Stabilizing a tripod for long exposure photography or long lens photography is very simple.
The simplest and easiest way to stop vibrations from occurring in a system is to use mass loading. Mass loading is the process of increasing the mass of something to achieve a goal. According to Newton’s laws of motion, every action causes an equal and opposite reaction. Because of that, the more massive something is, the harder it is to move.
Vibrations are a type of a repeating movement, therefore, if an object is more massive, it should require more energy in order to vibrate.
Thus the more mass added to a tripod the more stable and vibration resistant it will become as a system.
The easiest way to do this is to add static weight to the tripod somehow. Thankfully, most tripods have a hook underneath them that is there for this purpose.
Using the hook we can hang weight under the tripod to mass load the tripod. The reason to hang the weight from the hook is multi-faceted. Most importantly, the hook is centered under the tripod’s apex, this means that whatever weight you add to the hook is symmetrically held by the tripod’s three legs (assuming the ground is a flat plane). Equal weight distribution to all legs helps distribute energy equally. Secondly, the hook’s position at the apex of the tripod ensures that the tension added to the tripod by the extra weight is spread fully throughout the tripod’s structure from the top of each leg to the bottom of each leg. This is important for dissipating any vibrations that get into the tripod structure despite our mass loading.
Now that you’ve understood the tripod and what the hook under the tripod’s apex are used for, the next step is to acquire the actual weight to be added. One simple solution might be to use your camera bag. The problem is, it’s probably not quite heavy enough. Most likely a weight of 10-50lbs (depending on your tripod) will be required to properly mass load your tripod. The best way to do this in the field is to hang rocks or a bag of sand from the bottom of the tripod.
If you have a carbon fiber tripod this is where the magic happens. Carbon fiber is great because it doesn’t vibrate as much as metal such as steel or aluminum alloys. Carbon fiber naturally absorbs and dissipates vibration due to its woven structure. Because it is woven, much like cloth or rope, it has some of the qualities of cloth or rope. If you hit a piece of cloth what happens? Not much right? The cloth just kind of bends around then goes back to how it was. On a very small scale that’s also how carbon fiber works. If I were to lightly strike the carbon fiber legs of the tripod with a piece of wood, on a microscopic scale the fibers of the carbon fiber move around a little when struck then quickly go back to how they were.
The weaving pattern of the carbon fiber is what allows it to absorb energy rather than transmitting it along its length like metal does. Different weavings of carbon fiber can be more rigid or better at dissipating vibration. It is an engineering decision when picking the weave for carbon fiber. However, just about all carbon fiber structures are energy absorbing for the reasons mentioned. All this works because carbon fiber is what is known as a composite material. It is actually two materials in one. The two parts of carbon fiber are carbon fiber, and epoxy. The fibers are held in place by the epoxy and protects the fibers and gives the fibers a medium to dissipate energy into.
Carbon is an extremely rigid molecule, but, when it is arranged in thin pieces, or fibers, it can bend a tiny bit much like how when metal is arranged in thin wires it can bend very easily.
Because carbon is extremely rigid it might seem contrary to logic that it should dissipate energy very well. But, as discussed, the fiber weave and composite construction of carbon fiber allow it to dissipate energy. However, carbon is extremely rigid, and carbon fiber tripod legs are also extremely rigid. They’re actually much more rigid than aluminum or steel by weight. The reason for the energy absorption has been discussed. However, the reason the mass loading increases the energy absorption has not been discussed.
Rather than just telling you to “believe me” well, here’s why carbon fiber absorbs MORE vibration when it is mass loaded. It all boils down to microscopic changes in the arrangement of the inidividual fibers of carbon in the carbon fiber. Even though it is extremely rigid, when it is stressed, the fibers do bend a little bit. When they bend they move a tiny, tiny amount further away from each other. When speaking in molecular terms, it means the fibers have more room to move around.
It’s true that the added mass does help stabilize the tripod solely because of Newton’s law, but it doesn’t explain why vibrations are reduced in the legs of the tripod.
It may seem reasonable to say that carbon fiber doesn’t vibrate because it is rigid, of course, that is also patently false. Rigid things transmit vibration more efficiently, and carbon is very rigid.
On a macro level, measured as a whole unit, carbon fiber is extremely rigid. But on a micro level carbon fiber is flexible. Vibrations and sound are micro level. It’s this micro level flexibility that adding weight helps take advantage of. Of course, finding a balance is everything in this scenario. You don’t want to add so much weight that your tripod breaks…
Now that you understand why it works you might be more inclined to put it into practice. To really achieve maximum stability for your photography properly mass loading your tripod is an important step that is often overlooked.
