Steel v Wood Tripods

[Jasonb]

Hi there,

Just looking for people's experiences comparing Steel v Wood tripods. I have a Meade Field Steel Tripod, the legs are 5cm in diameter. It a heavy beast but can take lots of weight and has done me well so far. 

I have heard that the best tripods for vibration dampening are wooden ones, but I don't know how they compare for load bearing as well. Would a wooden tripod handle as much weight as a 5cm diameter steel one? And does it definitely dampen vibrations more? 

Just curious really, I have no plans to upgrade my tripod yet, I'm too busy upgrading other things!

[omo]

Search for Berlebach - wood is good!

 

[Elp]

Yes, wood dampens better, you can test this simply by holding a metal tube in hand and banging it, now try the same with wood, the former you'll feel the vibration much longer. No matter the tripod material however, it needs to be built properly and sturdily with little/few points of flex which can all add to instability.

I've owned aluminium, steel, wood and carbon fibre and used all for visual and AP so speak from experience. Wood is best, thick CF is comparable though thick steel can also be rigid. Weight of tripod, spreaders, what material the tripod is standing on, any nearby vibrations even those from your footsteps all make a difference.

Going back to the construction, not any old wood tripod. A Berlebach Report though a good tripod will not be as sturdy as a thicker Uni or Planet, you can tell just by looking at them, especially when you get to feel their weight differences.

Edited Monday at 21:20 by Elp

[Space Hopper]

With my experience, i would say a Berlebach Planet, is the ultimate, and all the tripod you will ever need in this hobby.

 

[John]

I find ash wood tripods dampen vibrations better than the 50mm steel tubed ones. I use a Berlebach Uni 28 which is both tall (useful for long refractors) and stable. Nice looking as well 🙂

 

[Dave scutt]

Have you considered a carbon fibre tripod.

I use a ioptron 40mm very light but can hold 40 or 50kg , ment to be good for damping vibration.

[Jasonb]

Thanks for all your comments. I'm not actually in the market for a tripod, I have enough other plans, but it's good to hear the advantages of the wooden tripod!

Thanks...