New Tripod from Bogen/Manfrotto

jim kirk jr. · Jan 5, 2005

I'm not sure how "new" this is to the APUG community but aside from the
Magfiber and Neotec tripods recently introduced a new tripod is coming out
this year.One made of volcanic Basalt rock.supposed to be 20% lighter than aluminum,stronger due to what it's made of and totally waterproof(including
the hardware).Oh,it's also bio-degradable,so after a few generations or a few centuries it wont be hanging around wasting away in a landfill.It sounds interesting enough and is news to me.

Jim

Tom Stanworth · Jan 5, 2005

I saw these advertised and could hardly believe it. They seem little more expensive than metal and far cheaper than CF. I seem to remember 25% being the approx weight saving off CF over metal, so for 5% difference, are there still reasons to go for CF (apart from them being good at conducting lightning)?

Very interesting...
Tom

David A. Goldfarb · Jan 5, 2005

At first I thought this was a joke along the lines of Ansel Adams' ideal tripod (a cubic yard of concrete with a 1/4"-20 screw on top), but indeed--

http://www.bogenimaging.us/news/detail.php3?newsid=115&begincount=0

Good thing it's fireproof. It's a real drag when your tripod catches fire, and then it can catch your darkcloth. That must be the reason I don't have a Ries.

eric · Jan 5, 2005

WhenI lived in Brooklyn, there used to be studs on the road on the Brooklyn Bridge. Old technology. They repaved it with volcanic concrete. Very LIGHT stuff.

Tom Hoskinson · Jan 5, 2005

I gotta have one!

A ROCK SOLID TRIPOD AT LAST

"The volcanic-based basalt materials used to develop them from the ground up provide photographers advanced performance and durability at affordable prices."

(Should be "...advanced performance and durability at rock bottom prices.")

"...from the ground up..."
An excellent pun!

Tom Stanworth · Jan 5, 2005

Anyway...I have ordered a nutwood Berleback now, whoopeee an operational 8x10 very soon . Now off to ebay with that which must go to make way.....

Tom

Sean · Jan 5, 2005

Stay tuned for the APUG DNG3000 Tripod, a new era in tripod manufacturing to be released in late 2005. The DNG3000 is constructed completely from New Zealand Beetle Dung, and is 50% lighter than carbon fibre.

Shmoo · Jan 5, 2005

I heard that Merck & Pfizer were making a new tripod called the Cox-2 Inhibitor...made entirely of recycled Vioxx and Celebrex tablets. It gets a little unstable in rain or high humidity, and when it falls over you might have a heart attack, but you'll feel no pain...

jim kirk jr. · Jan 5, 2005

This is my guess on cost ratings(highest to lowest)

-Vioxx and Celebrex-
-Carbon Fiber-
-Mag Fiber-
-Volcanic Basalt-
-Aluminum-
-Beetle Dung-

Now if price,weight,recylclability and strength are all considered which will be the best value?

The basalt still sounds pretty wicked....

Ole · Jan 6, 2005

First time I've seen basalt described as a "lightweight rock". That's somewhat contrary to everything I've learned through far too many years of geology studies...

rogueish · Jan 6, 2005

Ole said:
First time I've seen basalt described as a "lightweight rock". That's somewhat contrary to everything I've learned through far too many years of geology studies...

It's only light when someone else gets to lift it, just like furniture.

jim kirk jr. · Jan 6, 2005

New news-They are now being sold by B&H (under Gitzo,not Manfrotto-although Bogen is the distributor company).B&H has no images,specs,or details listed with them.

only the prices(the lowest being around $270.00 U.S.-for one that can hold about 4.5 lbs) and that they are special order.
They are refferred to as "sport Basalt tripods","reporter",etc.

Flotsam · Jan 6, 2005

jim kirk jr. said:
Magfiber and Neotec tripods recently introduced a new tripod is coming out
this year.One made of volcanic Basalt rock.supposed to be 20% lighter than aluminum,stronger due to what it's made of and totally waterproof(including
the hardware).
Jim

Even more exciting news!
It turns out that this tripod has been designed specifically in conjunction with the long awaited re-release of the Hasselrock 1000000BC (better known as that Flintstone camera with the bird inside that chisels the picture into a little stone tablet with his beak).

Tom Hoskinson · Jan 6, 2005

Basalt consists of about 48-52% silica (SiO2). Other major elements in varying proportion include titanium (TiO2), aluminum (A2O3), iron (FeO or Fe2O3), manganese (MnO), magnesium (MgO), calcium (CaO), sodium (Na2O), potassium (K2O, and phosphorous (P2O5).

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/VolRocks.html#oxide

Gitzo pulverises basalt, melts it and adds some pixie dust, then spins it into fibers. The result is a glass/metal composite fiber that is woven and laminated with epoxy into a tube structure. Then Gitzo PR takes over...

Ole · Jan 6, 2005

Still, basalt is considerably heavier than e.g. granite...

johnnywalker · Jan 6, 2005

Probably includes a lot of air, most of it hot.

jim kirk jr. · Jan 6, 2005

Tom Hoskinson said:
Basalt consists of about 48-52% silica (SiO2). Other major elements in varying proportion include titanium (TiO2), aluminum (A2O3), iron (FeO or Fe2O3), manganese (MnO), magnesium (MgO), calcium (CaO), sodium (Na2O), potassium (K2O, and phosphorous (P2O5).

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/VolRocks.html#oxide

Gitzo pulverises basalt, melts it and adds some pixie dust, then spins it into fibers. The result is a glass/metal composite fiber that is woven and laminated with epoxy into a tube structure. Then Gitzo PR takes over...

This being stated(the makeup of basalt)I have a question.
First I have two tripods(one aluminum,one carbon fiber).From what I understand(I may be wrong)wood tripods allow less vibrations to reach the tripod head than the above.How would in comparison a tripod with all those
elements(of basalt) compare in this regard-worse,better or about the same?
The ones listed at B&H are pricey for the load capacity-would it be any real
improvement from a scientific viewpoint.

Ole · Jan 6, 2005

jim kirk jr. said:
This being stated(the makeup of basalt)I have a question.
First I have two tripods(one aluminum,one carbon fiber).From what I understand(I may be wrong)wood tripods allow less vibrations to reach the tripod head than the above.How would in comparison a tripod with all those
elements(of basalt) compare in this regard-worse,better or about the same?
The ones listed at B&H are pricey for the load capacity-would it be any real
improvement from a scientific viewpoint.

In this case I would consider a fully organic carbor-fiber compound, which is what my tripod is made of: Wood.

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