The Center Column is my attempt to document the search for the ideal tripod. The internet is alive with well documented testing of cameras and lenses, but there is not a cohesive set of information on the performance of tripods and heads. In fact, I couldn’t find any set of repeatable measurements on the stiffness and damping characteristics of the currently available set of camera support equipment. In the mottled set of reviews across the web, reviewers give a qualitative impression of performance or state that vibration dies off in a certain number of seconds. While this has generally been good enough to figure out that carbon fiber is better than aluminum, it hasn’t been enough to challenge the claims of manufacturers or help photographers get the most out their equipment and budgets. My aim in this blog is to develop a set of tests that are quantitative, repeatable, comparative, and directly relates to the real world performance of the tripod. I hope you enjoy.
-David
a few comments (if possible, do not
post to your website. Just wanted to
dialog with you)
I’m currently looking for a tripod.
Biggest problem – no quantitative
test data available to make an
informed decision. 99% of tripod
reviews are mostly subjective. If
they make any kind of test, they
don’t give very quantitative,
numerical data. If there is any,
unless they have tested an enormous
number of tripods including the
latest ones(not a chance on either
count) there is no way to compare one
tripod to another where they both
underwent the same tests under the
same conditions. It’s incredible to
me, how few attempts there have been
to remedy this situation. I thought
about doing something about this
myself. However, since I am not rich,
and not famous, I don’t know how I
could collect all the tripods for
testing without winding up in jail
for bankruptcy.
Thanks for at least making a start on
this. I would like to see tests on
bigger Sirui tripods (R series),
leofoto tripods (10x layer carbon
legs) and Promediagear tripods.
Seems like if the legs are on ground
that grip the feet tightly so that
they can’t slide around, the spider
or apex is not strained that much.
But if the ground is too loose for
that (deep, loose sand for example),
then spikes won’t help and it is the
strength of the spider that keeps the
legs from spreading out.
I have found that I can feel
differences between some tripods by
pulling the legs open and applying
pressure strongly against the notched
stops on the spider. Another telling
subjective test is to put the legs on
a smooth linoleum floor, and place a
sheet of paper under each rubber
foot. Then apply downward pressure to
the apex. The paper prevents the
rubber from gripping the floor, thus
shifting more of the strain of
stabilizing the legs to the spider.
To me, Promediagear looks like they
have the burliest looking spiders of
all. In other respects, they look
similar or better than RRS. So, I’d
like to see some test data on them.
However, I believe they sell direct,
so there is no way for me to inspect
one without buying it first.
A number people say just get Gitzo or
RRS and forget the rest. Although
ruinously expensive, you won’t ever
have to buy another. Although at
first I thought $1k or more for a
tripod was as stupid as spending
$350k for a Ferrari, I’m starting to
change my mind. If you have the best
prime lenses, on a 36-50 MP FF or MF
dreadnaught, you want to risk
blurring your meticulously
photographed to-die-for vista on an
inferior tripod?
Between Gitzo/RRS, and cheap garbage,
there are a number of tripod
companies fall between the two
extremes. It is these that I have no
data on, and that I wonder the most
about. Are these reasonably close to
Gitzo/RRS or not? I’ll have to look
at your database more closely, but a
quick initial look seems like maybe
the answer is no.
To me, the most critical shutter
speeds are around 1/30 to 1 second or
so. (Roughly – it depends on the
focal length) What I am talking about
is the ratio between the amount of
time a tripod shakes from the shutter
fire, to the time it spends “settled
out”. The longer the exposure, the
smaller this ratio is. It seems
logical, then that the quality of the
tripod might become rather negligible
during very long exposures. (except
possibly in windy conditions) It
would be good to know if this is the
case or not. The more the exposure is
faster than 1/30 (roughly), the less
dependent the results will be on the
tripod because the faster shutter
speeds will start to freeze the shot
more.
Thus, it seems like it’s in that
in-between range where the quality of
the tripod may really make a
difference. I would also like to see
some tests that might help people
determine how long an exposure is
needed to make the degradation from
the shake period acceptably small. Or
maybe this is just over-obsessing
about nothing. But it would be good
to know that too, if that is the case.
The key thing is we either need a
testing methodology that becomes kind
of standardized so that if we read
reviews from different sources,
everyone is doing the same tests so
that there is a uniform way of
comparing the results. Or we need one
web source that has settled on a
suite of tests that they use, but
they would need to be exhaustive
(test a huge number of tripods) and
also timely about testing new tripods
when they become available. If we are
buying new, we don’t care about older
tripods that are not available
anymore. If we are buying used, the
older data is important. Thus we need
both.
Thanks again for getting started on
this neglected area.
First, thanks for your comments and I am more than happy to start a discussion. The easiest way to do this is just send me an email david@thecentercolumn.com. So, starting at the top:
Exactly, the goal of this site is to remedy the exact situation regarding tripod reviews. I want to provide repeatable, quantitative tests on as many tripods as possible. This is just a start and many more will follow. Collecting tripods to test is the biggest hurdle. My strategy so far has been to troll Ebay and the used equipment sites for good deals. I test the tripod, and then resell it, sometimes for a small profit, usually for a small loss. This works well financially, but limits the tripods I test. I am hoping to monetize the site at some point to fund tripod purchases, but I’m not there yet.
This leads into the next question. I haven’t tested the Sirui R series because they are not available in the US, probably due to copyright claims from RRS. The leofotos are only available on ebay, and I have never seen a used one. As you corrected, promediagear is now available through stores, but I’ve never seen a used one to buy. I will certainly get around to them eventually, but it may be awhile. They certainly appear to be good tripods. Another simple test for tripods is to push down on the apex and twist. Most of the flexibility in tripods comes from the legs, not the apex. There are a few companies in the midrange of tripods, most notably Feisol, Manfrotto, and Induro, but they still fall significantly short of RRS, Gitzo, (and presumably PMG). You can get stiff tripods from these companies, be they simply are going to be heavier for the same stiffness than the RRS & Gitzo counterparts.
You are absolutely right about 1/30 – 1s being the critical range for shutter speed, though it depends on focal length as well. I have had a number of shoots ruined because of wind though, which is part of the initial motivation for this entire site. I have a lot more testing to do in this area, so stay tuned. The stiffness and damping numbers I report are universal. They are intrinsic to the tripod design, and no matter the method used to test, anyone should be able to measure similar results. This is the beauty of this approach. I am measuring the stiffness and damping in the same way that one would measure height, or weight and expect the results to be repeatable.
It looks like I cannot reply without posting the comment. Shoot me an email and I will take the comments down.
I am wondering how much camera type,
weight and focal length play into the
stability question. For instance I
have a tiny little NIkon Coolpix A
mirrorless camera with a 28mm
equivalent lens. Do I need as much a
tripod as a guy with a D800 DSLR and
a 50mm lens?
The amount of tripod necessary is of course dependent on focal length and camera weight, but also the pixel pitch. https://thecentercolumn.com/2018/02/14/calculating-the-necessary-stiffness-of-a-tripod/ What I haven’t figured out yet, is exactly how much tripod is necessary. This is on my to do list, but I won’t be getting to it for a month or so. Its a non-trivial problem.