Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

I'm playing with some night-time photography and because at this point what I take photos of is not important, I set up the camera on my sundeck.
So often we see suggestions about locking the mirror, using a 2 second delay or using a remote shutter release to prevent vibration resulting in blurred photos.

I followed all these "rules" and still ended up with a blurred photo. The lens was stopped to f/16, exposure set to 60 seconds.
So, two areas of influence I had not counted on: We live less than 2 blocks from a busy highway, and while the shutter was open, I did hear one of those heavy transport trucks go by.
And our sundeck has a wooden floor, and I walked away from the camera while the shutter was open.
Both causing vibrations that travelled through the tripod to the camera, resulting in blurred photos.
Although I was still mighty proud of them, as the street- and house lights in the photos did have the star points I was after: 14 star points, 7 blades in the lens.
I'll be out there again to try different settings, in this case the heck with the vibrations ;-)
Next time I'm at our son's, where there is no heavy traffic and they have 10 acres of solid ground, I'll try as well!

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

I have the same problem on my back deck; made of trex. Any movement on my part, or even a windy day, shows up as vibration through the tripod. Now, if I want a steady picture, I'll set up on the concrete below or the sidewalk in the front of the house.

Dlevon Loc: New Jersey

You can't avoid vibration on a deck, even if it is made of concrete plank. Actually IS might work on the deck.

mtparker Loc: Cape Charles & Springfield, Virginia

Vibration dampening is a problem.

Larger tripods will dampen quicker than smaller lighter ones. If your legset has bottom sections the size of a pencil you should expect problems. The bigger the better.

Avoid decks, bridges, etc. when possible. Its hard sometimes because we need (want) to shoot from a particular location.

Add some additional weight to your tripod. If you do not have a hook under the head of your tripod where the legs come together, make one. Hang your bag from it. It will help. So will a bag of sand, buckwheat, a water jug, etc.

dickparkans Loc: Arizona

If you are using a tripod, don't use IS.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Try setting up on a soft surface, like the lawn.
Hard surfaces transfer vibrations, softer ones tend to dampen.
Your deck is a terrible vibration prone place to use...
And sit still, you can sit still for 60 seconds can't you?
If you can use a wireless remote with your camera do that.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Forgot to list that with the "rules" - but yes, I know that, and yes, it was turned off for some of the shots, set on Auto for other shots.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Oh yes, I can even sit still for much longer than that ;-)
However, just as I pressed the shutter button, the coffeepot in the kitchen was beeping to tell me it was finished making my coffee, so I walked away from the camera....

Oh, and the lawn is not an option: I'd get some lovely photos of the neighbour's hedge, but not the lights in the distance. Tripod is not tall enough to have the camera peek over the top of a 14-feet-tall hedge.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Interesting situation. This is a case where the tripod was not the cause of the vibration, just a continuation of it. I can understand the deck bouncing, but how did the truck adversely effect your shot? Does the ground in your area move that much just for vehicular traffic?

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Well shoot. Change location and take a travel mug with you. ;)
The higher you go, the more pronounced the vibrations become. (On man made platforms.)
Keep trying, and keep trying different places.
Speaking of coffee... time to go make mine. :-D

skiman Loc: Ventura, CA

On some nikon lenses there is a VR switch and an Active switch. The active switch is for when you are not on a stable surface, and VR is when the camera is moving. If you have it, try the active setting.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Just cars don't seem to make much difference, but the highway I referred to, is used for the heavy transport trucks, many of them fully loaded, the cab with a trailer and another trailer - I think they're called B-trains. I've stood at the corner waiting for the pedestrian light to switch to "go" when one of these beasts goes by and you can actually feel the ground moving.
I'm not a geologist, and I don't know how far these vibrations go, but I am convinced that that truck influenced the shot.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Depends on the lens. Some lenses have either a tripod detection or a second IS switch position that uses a different stabilization for use with a tripod.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

My lenses (any of them) do not have any VR or IS switches, as this is a function of the camera body.

My IS settings are Off, S-IS 1 (Auto), S-IS 2 (Vertical IS), S-IS 3 (Horizontal IS), S-IS Auto. (S-IS 1 and S-IS Auto are different auto functions, one is for general use, the other for panning).
So no Active setting, but then I don't have any Nikon lenses either. If you're interested, the IBIS controls Left-Right movement, Up-Down, Yaw, Roll and Pitch.
So, I cheat and usually leave it at S-IS1, or turn it off altogether.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

If you ever get the chance to look at a seismograph you can see vibrations from things your senses can't detect.
Like distant traffic.