[LargeFormat] Tripods

[Jim Brick]

I've been in the professional photography business for the better part of 
fifty years. I started making money from photography at age 12 (1950) and 
bought a Rolleicord ($149.50) with my photography money. This was my first 
real camera.

I went to Brooks Institute of Photography 1959-1961. I used a Majestic 
steel tripod and a Graphic View II for 90% of my Brooks Institute work. I 
worked as a commercial and illustrative photographer for many years after 
Brooks. 8x10 Deardorf, 4x5 Graphic View II, Hasselblad, Leica cameras. 
Majestic, Davis & Sanford, Tiltall tripods.

Over the years I learned by experience, how to keep a camera quiet during 
exposures. There is more to this than the average photographer realizes.

Over the past twenty years, I carried my 8 pound Gitzo 1346 four section 
Inter Pro tripod and head everywhere. Along with LF and/or MF gear, the 
total weight is significant.

Then carbon fiber tripods appeared. They received a lot of flack. "They 
could not possibly be better than the Biggee Cranes that we all pack around."

Then some of the big names in photography started testing them. And the 
fine art folks that all had woodies (wooden tripods) started testing them. 
And the film/video tripod manufacturers started testing carbon fiber as a 
viable material.

And Carbon Fiber won out in all tests for being the best material 
discovered so far, for tripods, stating that it dampened vibrations quicker 
than wood or metal thus killing any ringing effect. I sought this 
information back when the CF tripods were introduced and unfortunately have 
neither the time nor energy to research this again. But it is out there. 
Actually, I found one of my references. OConnor film/video tripod 
manufacturer http://www.ocon.com/brochure/b-08.jpg at the bottom of the 
page discusses carbon fiber. Their home is  http://www.ocon.com/oconnor.htm .

As a result, I sold my Gitzo 1346 and iron Rational 3 head and bought a CF 
Gitzo 1349 and a Gitzo 1371M (magnesium) head and have never looked back. 
My back and arms are happier and my photographs certainly have not suffered.

It is my opinion, from all that I have researched, and the fact that I have 
been using CF tripods since early on, thus having a track record using the 
things, and using all formats on my CF tripods including focal plane 
shuttered Hasselblads, that the Carbon Fiber tripods that I own are the 
best tripods I have ever owned. And believe me, I've owned/used everything.

So folks can believe what they wish, but the physics of CF as a tripod 
material is being proven, from both research and practical use, to be the 
best tripod material so far.

FWIW,

Jim