's weight and how high its centre of gravity sits. Too little and it falls. Too much and a light camera springs back up. That's why you want the lightest and the heaviest number from the payload section: both have to land inside the head's range.

More steps means finer matching, which matters when one tripod serves a bare body on Monday and a full rig on Friday. Every Teris head here has a 0 position, so a very light camera isn't fighting a spring it can't overcome.

The upgrade line, side by side

These are the video tripods we sell, cheapest system first. Specs come from Teris's own spec sheets, B&H's spec pages and SmallRig's product pages, read on 3 November 2026. "Not listed" means we couldn't find it from the maker or B&H.

One thing the table hides: Teris's spec sheets list the same legs, the TS416CF-Q, under both the TS-H7CF-Q and the TS-H12CF-Q. So choosing between those two is purely a choice of head. The H12 carries 5 kg more and has three times as many counterbalance steps, on the same sticks.

Which one should you buy?

Running two cameras at a church or a wedding? Put the heavier wide camera on 100mm sticks at the back, and the lighter close-up camera on a 75mm system you can move during the service. It costs less than two 100mm systems, and the light camera gets a head that actually balances it.

When you need a hi-hat

Most video tripods bottom out around knee height. The Teris systems here stop near 67 cm, and the Tribex SE is the odd one out at 23 cm. A hi-hat is a short, rigid stand, often well under 20 cm tall, that puts the head right on the floor. Footsteps up the aisle, car wheels, a slider shot along a tabletop, a hero angle looking up at someone: that's hi-hat work. It has no head of its own, so you move your fluid head across from the tripod.

The first question is the same one as the tripod: what does your head sit on?

• Bowl head (75mm or 100mm): the Teris TS-RH100 Rolling Hi-Hat. It has a 100mm bowl, is rated to 50 kg, stands 160 mm tall and weighs 3 kg in aluminium. The casters let you nudge the shot along a smooth floor or reposition without lifting the camera. Got a 75mm head? Drop the TS-BA75 into the bowl and it fits. Levelling still happens in the bowl, so the floor doesn't have to be perfect.
• Mitchell mount: the FPS Heavy-Duty Hi-hat. Mitchell is the flat, bolted mount you'll see on heavy cinema heads and rental gear. You bolt the hi-hat to a board, an apple box or a vehicle rig, and it takes the same Mitchell top as the FPS Heavy-Duty Tall and Short tripods. If your head has a bowl ball, you'd need a Mitchell-to-bowl adapter on top, so this one makes sense mainly when you already work in Mitchell.

A 100mm bowl hi-hat is the safer buy if you're not sure, because both 75mm and 100mm heads can use it. A 75mm hi-hat can never take a 100mm head.

Legs: carbon or aluminium, ground or mid-level spreader

Carbon fibre is lighter for its stiffness and doesn't feel like ice in a Vancouver November. Aluminium is cheaper. Look at the weights in the table, though: the Teris H-series and TS150 carbon systems still come in at 6.1 to 7.7 kg with the head, because they're built for heavier cameras. Carbon doesn't make a 100mm system light. It makes it lighter.

The spreader is the brace that stops the legs splaying. A ground spreader sits at the feet and lets the legs spread wide for low shots, and it's very stable on a flat floor. A mid-level spreader sits halfway up, which keeps the feet free to find their own footing on grass, stairs and rocks. Studios, churches and event halls tend to suit ground spreaders. Hiking out to a location tends to suit mid-level.

The warts

• The SmallRig AD-01 won't go lower than 85 cm. It's not the tripod for low angles, and its head is rated 2 kg below the number in its name.
• The Tribex SE's counterbalance is fixed. It's lovely with a camera around 4 kg and less happy with a much lighter or much heavier one, and it sits on a flat base rather than a bowl, so you level it with the legs.
• The TCE-CF PLUS and TS-H7 heads have only three counterbalance steps. Fine for one camera you always rig the same way, coarse if the rig keeps changing.
• None of the Teris H-series or TS150 systems is a travel tripod. At 6.1 kg and up you'll feel them by the end of a wedding. The TCE-CF PLUS, at 4.3 kg, is the light Teris option.
• The TS-H14CF-Q and TS150CF-Q use 100mm heads that won't fit any 75mm bowl, including a 75mm slider or hi-hat you might already own.
• Casters on the TS-RH100 are for smooth floors. On grass, gravel or carpet, pick it up.
• The FPS hi-hat is Mitchell only. Without a Mitchell head or an adapter, there's nothing to put on it.

Buying in Canada

We sell every tripod, hi-hat and adapter in this guide, and you can buy online or at our shop at 945 E Cordova St in Vancouver. Bring your camera in and we'll try it on the heads we have out, which settles the 75mm or 100mm question faster than any table. Every product carries its manufacturer's warranty and we coordinate the claim. Orders placed before 2 PM Pacific on a business day ship the same day when the item is on hand, standard shipping is free across Canada on orders of $199 or more (remote areas and oversized items excepted), and store pickup is usually ready in about two hours when we have it on the shelf.

Setting up a church or event stream? Our guides to choosing a live switcher and lighting a church livestream cover the rest of the chain.

FAQ

What's the difference between a 75mm and a 100mm bowl tripod?

The size of the cup the head sits in, and with it the size of camera the system is built for. 75mm suits mirrorless bodies, small cinema cameras and camcorders. 100mm suits fully built cinema rigs and takes most rental-house accessories. The head's ball has to match the bowl.

Can I put a 75mm head on a 100mm tripod?

Yes, with a reducer. The Teris TS-BA75 sits in a 100mm bowl and gives you a 75mm one. It works on 100mm hi-hats too, like the Teris TS-RH100.

Can I put a 100mm head on a 75mm tripod?

No. A 100mm half-ball physically won't go into a 75mm bowl, and there's no adapter in that direction. If you expect to move up to a 100mm head, buy 100mm legs.

How much payload does my tripod need?

Weigh your camera fully rigged, with lens, cage, monitor, mic, battery and plate, on a luggage scale. Choose a head rated comfortably above that. If you're within about a kilogram of the rating, go one size up.

Why does SmallRig list two load ratings for the AD-01?

One is for the legs and one is for the head. SmallRig rates the AD-01 legs at 8 kg and the fluid head at 6 kg. The head is the limit for your camera, so plan around 6 kg.

Is the SmallRig Tribex SE good for a heavy cinema rig?

No. The legs are rated to 15 kg, but the head is rated to 6 kg and its counterbalance is fixed for about 4 kg. It's built for fast, light solo work, not for a camera with a matte box and a V-mount.

What does counterbalance do on a fluid head?

It's a spring that holds the camera where you tilt it, so it doesn't fall forward or spring back when you let go of the handle. It has to match your camera's weight, which is why heads with more counterbalance steps cope with more different rigs.

What's the difference between the Teris TS-H7CF-Q and TS-H12CF-Q?

Only the head. Teris lists the same TS416CF-Q carbon legs for both. The TS-H7 head is rated to 7 kg with counterbalance from 0 to 3. The TS-H12 is rated to 12 kg with counterbalance from 0 to 9.

When do I need a 100mm tripod?

When the camera grows a matte box, follow focus, a large monitor and a V-mount, or when you rent or own 100mm accessories such as hi-hats and sliders. If your heaviest build is near the top of a 75mm head's rating, that's the time too.

What is a hi-hat and when do I need one?

A very short, rigid stand that puts your fluid head at floor level, for shots a tripod can't get down to. Think footsteps, car wheels, tabletop slides and low hero angles. It has no head of its own, so you move yours across from the tripod.

Should I get a rolling hi-hat or a Mitchell hi-hat?

Match it to your head. With a 75mm or 100mm bowl head, the Teris TS-RH100 takes it directly or with the TS-BA75, and its casters let you reposition on smooth floors. A Mitchell hi-hat like the FPS Heavy-Duty Hi-hat makes sense when your head and legs are already Mitchell.

Ground spreader or mid-level spreader?

A ground spreader lets the legs spread wide for low shots and is very stable on flat floors, which suits studios, churches and halls. A mid-level spreader leaves the feet free for grass, stairs and rocks, which suits location work.

Is a carbon fibre tripod worth it over aluminium?

If you carry it far, yes. Carbon is lighter for the same stiffness and less cold to handle in winter. Just know that a carbon video system with a heavy head is still a heavy thing to carry: the Teris carbon systems in this guide weigh from 4.3 kg for the TCE-CF PLUS to 7.7 kg for the TS150CF-Q.

Final verdict

Weigh the rig, read the head rating, match the bowl. For most of the mirrorless and small cinema cameras we see, a 75mm Teris system is right, and the TS-H12CF-Q is the one that copes with the widest range of builds. Fully built cinema cameras go to 100mm. And if the shot lives at floor level, add a hi-hat that matches your head rather than buying a shorter tripod.

Still not sure? Email info@filmgearcanada.com or call (604) 269-4161, tell us your camera and what hangs off it, and we'll tell you which one we'd buy.

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Sources. Teris spec sheets for the TS-H7CF-Q and TS-H12CF-Q (as supplied with our product listings), B&H spec pages for the Teris TS-H12CF-Q, TS-H14CF-Q, TS150CF-Q, TCE-CF PLUS, TS-RH100 and TS-BA75, SmallRig's product pages for the AD-01 3751B and the x Potato Jet Tribex SE 5305, and Newsshooter's Tribex SE announcement of 6 June 2025 for the counterbalance figure, all read on 3 November 2026. Heights given in inches by B&H are converted to centimetres and rounded. The FPS Heavy-Duty Hi-hat details are from our own product listing.