Which tripod is best?
Should you buy a stronger and lighter carbon fibre tripod over a cheaper aluminium one? Jason Parnell-brookes weighs up all the options…
The pros and cons of carbon fibre versus aluminium
As you can see in the image to the right, a tripod has been used to create a long exposure, blurring the clouds as they move past the building to create an ethereal look. Tripods are also commonly used to steady the camera, reducing involuntary camera shake caused by shooting handheld at slow shutter speeds, or simply to give the photographer the ability to tweak composition more accurately than a handheld shot would allow.
Tripods were traditionally made from aluminium, but more recently carbon fibre models have become popular, being touted as stronger and lighter than their metallic counterparts. And while carbon fibre is the more expensive material, prices have come down over recent years.
When we refer to tripod ‘strength’ we’re essentially talking about
stiffness – resistance to compression when a load is placed on top.
Without getting overly technical, stiffness is measured in gigapascals (GPA), and aluminium scores 69 compared to around 181 for carbon fibre. So for the same diameter tripod leg, carbon fibre is much stronger, and because the material is less dense, it’s far lighter too. (That’s not quite the full story; because carbon fibre is manufactured in a highly technical process, and mixed with a resin to give it its shape, there are different grades of quality, but generally speaking it’s stronger and lighter.)
And it’s only the leg tubes that are made of carbon fibre; joins between leg sections and the head assembly still require metal components, meaning a typical weight saving of around 20-30% over an aluminium model. Let’s take a closer look…