[LargeFormat] Tripods

[philip Lambert]

>
>
>  turns out that both wood and Carbon Fiber are better than metal for
> tripods. The stiffer and more rigid the metal the more resonant vibration
> frequencies it can support. Especially frequencies that focal plane
> shutters and mirrors create.

 there are other things that cause frequency patterns in heavy  metal
tripods. People walking nearby. Wind. Cars and trucks nearby. Etc...
>
> The professional film and video companies have switched over nearly
> completely to carbon fiber. Most of the tripod companies that make those
> big tripods, even those on dollies, have switched to CF.
>
> Bottom line, metal amplifies vibration frequencies. Think of vibes, bells,
> chimes, etc. Wooden or CF vibes, bells, chimes, etc, would simply not work
> because these materials DAMPEN vibrations rather than letting them "ring."
>
A xylophone is a resonating instrument made of wood, although it isn't loud.
C. fibre tripods are used by film and video makers but they have a million
dollar budget and their equipment is often junked at the end of the project,
I am informed by a friend in the movie camera repair trade. C.fibre tripods
are the dearest and evidently the least durable. Quite apart from all this,
a heavy camera on a lightweight tripod five feet above ground must be
fundamentally unstable.  A passing lorry will shake anything  but an
unstable outfit most of all. Studio camera supports are often very heavy.
There must be a reason for this. Philip