carbon feaver ( tripods)

[uli_mayer]

Do I need a carbon fiber tripod? - As manufacturers and many posters

continue to tell me and others, one should get one. But am I wrong

saying there are far too many moving parts in the camera/tripod system

- from pressing the button, cluttering mirror, wobbly tripod joints,

down to the rubber ends on the tripod legs - that changing tripod

material should be given first priority consideration when it comes to

elimate the assembly's weaknesses? My question is: Where can I find an

"analysis" that puts the carbon fiber vs. aluminium question into the

broader kinematic context? And a second question: Is it really

sensible to look for something that could be called the ultimate

super-stiff tripod? My feeling is that such a thing can neither be

made ( portable ) nor would it serve us best at all times. As I

understand it ( with my very rudimentary knowledge of mechanics) a

tripod has to be a compromise: For taking photos next to heavy traffic

or on vibrating ground we would be off best it the tripod worked as a

damper (requiring big mass and low stiffness to kill low-frequency

vibrations) whereas for leading bumps or wind thrusts as directly as

possible to the ground the tripod should have just the opposite: low

mass and high stiffness. Or am I wrong?

[jbq]

A friend of mine used to joke that you're never satisfied with a tripod until you have a good Gitzo carbon fiber one.

[link]

Uli,

 

Since I have some experience building a camera stabilizing device out of carbon

fiber...I will say that this is a very very complex question that may require expensive

testing and computer modeling to really answer.

 

From my anecdotal experience, the biggest question of how much vibration has to do

with the length of the poles (or legs). It would seem that the shorter the leg, the less

vibration. And this is generally true. You will find however, that a particular length

may allow the tripod to vibrate in harmony with the camera, producing much more

vibration than normal.

 

I did not find that there was a substantial difference between aluminum and carbon

fiber poles in the vibration department, at least not nearly as much difference as

length of the poles creates.

 

It is also possible to build carbon fiber poles with very different stiffnesses depending

on how the fibers are layed out in the process.

 

Please note also that a stiff and light carbon fiber pole may crush easily in an accident

that does not stress the pole the way it was designed. At least aluminum will bend or

dent.

 

And don't forget one last consideration. Mass of the tripod. My gut feeling is that the

heavier it is, the better it works to steady the camera. Especially in the wind or

breeze.

 

So are you totally confused now?

[link]

And, the best way to reduce tripod vibration? Use a camera with low vibration. I'm not

kidding here. It's going to be the most effective solution.

 

And for me, I've been using leaf shutter cameras on bogen aluminium legs.

[always_wanderlust]

Get wood. Beats carbon fiber and really not that much heavier. Berlebach has a two-section tripod without the center column, rated to hold 25lbs (maybe more) and very very stable. Vibration? Try hammering a piece of wood - what vibrations? Another test - take a long piece of wood equal to one of the piece on a carbon fiber leg, now put your ear one the carbon fiber leg while hammering it with a pen and now do the same on the piece of wood - which one reverberates more?

[sheldonnalos]

Try searching the archives at the Luminous Landscape discussion forum. We had a month long discussion on tripods and several of us did vibration tests of tripods using a laser pointer mounted to the tripod head and aimed at a distant object - very good at showing vibrations from wind or external contact with the tripod.

 

The overall conclusion was that the vibration absorbing properties of the material used in the tripod (carbon fiber vs aluminum) were more imprortant than the actual mass of the tripod. Carbon fiber did much better than aluminum in creating a stable platform, even if the carbon fiber tripod was smaller than the aluminum one.

 

Sorry, no tests of wood tripods though.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Sheldon

[uli_mayer]

Thanks to all of you for your kind answers. One special response to BG: You asked, if I am "totally confused now?" - Not at all! - I already went to the library to get a standard handbook of amateur astronomy. Your "anectodal" observations are fully confirmed there in an in-depth article on sound engineering of scope mounts and supports. Thanks again!

Uli