Tripods: Is Carbon Fiber worth the extra cost?

[Drew Wiley]

It all depends. There are many brands of carbon fiber tripods and they're all over the map in terms of price and quality of build. For large format work you want something solid. For routine usage I really prefers Ries wooden tripods. But for longhaul backpacking, carbon fiber is more realistic because it's so much lighter weight. For 4x5 usage I have a modified original Gitzo Reporter CF - the first commercial CF ever, I believe. It's more solidly built than the thinner-ply current Gitzo equivalent - which I have seen outright snap to pieces in the mountains! A friend learned that the hard way. Just because it's an expensive Gitzo doesn't mean it can't break. But CF is easier to handle in the cold than metal. And the issue is not so much the cold per se as some accident deeply scratching or denting the tubes, creating a weak point.

I learned a terrible lesson about that fact a few years ago when I was furnishing special fabrication equipment to the America's Cup racing teams. They showed me all kinds of samples of carbon fiber, including the Kevlar-reinforced custom version for their ultra-light racing yachts, or essentially catamarans. They were down to 2-ply for their masts and booms, which had tremendous tensile strength, but were very susceptible to dents. One of the team members who often picked up supplies, who was also an Olympic athlete, drowned under a sail the next day after I last spoke to him, when it snapped and fell during racing practice. Now the rules have changed, and all the racing yachts have to have a certain minimum weight and thicker component build.

My bigger CF, suitable for 8x10, is in fact one of the largest 2-ply Feisol models. I'm not worried about it because I'm not doing any of the extreme types of mountain travel as in my younger years, and mostly do 8x10 or big MF tele work on dayhikes, and then, mostly with the Ries wooden tripod. So I anticipate my Feisol outliving me. The smaller Gitzo is 3-ply and has already gone through thousands of miles of mountain travel without issue. Both have been modified for a platform top. Center columns are worthless for view camera applications.

[Ben Calwell]

I can't afford a CF tripod, so I bought an aluminum Benro, which I really like. It doesn't seem overly heavy for short jaunts from the car, and it's perfect for my Wista DX.

[Kiwi7475]

The main consideration is weight.

Try this: get a few books that weight about the weight of an aluminum tripod you may be eyeing. Put them in the bag with your camera gear that you’d normally bring out. Go for a walk around the block. Get back and remove books until it weighs like you’re carrying the CF tripod version now. Go around the block again.

Now consider which one you can haul for the typical trip/hike you’d undertake. Of course the second time weighs less. But is it with it? Can you manage either one easily? Is the weight saving meaningful enough?

Trust me, once you try it you will now, for your particular case, whether the investment is worth it.

[Alan Gales]

When I started in 35mm a lot of people I knew owned tripods but left them at home or in the trunk of their car because they didn't like carrying them.

A light tripod in the hand is worth two heavier tripods at home or in the trunk of your car.

[Peter De Smidt]

Yes.

[Pieter]

When I started in 35mm a lot of people I knew owned tripods but left them at home or in the trunk of their car because they didn't like carrying them.

A light tripod in the hand is worth two heavier tripods at home or in the trunk of your car.

Not really. See Barry Thornton's experiments with light tripods vs hand-held. You'd be surprised. Plus a crappy tripod can give you false confidence to shoot at lower shutter speeds than it can handle.

[esearing]

Tripod weight can be a help or hinderance to your task. At 3-5 pounds I can hike with the tripod all day. 6-8 pounds maybe a couple of miles won't kill me. 10+ pounds and it is used for around the house only and only if I feel like swapping heads or QR plates.

[Kevin Crisp]

It depends on your finances, of course.

I've had a 3 section Gitzo CF tripod for many years. I've used it for everything up to 8X10. It weighs MUCH less than my previous standard, which was a Bogen 3221 or something like that. It is much sturdier.

Other than disassembly of the legs a couple times when I got dirt or sand into it, it has needed nothing. Every time I set it up in the field I remember what a nice piece of equipment it is. I would never go back to aluminum.

[Drew Bedo]

What is your back worth?

I try to keep the 4x5 kit below 25 pounds. The camera body is a little Wista DX45. The tripod is a Velbon "El Carmagne 540" CF with a magnesium alloy ball head. Too light for most 4x5 cameras, it does well with the smaller DX45. When really trimming down, a 90mm f/6.8 Angulon is substituted for the massive 90mm Nikkor and no other lenses are packed.

[Drew Wiley]

One warning about going too light. It makes the whole setup rather top heavy, and more susceptible to wind tipover, and to having difficulty with stabiiity on mossy spongey ground. There's simply no substitute for sheer bully mass when you need it. Of course, a mesh bag weighs very little and can be filled with rocks and hung from a hook below the center of the tripod to give it temporary extra weight. If spike feet are available, order them.