Tripods are considered non-essential camera accessories for average photographer, but they are an absolute must for professional photographer.
The quality of professional photographs deteriorates rapidly if hands shake during the clicking process and to some extent that does happen.
In fact now a days most professional photographers use tripod which is connected to camera and the remote controlled clicker so there is no interference from any motion.
For close photography &/or portrait photography, tripods serve great purpose and add to the quality of pictures.
The more you zoom in on an object, the more sensitive digital cameras become to movement, in this scenario tripod is perfect solution avoiding those micro movement and rendering excellent pictures.
In old days, tripods used to be heavy, cumbersome and difficult to take along, however now a days there are wonderful tripods which are compact, can be folded into your shoulder bag and amazingly light weight.
They are usually made of aluminum and based on the model type can carry weight of up to 15lbs.
You can purchase tripod from any major electronics retailer or you can go online and purchase it.
I myself, prefer to purchase online as I have chance to look at different reviews written by customers.
The cost of average tripod is anywhere between $10 to $50.
There are higher end tripods available, but for an average use you can find one within the price range mentioned above.
One of my favorite store is amazon.
com - where you can find all sorts of different tripods.