Wooden tripod performance

[David R Munson]

Like Doug said, a wooden tripod just feels right, if that makes sense. And it's not just the "ol'" LF shooters, either- some of the posters here have been shooting LF longer than I've been alive and I'm still hooked on my Ries. I'd use it for all my shooting, but have you ever seen a Nikon on an A100? It's a little ridiculous. That, and when your tripod outweighs your camera bag with 2 cameras and 5 lenses in it, you know there's something out of wack. As for heavy metal, I'm a fan, though in this case it is the music....

But seriously, I've done a couple quick & dirty tests in comparing vibrations in metal and wooden tripods, and my general findings seem to indicate that when vibrations are induced in a wooden tripod, they die out more quickly than in metal. Might also be a matter of mass (Bogen 3021 vs. Ries A100). Haven't seen any published test results, though.

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

The technical aspects of a wooden tripod may or may not be "that critical" when it comes down to actual photographic work, especially in LF. However, there is certainly something to be said about the aesthetics of these products. Happy shooting to everyone.

[Robert T. Creutz]

Surveyors still prefer wooden tripods. Ever wonder why? Who really cares about technical comparison test reports? (Equipment marketers certainly do.) Put your camera on your wooden tripod, and then, under the same conditions and making the same shot, and with all other things equal, on a metal one. Compare the proofs. Any difference in sharpness? The only thing important to a photographer is whether you can SEE a difference or not, no?

If your wooden tripod has spiked feet, be sure to drive them into the ground (if possible, of course).

[Bob Salomon]

Actually you will find that surveyors are going over to composite tripod materia ls like carbon fiber. Just attend a close range photogrammetry seminar and you will probably find more carbon fiber pods then wo od ones for surveying.

[Michael S. Briggs]

The statement that wood tripods dampen vibration more quickly is at best simplistic. Vibration dampening and stiffness will depend on the overall design of a specific tripod. Wood is naturally a composite structure with increased stiffness per weight from being hollow on a small scale. Metal tripods are stiffer per weight by being hollow on a larger scale--using tubes rather than small rods of the same weight. On many tripods stiffness is compromised at the joints rather than in the legs members.

I have used wood, metal and carbon fiber tripods and examined many more. The stiffest that I have ever seen is a Gitzo carbon fiber. At least in the US, the cost is quite high.

[M.]

Tripod? I don't need no stinkin' tripod. That's why they make f:1.4 lenses and 400 film for 35mm.

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

In response to the following "Tripod? I don't need no stinkin' tripod. That's why they make f:1.4 lenses and 400 film for 35mm." we know that we DO need a tripod at times, and the limitations of fast films are also well documented. A tripod is a necessary evil, in my opinion.

[M.]

Make that, "3200 film."

[Emrehan Zeybekoglu]

If you insist, no problem.. Whatever makes you happy.. Good light..

[Mike Troxell]

For years I have used one of the older Zone VI wooden tripods. I'm not really sure about the vibration dampening effects of wood vs other tripods. The reason I use a wooden tripod is because I don't have to baby it, that and the fact that as someone in an earler post stated "a wooden tripod just feels right for LF". Over the years I've been on trips where I've left my tripod in the car overnight in freezing weather, left it in the car in summer when the temperature would climb over 110 degrees, set it up in snowfields, in fresh-water and salt-water streams, in mud and just about anything else you can find in nature. After all this treatment it still works. About the only thing I have to worry about is termites