There have been several recent threads dealing with tripods and a number of people have said wood tripods are better than other materials because they "dampen vibrations." I'm unclear about two things: what "vibrations" are we talking about and assuming there is some vibration that wood tripods dampen better than other materials (e.g. carbon fiber), does it really matter?
With respect to #1, the only source of "vibration" I can think of would be from the shutter when it's tripped. So are people saying that opening and closing the shutter sets up a vibration that travels through the camera body and tripod head down into the tripod legs and then would travel back up through the tripod head and camera body to the lens, causing the lens to move during the exposure, unless a wood tripod is used? If not that then what?
With respect to #2, vibration from the shutter closing shouldn't affect the photograph since the photograph has already been made at that point. So presumably the only vibration we're talking about is caused by the shutter opening. If that's the case then I would think the shutter speed being used is relevant, i.e. if it's fast enough the vibration shouldn't matter and if it's slow enough the vibrations that other materials fail to dampen shouldn't affect the photograph because everything should have settled down for a large portion of the exposure. But unlike the situation with other sources of vibration (e.g. mirror movement in an slr camera), I never see shutter speed mentioned as a relevant factor when people talk about the "vibration dampening" benefits of a wood tripod.
I ask these questions because I've been a fan of carbon fiber tripods ever since they came on the market. But if wood tripods really do result in technically better photographs because of their "vibration dampening" qualities, I'd at least consider tolerating their weight. To be blunt and not meaning to offend anyone, I guess I'm asking whether those of you who have mentioned vibration dampening as a benefit in wood tripods know what you're talking about or is this just one of those old wives tales that get repeated so often they become accepted as truth without anyone ever testing them?
Thanks and sorry for the long question.
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