Sub-four oz. carbon fiber tripod

Jesse and Greg, nicely done! Keep those innovations coming.
I was browsing the tripods at B&H recently and came across this brand new 11 oz. tripod that looks a lot like what we’re doing in this thread. I ordered one just to try it out. What makes it special is the ballhead. For the weight, it works pretty well, much better than what I came up with. So, for now, at least, I’m going to give it at try. Here’s a shot taken this evening at a park a short walk from my house. My camera plus lens weighs about 24 oz. and was supported well by this tripod. The self-timer was used to minimize camera shake. The exposure was for half a second.

11 oz., of course, is heading in the wrong direction. If I start posting about the wonders of a 10 lb. tripod, I expect you all to do an intervention on me.

Dondo,
I too saw the ZipShot, and gave it brief consideration. The additional weight was the deal killer. But I did steal the idea of attached bungee cords to hold things together. Thanks ZipShot.

I've been out several days with the CF tripod, and while the assembly and dis-assembly is a minor PITA, the small package size, low weight, and functionality makes it worth the effort. I could leave the tripod head in place to minimize this, but it packs better without, and frequently I use Just the head. So it goes into an internal 'camera gear' pocket along with a cards, battery, lens pen, etc.

Using the CF tripod in Kneeling mode works well, provided I shake out the debris after I'm done. I find that a low perspective improves the foreground interest for landscapes, so I am pleased this works as hoped.

Dondo, thanks for sharing this stuff, as it is really working for me. Being able to take long exposure shots and to get stable Auto Exposure Bracketing shots is opening up a lot of opportunities.

Looking forward to your ZipShot report. Especially if you rip the head to use with a CF setup.

Dondo, thank you so much for posting this. I basically copied your design one to one.

I ordered 6 Fibraplex 20'' poles (which I hope will double-serve as my and my gf's ZPacks backpack stays), 3 binder clips and a 1.50 gbp eBay mini-tripod.

First mini-tripod I got was 1 gbp and had a plastic screw which broke very soon. So I ordered the next one with a metal screw.

I have only used it for a test shot at home so far, so I don't know if it will perform in the field (with wind!), but I hope it will.

It weights 6*11.5 + 43 + 6 = 118 g.

And I hope it will be able to hold my Panasonic GF1 + 9-18mm lens (~540g). Time will tell.

I wonder if I will need to add a flexible string with a rock/water bottle for additional stability.

So thanks again for sharing this idea (and others for sharing your designs), without you I would have never have considered it.

Maybe one could use these:
http://www.prolitegear.com/easton-carbon-fiber-poles.html

Frank,
The thing to keep in mind is how to attach the head. If both ends of the CF set are capped, you will have to figure out how to restring them. But, not a show stopper.

Also, I’ll add the ZipShot to make this thread the “repository”. (I know I mention it above.)

$50, and 11 ounces take it out of the UL realm, but the cost and convenience is a good trade-off.

Thanks, Greg. By coincidence I think I was looking at one of those yesterday at Ritz Camera, but did not see it outside of its package. Is it not a problem that the legs are not adjustable? To get the camera level on uneven ground it is easiest to be able to shorten a leg.

I have the TiGoat adjustable poles, so now I need a third leg. I have an mini olympus flexible tripod like the one at the top of Dondo's set-up, but it has round knobs for feet that do not fit into the opening at the top of the poles. Just to test out the theory I have taped the legs to the top of the poles and added a third temp leg (another ski pole). I am amazed at how sturdy the set up is. Great possibilities for taking along a tripod on hikes, especially with the multi-use gear idea.

I think I will try the ZipShot for local photos, too.

PS. While looking around for a lens case, I realized an insulated water bottle holder might work.

>Is it not a problem that the legs are not adjustable?

Somewhat, but you can get a fair amount of adjustability simply by moving legs in and out. Not as slick as "adjustable", but pretty darn good. And when supplemented with a Ball head it is very servicable.

>…but it has round knobs for feet that do not fit into the opening at the top of the poles

Look above at the Sunpac that I use. A little utility knife work took care of the 3/4" nobs that were on each leg. And still quite functional for outdoor "on a rock" use.

Then look above again at the "poles + 3rd Leg" photo by Jesse – same Sunpack, sans knobs.

And last, the first photo in this thread by Dondo….the source of all inspiration.
A "Neutered" Sunpak.

I've been using mine for over a year and it works well with lighter cameras, great with my LX3 and OK with GF1. You can adjust the legs for level by moving them out or even up on a rise.

Wish it had a better head.

Thanks, for more tripod input. I see now how the height can be adjusted by moving the poles/legs. My mini tripod looks just like the one in Franco D's photo. I will try trimming the knobs to make a fit. In fact, I just discovered that the knobs are indeed rubber, not plastic and they come off easily. Great!

As for the ND discussion, I do not understand why a lower ISO (50) works. I thought the higher number (800) would be better for low light situations. I was assuming that ISO was what used to be ASA for film. For example, ASA 400 was good for low light.

Here is a nice explanation of ND filters:

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/filter/filter-ND.html

I was assuming that ISO was what used to be ASA for film. For example, ASA 400 was good for low light.

Yes, that is a kind of paradox that we have high ISO values available to us for low light photography and then we use low ISO settings to do just that…

You use High ISO (like 800-3200) to snap (handheld) with available light only or to help with a fill flash.
The downside of High ISO is that it gets noisy (formally called grainy)
To get the 'cleanest' image you use the actual ISO value of your sensor, typically the lowest setting.
If you are familiar with film , taking a sensor rated at say 50 ISO to 100 is the equivalent of push processing by one stop. As you keep pushing you keep losing clarity.
Franco

Just a note on this older thread about making light tripods using legs from Fibraplex.com.

I ordered legs, as described above and after waiting seven weeks I contacted Fibraplex Corp to see what was up. I was told that my order was problematic, although it was standard items from their web menu. Specifically, a Fibraplex representative responded as follows:

"I assume you have a small tripod that you will insert the legs of into our tubing. This configuration with two sections per leg creates a challenge of how to attach shock cord."

Hence I suggested that the (PayPal)order be canceled, which Fibraplex immediately did and I received a refund for the full amount.

delete

Mark, let me get this straight. You wanted Fibraplex to sell you four items, and then you wanted them to cut them all in half as a special job, and then you did not want to pay them anything extra for the special job. Is that it? Think about that.

On carbon fiber tubes, each time you make a cut, you have to smooth the finished cut edges afterwards. I guess you wanted them to do that for free, also.

–B.G.–

I've made two of these tripods now…

The first time I ordered 3 of the 3 piece aluminum tent poles from Gossamer Gear that were sized for one of their shelters (I don't recall which one). I picked up the cheap metal tabletop tripod from my local camera shop for about $3. The rubber caps pulled right off the tripod exposing the rough-cut bottoms of the tripod legs. The legs of the tripod were hollow so I worked the shockcord into each leg, superlgued it in place and then superglued each leg into the end of one of the 3 tent poles. I then reassembled the poles (including the shock cord) and voila! I had a lightweight and cheap collaspable tripod stronge enough to support my Canon G10.

And then, sometime last year, I managed to lose the tripod on a trip. I probably left it at a camp but I can't remember which one for the life of me. All I know is one trip I had it and some other trip later on, I couldn't find it anymore.

So, last summer I decided to make a new one. This time though, I upgraded to carbon fiber poles from fibraplex. I stuck with three 3-piece poles but increased the lengths of the (total) pole heights. From studying the fibraplex website (carefully) I figured out which types of tips I would need in order to accomodate the tripod legs. Turns out, once I removed the pole tips from one end of each of the three poles, the piece the shockcord attaches to is recessed down into the pole leaving plenty of room to insert the tripod legs into the CF poles without requiring any hard work of trying to reattach shockcords. So, I just stuck the tripod legs into the tent poles and gave each join a few wraps with electrical tape.

The new set-up has been impressively sturdy and has become my exclusive tripod for all trips, camping, hiking or otherwise. I've had to be a little careful during high wind to keep the tripod from shaking or blowing over, but overall I've been very pleased with the usability and ease of construction. The hardest part by far was ordering the correct poles and tips from Fibraplex!

Nicholas – What was the cost of the three Fibraplex poles? What length poles did you get?

I was able to find my receipt from the order:

6 Short Fibrapole 292 (with CF ferrule)
3 Long Fibrapole 292 (no ferrule)
Shock Cord: 3/32
6 Aluminum Straight Tips

In the comments/specifications, I noted I wanted 3 48" poles made up of 3 sections each.

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I recieved the aluminum straight tips (I'll have to go back and check), but inserting the mini tripod legs into the tent pole sections was really easy. The shockcord inside the tent poles is attached in such a way that there is an inch or two of tent pole above where the shockcord attaches leaving plenty of room to nest the mini tripod legs into the tent poles and then just tape in place for security. I'll try to snap and post a couple of photos later today.

I think the total ran about $70 which is steep (to me) for a few tent poles but was worth it to be able to build such a light, handy tripod. I don't ever hesitate to bring it with me on a hike.

Just be forewarned, their customer service is sorta' lacking. I placed the order, immediately recieved an order confirmation and then didn't hear anything from them for 2 or 3 months until the package just showed up on the doorstep one day after threatening to cancel my order.

For those of you unsure about taking the plunge and ordering from fibraplex:
I hesitantly ordered what Nicholas recommend above and, much to my surprise, received everything after eight days. The service was great and the poles work really well.

Jesse, how did you connect the tripod legs to the pole grips? Look like you just drilled a hole and punch them through when needed, so friction holds them in place?

Phil,
This thread is over a year old, Jesse's last post was a year ago…

So the answer is: "yep, friction."

I did a similar thing with naked carbon fiber poles. Worked fine.