GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

Gene, thanks for the links; very interesting. If he could test a surveyor's tripod in the same manner, I think he would find them to be much stiffer than the tubular-leg tripods due to their "rectangular style" leg construction, the way they attach to the head and the way the legs clamp. I don't know about the damping, but as one of the commenters stated, tieing a weight directly to the head (rather than hanging a weight) would increase its inertia and make it less susceptible to wind influence and ground vibrations (though, once it got moving, it would be harder to stop.). Increased mass means a lower self-resonant frequency. This would be better for any tripod. A good graphite tripod would be they way to go, if you wanted to spend the money; I'm just looking for an alternative that is less expensive and gives reasonable results and thought the surveyor's tripod might be the answer.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

You can buy them at flea markets and pawn shops to just try one out for small investment .....
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Polock

years ago this was for a infrared camera used in power company switchyards. steel legs, about 50 lbs.
it really looks silly with a olympus om5 mii on top.

GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

The idea of having a heavier, stiffer tripod is for the large telephoto lenses, not for the smaller cameras and lenses. But having said that, if that's all you have, and it gets the job done, who cares how it looks?

GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

That's what I'm doing; was just hoping someone else had tried it and had some input; silly me!

M1911 Loc: DFW Metromess

Look on ebay
Lots of good tripods there, new used and preowned.
Wood, Carbon, Aluminum
camera, astro, surveyor

My field tripod is a Ries Model C and 85 years old (estimated based on my father's probable purchase date). It does 95% of what I need in the field.

Berlebach tripods are great too. Been making wooden tripods since 1880s.

Zone 6 tripods are essentially surveyor tripods converted to wooden field tripods. Spikes and no rubber feet.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Camera-borne vibrations are very difficult to control by weighting the head/tripod unless you are adding the weight directly to the head using a strap to wrap the weight onto the bottom of the head. Using a string will probably invite harmonic resonance on a windy day, and as you mentioned - movement that somewhat diminish the benefit of the extra weight. Better to increase the mass of the camera. I've seen some solutions for the Sony A7s that attached a 2 lb steel weight to the tripod socket on the bottom of the camera, and that helped.

The article, as well as the RRS blogsite, mentions the value of using a weight attached to the underside of the apex of the tripod.

http://blog.reallyrightstuff.com/choosing-a-tripod-part-1/
http://blog.reallyrightstuff.com/choosing-a-tripod-part-2/
http://blog.reallyrightstuff.com/choosing-a-tripod-part-3/

I think that the circular cross-section of a tripod leg provides the best stiffness/strength to weight ratio, which is why other cross sections are rarely used for camera tripods.

John Hicks Loc: Sible Hedinham North Essex England

I have a Slik 90 tripod which must be thirty years old I paid thirty pounds for it when I bought it and it is still a good tripod

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Actually the Leofoto LM-324CL is pretty reasonable at $569. A comparable Gitzo, Really Right Stuff and some others cost $1000 or more for the legs alone.

For best stability, get a leg set that doesn't have or need a center column to reach a comfortable height. Also look for 3-section or 4-section legs. And a weight rating between 40 lb. and 66 lb., which makes it a "series 3" in some brands. Those have top leg sections that are 32mm to 36mm in diameter. There are larger... and heavier... series 4 and series 5. But those are overkill for many peoples' purposes.

Look at Feisol, Induro, Benro.

You'll usually get the best deal if you buy a "kit" of legs and head together. If you don't already have a gimbal, unless you are using a really big telephoto (8 lb. plus), I recommend getting a gimbal adapter like the Wimberley Sidekick that works in conjunction with a medium duty (~30 lb.) or heavy duty (~50 lb.) rated ballhead. The gimbal adapter provides the tilt movement, while the ballhead provides the panning movement. The advantage of this arrangement (as opposed to the "full size" gimbal) is that the ballhead remains on the tripod so you can quickly and easily switch back and forth between gimbal with big lenses and ballhead alone when that's not needed. In contrast, a full size gimbal replaces any other head on the tripod, sort of making it "large telephotos only" unless you carry around a second head and are prepared to swap it out when needed.

I've been using a Sidekick (on a Kirk BH-1 ballhead and Gitzo G1325 tripod) for about 20 years. It's handled as much as 8 lb. lenses (probably 10-12 lb. with camera, flash and other accessories), is still rock solid, working perfectly and will probably outlive me! Yes, it was a big investment at the time. But I've since bought used Gitzo C1325 Mk II and C1348 Mk II for less than 1/2 what they cost new and fitted them with lower cost heads... for a total around $500. Both those tripods came with accessories, too: one with a rapid center column, the other with a leveling platform. Each of those cost an additional $200 to $250 when bought new.

But if you don't know what you're looking at, it's hard to buy used gear and be happy with it. The G1325 and G1348 are models I'm fully familiar with and are older now-discontinued models, which is probably why they can be found so much cheaper than current models. Even used, the newer models go for about double what I paid for very good, although used older ones.

Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

i just crush a section of my gitzo 3540 when a flat rock give out under my footing, felt kind of ackward side way add time to lay down my tripod and landed on top of it, i am now looking for part to rebuilt it

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Not exactly portable.
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Aluminum-Quick-Tripod-BT160/dp/B004EIL4R2/ref=asc_df_B004EIL4R2/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312148122212&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4027261259236882294&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006810&hvtargid=pla-491040400733&psc=1

GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

All the tripods like that are about 36" to 40" when closed. I just purchased one to try with my gimbal head that is orange instaed of blue with the exact same dimensional characteristics, so I assume made by the same company, just relabeled. There is a fiberglass / wood version available for about $100.00. The ad for each claims about 10 lbs. That is plenty substantial and should be quite stable and is portable enough for me. I'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for all the inputs, but I'm still surprised that no one has tried it yet; guess it doesn't have the right brand on it.

GerryER Loc: Virginia USA

I think they use circular because it is easier to "telescope" and clamp. If someone was really serious about stiffness, etc, they would use equilateral triangular hollow tubing (aluminum or carbon fiber layups), but they would have to come up with a pretty clever clamp for each section when extended. I can't imagine what they would charge for such an item, but with extrusions, it shouldn't be too bad. JMO.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I think ultimately, cost may be a more influencing parameter than weight ........when it comes to leg cross sections. I also think that the design/material/mass of the platform/apex connection of the legs has more influence on stability than most people realize.
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copladocus

I have two astronomical telescopes each with its own tripod. Both tripods are big, heavy and solid as a rock. I need that to stabilize the telescopes so the images are not blurry from movement. If they are stable enough to hold a telescope or as has been discussed here, a surveyor's transit, then they will be more than stable enough for any photography task. If I ever need a really stable mount where size and weight are not a consideration, I will screw on my tripod head and get to work. I have two watch words on accessory purchases, "cheap and works." Go for it if you feel like it.