Methodology

These articles lay out the basic premise and methodology for the testing we do here at The Center Column.

The Torsion Spring Test

• The tripod as a torsion spring.
• Measuring the tripod’s stiffness and damping
• The same stiffness test about the perpendicular axis
• Consistency of the torsion spring test

Tripod Head Testing

• Measuring a tripod head’s stiffness
• Calculating the stiffness of the tripod + head system

Deflection Testing

• How to perform a deflection test
• Example deflection test

MTF Testing

• Intro to MTF test

Head Lock Shift Test

• The Simple Shift Test

Damping

Moment of Inertia Testing

• Methodology for Measuring a Camera’s Moment of Inertia
• Methodology for Measuring a Tripod’s Moment of Inertia.  Just like a spring has some weight to it, a tripod has inherent MOI that we need to account for when estimating the performance of the entire camera + support system.

Stiffness vs Center Column Extension

Stiffness vs Tripod Leg Extension