Does anyone do tripod reviews with stability measurements?

[Jolyon Ralph]

Now.. I know there's a lot more to buying a tripod and head than just raw stability (weight, fluidity of head movement, etc etc) but when researching tripods to buy for my 5DSR I have been told by many people that I need something heavy and expensive (just heavy won't clearly do).

Reading reviews of tripods and heads online I find very little objective testing and comparisons. Has anyone done this? Are there comparative reviews showing the effect that particular models of tripods and heads have on damping camera shake, for example, with some kind of measurements?

A lot of what I have read about the higher-end tripods and heads reminds me far too much of the vague nonsense and sometimes downright ridiculous reviews of speakers, etc in HiFi magazines.

So, is a sturdy £30 chinese head from e-bay REALLY that much worse than a £300 Manfrotto head? if so, how MUCH worse?

I'd love to know (and not just opinions, I want SCIENCE!)

 

[magicaxeman]

I don't think your going to find science but a lot of it comes down to common sense and understanding how companies are able to offer cheap heads and tripods.

A company producing a £30 ball head and making a profit (remember the price often includes postage as well) will have to use cheaper materials, cheaper labour and churn out a lot of them each day. This doesnt leave much room for the niceties such as rigorous quality control.

I have both a cheap chinese heavy duty ball head and a much more expensive ball head, the differences aren't immediately apparent but when you start to look closely you can see where corners have been cut, the cheaper one doesn't fit as well onto the tripod legs, its not as smooth in operation, doesn't lock quite as firmly and take more travel of the adjusters to lock, the arca plate doesn't fit as securely, you really have to tighten down hard to make sure its secure, no none of this is science but its fairly obvious that to market the product at that price something has had to give somewhere along the line.

My father always told me... buy quality and you'll only have to buy once, buy cheap and you'll have to keep replacing it.
Putting a 5DRS & L glass on a cheap chinese head would be like using a carrier bag as the case for a 300mm F2.8!!

 

[tijuana taxi]

I have just sent off a cheapo tripod for the Gitzo trade in promotion and I never realised how flimsy these things are.

Bought mine off Ebay for £8, but it retails new for about 27 quid and has even got some good reviews, in my opinion totally unfit for purpose.

Can't comment on the heads, never owned one but echoing the above post, everyone has to make a profit so as the saying goes do the math

 

[Kodiak Qc]

•
The best tripod is a 5 ton concrete block… but not very practical! ;-)

When it comes to "normal" tripods, there will always be some kind
of vibration or movement. The criteria for a good quality tripod is
how long (in fraction of seconds) the combo will permit the reflec-
tion or bounce of an induced mechanical shockwave.

The shorter the better!

 

[chris malcolm]

I think part of the problem is he idea that one must decide on THE tripod. If one errs and buys an inferior tripod then it will have to be replaced later at extra cost by THE tripod.

Whereas my first tripod was cheap and flimsy. It worked OK indoors or outdoors with little wind. It was a crap tripod. But on the other hand it was greatly superior to no tripod and so small and light I nearly always had it with me. As my camera and lenses got heavier it got more annoying. It drooped down after doing up the head screws making it hard to aim accurately. It wobbled for a few seconds after I took my hands off it so I had to wait for it to settle before firing the shutter with a remote. When I got a better tripod it didn't get thrown away however. I now use it to support flash guns or small panel lights, etc.. The money wasn't wasted.

I now have two big tripods in general camera support use. The biggest heaviest one has the virtue of an extraordinary range of adjustment which can create a stable mount in very awkward situations, only a few awkwardly placed positions for the feet, and the camera in an awkwardly offset location. It gets used when I need that gymnastic dexterity. But it's annoyingly heavy to carry around on foot just in case. For that I have a lighter tripod which is inherently less stable. When fully extended it's not stable in wind, but it can be made more stable by retracting the lower sections of the legs and adding weight hung under the central column. If the wind is enough to swing the hung weight with slight wobble to long exposures then I'll replace the weight with pegs and guy cords. Often a single dog lead screw under the centre and a strong luggage elastic is all that's needed and quick to set up.

If I had the money I'd buy a really good big heavy expensive tripod with a gimbal head and a 500mm f4 lens. I'd take them out for the occasional special expedition and get the occasional really good photograph. On the other hand nearly all of my best 500mm shots would continue to be taken with my 500mm f8 reflex on a monopod simply because that lens and monopod are small and light enough that I often carry them around just in case.

There's no ideal best monopod either, by the way. I have three. The lightest is for carrying around just in case. The heaviest has three little retractable feet so it can be turned into an inferior tripod which is nevertheless a lot more stable than a monopod. The biggest extends to five metres which is useful for seeing over the top of parked cars, street furniture, crowds, etc..

I no more believe in trying to decide on THE tripod than I believe in trying to decide on THE lens. Just another point of view