Absorption of vibrations of a tripod..

[Shtativ]

Hi! What ways of absorption of vibrations at shooting with a tripod are you know?

[Robert A. Zeichner]

Wooden tripod legs are particularly well suited to absorbing vibration, but aside from that, many tripods feature a steel hook under the casting where the legs meet. This can be used to hang a weight of some sort which will have a stabilizing effect. If you travel, it might be possible to get an "empty" sandbag or even a collabsable water bag that can be used as a weight and filled on location.

[Joseph O'Neil]

Go to any telescope store website and look up "anti-vibration pads". A set of three round pads that sit under the feet of a telescope tripod, they take up vibration. They seem to work best on hard srufaces such as a concrete sidewalk - a wood tripod sunk into grass would show little if any improvement using those pads.

joe

[Gordon Moat]

You could always get a fluid head for your tripod. These are intended for use with video cameras or motion picture cameras. Unfortunately, most are quite heavy, and the good ones are very expensive.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat

[Dan Fromm]

Gordon, I have two fluid heads. Long story. They make a great difference when panning and tilting while filming, otherwise don't help at all. Since we rarely pan or tilt during exposure when shooting still pictures, I'm not sure one would help Shtativ at all. I mean, he's not shooting movies, he's trying to shoot LF on the cheap.

[Gordon Moat]

Thanks for the clarification Dan. I have used fluid head tripods with still cameras too, since I have done some videography and motion imaging workl; so I had the opportunity to try it. I never did extensive testing, nor any sort of scientific procedures on this. There is an article on the Zeiss website about using a fluid head for damping vibrations when using still cameras; I am not convinced that is the solution, though I would expect Zeiss to know more than I do about this.

My own 4x5 preference is a Bogen 3021N with 3047 head. This is a bit heavy, but I have not had any problems with vibration affecting my images. Worst vibration problem I ever had was a strong breeze making the darkslide portion of my Quickloads flutter during four minute exposures; probably luck that the images turned out fine.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat

[Shtativ]

Thank you for answers, friends!
Yes, I shoot LF on the cheap. Now, I would bye the Feisol 3371 tripod+Markins M10 and thinking how I can reduce the vibrations.. If I shall cover the chamber with rubber, energy of vibration should turn to thermal energy. I am right or not? And whether it is necessary to me to put a thin layer of rubber between a tripod and a head?

[Lazybones]

...hang a weight of some sort which will have a stabilizing effect.

This is what I do. I hang a 5 lb. sand bag from the hook under my Gitzo. The tripod is made of carbon fiber, which makes it less resonant. I watch my bubble level to help tell when vibrations have ceased after handling the camera. Using a cable release with a bit of slack will help ensure that vibrations are not transfered along a taught cable to the camera. It is a number of factors that cumulatively affect the outcome. Minimizing or eliminating all the variables in the system will probably help more than changing any one particular thing...

[Capocheny]

Wooden tripod legs are particularly well suited to absorbing vibration, but aside from that, many tripods feature a steel hook under the casting where the legs meet. This can be used to hang a weight of some sort which will have a stabilizing effect. If you travel, it might be possible to get an "empty" sandbag or even a collabsable water bag that can be used as a weight and filled on location.

This is probably the most efficient way to go and the least expensive method to employ. Plus, it's easily accessible and you don't need to a lot of specialized equipment. If you have a little satchel/netting... you can fill it with rocks from the area where you're shooting. In other words, you don't need to carry the additional weight with you.

BTW, you don't really need a hook either... it's nice but not necessary. I've even seen people use an old pair of lady's nylon stockings to contain the rocks. :) They tied this to the center post of the pod! Very sheik!:)

Cheers

[Bob Gentile]

"... many tripods feature a steel hook under the casting where the legs meet. This can be used to hang a weight of some sort which will have a stabilizing effect..."I've heard of this before, but it seems like it would create a pendulum. No? I've never tried it for that reason.

[Capocheny]

I've heard of this before, but it seems like it would create a pendulum. No? I've never tried it for that reason.

Bob,

It's entirely possible that there could be a pendulum effect, no doubt. But, you would, of course, wait until the swinging stopped before clicking the shutter... just as you would not click the shutter when a breeze is blowing briskly. In other words, you would wait for the "opportune" moment before taking the picture!

And, of course, if there's a brisk wind blowing constantly... yes, a pendulum motion would most likely result. Gale force winds... for sure! :)

Give it a try and see for yourself whether this technique works or not!

Cheers

[paulr]

I've heard of this before, but it seems like it would create a pendulum. No? I've never tried it for that reason.

This is why an engineer would tell you it's a complicated subject. vibration damping is tricky. A weight will change the resonant frequency of the tripod ... which might be good or not. What you're really trying to do is dissipate the vibrations as quickly as possible. The theory involved is so complex that it's probably bettter to find a way to check for it and then try different things to see what works best.

I do find that my heavy wood tripod seems to give sharper results more often than my flimsier metal one ... but who knows if this has anything to do with damping. It might just be because it's more stable in the wind.

[JW Dewdney]

This is why an engineer would tell you it's a complicated subject. vibration damping is tricky. A weight will change the resonant frequency of the tripod ... which might be good or not. What you're really trying to do is dissipate the vibrations as quickly as possible. The theory involved is so complex that it's probably bettter to find a way to check for it and then try different things to see what works best.

Assuming that the tripod and all it's parts function as a single rigid body (which is basically highly improbable) - hanging extra mass off it increases the wavelength of any vibrations that can affect it (lower freq.) - this can be pretty effective. Another way of dispersing higher frequency vibrations is to set the legs to three different lengths - this CAN, in theory, prevent buildup of a single frequency, and in fact create some cancellations - but unless you do an impractical amount of math on this, it's a total crap shoot - and you run the risk of actually making things worse.

What I'VE always thought would be kind of a neat idea is to bring along a 14-16 inch auger/screw and screw it into the ground - attach the other end via cable to the head and then tighten down a turnbuckle placed in the middle of the cable - with a nice, big gitzo - you could probably crank that thing down to a few hundred pounds of tension. I'd imagine this would be nearly as stable as shooting from a concrete caisson (column buried in the ground).

[JW Dewdney]

of course - god help you if you wanted to change your camera position last minute...!

[Bob Gentile]

"... I do find that my heavy wood tripod seems to give sharper results more often than my flimsier metal one..."
Same here. My "flimsy metal one" is an old Marchioni Tiltall and my wooden one is a mongo surveyor's tripod. That bad boy will hold me steady in a gale force wind! After a cursory comparison, the Tiltall is used for 35mm exclusively.


"... What I'VE always thought would be kind of a neat idea is to bring along a 14-16 inch auger/screw and screw it into the ground - attach the other end via cable to the head and then tighten down a turnbuckle placed in the middle of the cable..."And tune it to concert pitch! Ha! If you can't shoot with it, you can PLAY it!