New Tripod is unstable

<p>Hello all. I recently bought a carbon fiber tripod that is deliciously lightweight especially compared to my old aluminum one. Problem is I notice some shake in some of my photos especially if used outside and there's wind. I didn't have this problem with my heavy one of course. Is this common with lighter weight tripods? Would a stone bag with some weight in it help? Is the only solution to bite the bullet and spend big money on a Gitzo? Would love some feedback on how to stabilize my current or spend only a bit more (under $250 pref for legs only) to get stability AND light weight. Thank you!</p>

<p>That is a problem with lightweight tripods. I carry a bag that I can fill with rocks/sand/dirt that slightly drags on the ground (You don't want weight to swing around).</p>

<p>What brand/model do you have? As mentioned, some legs have or come w/ a 'hook' on the bottom of the plate that you can hang something, like your camera bag or a bag filled w/ rocks, etc to stabilize the legs.</p>

<p>A carbon-fibre tripod is made of a material which is superior in terms of strength per weight to the material used in metal tripods. A carbon-fibre tripod of a given weight therefore usually has superior static load-bearing ability to a metal one. There is, however, no way of cheating the laws of physics – lighter material is less energy-absorbing, and a force such as wind applied to a carbon-fibre tripod will inevitably lead to greater vibration. The only way to counteract this is to increase mass, by either using a heavier tripod or making your existing tripod heavier by using a stone bag, camera bag attached to the tripod, etc.</p>

<p>I have to say that the prospect of having to fill a bag with stones or sand and attach it to the tripod to take a photograph is very unattractive to me. If I don't think that the combination of tripod /head/whatever I have on top of it will be stable in wind I'll tend to rely on handholding and IS which can in my experience provide better results. <br>

I do think the point here is right- CF may be more rigid than alu. and gives better protection against some types of vibration, but the lighter weight means it's more susceptible to wind. Whether CF is "better" depends on the circumstances in which you're using it. The only universally applicable benefit is that its lighter to carry.</p>

On the suggestion to buy a Gitzo...what difference is the brand going to make? Is Gitzo carbon fiber somehow different to, say, Manfrotto carbon fiber?

<p>A very light tripod will be fine as long as there is no wind, and you take care to avoid other sources of vibration: lock up the mirror on an SLR and trigger the shutter remotely.</p>

<p>But wind is a problem. Other things being equal, a heavier tripod will resist wind-induced vibration better than a lighter one. It's simply that it takes more energy to move a larger mass. Hanging some weight from the tripod will help it resist movement. You can use rocks or sand or whatever. I can appreciate Dave Henderson's reluctance to fill a bag with weights before photographing, and particularly dislike looking for rocks while the light is changing for the worse. If you will be hiking out to some spot to photograph and then hiking back, you can take a water bottle with you, hang it from the tripod, then drink the water on your way back.</p>

<p>It's not necessarily the case that a lighter material absorbs energy better. If you build a wood replica of a tuning fork, striking the tuning fork will cause it to vibrate longer than the wood replica, which is lighter. The nice thing about carbon fiber is that it is both very strong for its weight and, within limits, tends to dampen vibration better than metal.</p>

<p>Gitzo tripods are very well built and support a larger load for their weight than those from Manfrotto. If they're very light they will still shake in the wind. I don't think the difference between the two manufacturers is huge, and chose Manfrotto for their flip-locks and lower price.</p>

<p>BTW, don't ignore the role of your tripod head in minimizing (or permitting) vibration.</p>

<p>It's interesting---people are always preaching the lack of vibration of carbon tripods, and now it appears that this is based on a theory about carbon that depends on weight that the tripods themselves don't have but isn't able to be directly realized with the real thing because it's lighter than the comparables? I think I'll stop lusting after a new tripod now.</p>

<p>A Gitzo won't make any difference to the OPs point, unless it is heavier - but then isn't lightness the reason for getting a CF tripod in the first place? I would just hang your camera bag from the tripod to increase the damping.</p>

<p>In the OP's case, there is little if anything that a Gitzo can do better for the initial gust of wind; however, where the Gitzo excels is the fit and finish. Those leg angle adjustments rattle and may (and will) become loose on cheap CF tripods; not on Gitzos. Also on cheap tripods, legs will rotate when you tighten/loosen the collar. They don't on a Gitzo. It also takes longer to actually lock a collar on a cheap tripod; it's a half twist on a Gitzo.<br /> <br /> Not trying to be a shill for Gitzo but there are significant differences between a cheap CF tripod and a Gitzo.</p>

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<p>Thanks for answering, guys. t's Neewer from Amazon. It does have a hook but it's not deep/big enough to hold my camera bag. It seems to me that the problem isn't only the lightness but the narrow circumference of the the four-part telescoping legs. It folds up to be quite small which makes the bottom two segments quite slim. That seems to affect the stability...they seem flexy. Whereas on a 2-3 part leg, the circumference on many is thicker. I shoot mostly interiors but sometimes exteriors and this is where I saw the vibration. I wanted a lighter weight because I frequently bike my gear around the city or carry it on transit and walking throughout NYC. For now, it'll work. Thanks for all the awesome input! Sounds like splurging on a Gitzo wouldn't solve the problem.</p>

Search for the Manfrotto Apron and see if that would be any help.

Hi, you said the thin lower sections seem "flexy;" if the feet are trying to slide outward on a surface you would probably see flexing like this.

If it were me, and I saw this, I'd try to restrict foot slippage - an easy thing to do is to scoop out small holes in the ground for the feet. If this

helps, the obvious next step would be to devise a way to attach cables (perhaps picture-hanging wire) to the feet so that they can't spread.

Best of luck with it.

<p>I'm coming to the party late but would like to offer a few observational experiences. I have owned four tripods throughout the years of my hobby... an aluminum Bogen 3021, an Induro CT214, an Induro C413 and now a Gitzo GT3542. I, like you, wanted light weight and stability. The Bogen was heavy and noisy but pretty stable. The Induro C413 was a beast. 6 pounds of stiffness but quite a bit to lug around. The Induro CT214 was almost perfect but a shade less stiff than I thought I wanted. The Gitzo is pretty much everything I wanted in a tripod. Very light for its weight rating @ 4ish pounds, Very stiff and made very well. Not as light as the Induro CT214 but stiffer.</p>

<p>Would I buy the Gitzo again. Nope. Way too much money with absolutely no after-purchase support. I have tried three times to make contact with the company (2 towards Gitzo and once toward Manfrotto) with zero response other than the computer generated response, "Thank you for contacting..." If you need anything and your local supplier can't get it for you, you're out of luck. (B&H could not offer the part I was looking for.) It's a very nice tripod but too expensive to recommend in your situation.</p>

<p>If the Induro CT214 was a shade stiffer, it would have been perfect. Very light and compact. And I learned a lesson from moving away from that tripod that I wish I had learned earlier. The tripod is only one part of the stability equation. I had two seemingly unrelated issues that I blamed the tripod for that had nothing to do with it.</p>

<p>#1) I had battery grips attached to my cameras (D7000 & D7200) and neither provided rock solid stability due to a perceptible instability between the grip and the camera. I loved the feel of the camera with the grip but I was unable to consistently get vibration-free photos with the grips attached.</p>

<p>#2) The mounting place attached to the camera makes a difference. I had been using mounting plates with a rubberized surface between the plate and the camera bottom (or grip bottom). The rubberized surface of the plate was also contributing to the movement I was experiencing. I settled on a Kirk metal mounting plate that can be converted to an 'L' bracket and got an immediate increase in stability. </p>

<p>Now I know this doesn't address the issues you may have with your Neewer but the information might be helpful anyway. If the legs of your Neewer are pencil thin at the bottom, there is no way it can provide adequate wind resistance outdoors. Adding weight might help, but I suspect you purchased a tripod that isn't really stiff enough for what you wanted it for. </p>

<p>Since you either live or frequent NYC, I recommend you stop in to B&H or Adorama and play with what they have on the floor. It will be a fun field trip and it might help guide you into a decision about what might best serve your needs going forward. And don't rule out a used tripod. People (like me) sell their old stuff as they buy new and you might find a deal.</p>

<p>One last thing (if you're still tuned into the thread)... what camera and lenses are you supporting with your tripod? It might be helpful to find out how much support you actually need. A tripod's rated capacity and its ability to hold it <em>well</em> are two different animals.</p>

<p>Tom</p>

 

<p>One concluding remark, for what it's worth – I own three Manfrotto tripods, a 058, 190 and "Digi". The 058 is great for studio work, the "Triaut" feature allows the height of all three legs to be adjusted simultaneously, but it's too heavy to take out. The 190 and the "Digi" are also good and offer the load-bearing capacity and stability that I would expect from their appearance – BUT my all-time favourite outdoor tripod is a Slik 88 (a later model was called a "Black Diamond"). This has channel legs instead of circular tubular legs, subjectively I feel these offer a better stability to weight ratio. I would warmly recommend anybody considering buying a carbon fibre tripod to check out a Slik first. I had one years ago, sold it and regretted it, and bought another example 3 or 4 years ago for £35 - I use it all the time!</p>