Tripods and Salt

raucousimages · Aug 1, 2008

I am looking for a tripod to use IN the Great Salt Lake. The south end of the lake is four times more saline then the ocean and with the other concentrated minerals is many times more corrosive. The north end is even saltier due to a rail road causeway that runs across the lake. In short the lake eats metal. I am looking for a tripod that will hold up to the lake and can be dismanteled in the truck and washed out. I am doing this with several bogan aluminum legs with good luck but does anyone know of a tripod that works well in a exceptionaly harsh enviroment. It will hold up to a 4X5 and lens, about 10 Lbs.

arigram · Aug 1, 2008

Maybe you can cover the tripods in plastic bags
and use these snow shoes:
http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/off/lang/en/pid/3263?livid=107|108&idx=110

juanito · Aug 1, 2008

Benbo tripods are very good for rough environemet.
Take a look at
http://www.patersonphotographic.co.uk/benbo-tripods.htm

I use to have one and it was a pleasure to use it.

Dave Wooten · Aug 1, 2008

In Florida Keys I put pvc pipe capped , like boots on my tripod...drill hole in top and string or use small bungie cord "suspenders" to keep the boots up.

Terence · Aug 1, 2008

I'd have to go with the plastic bag idea. I have never found a tripod leg lock that disassembles enough to always get the salt out. And when the salt crystallizes in the joint it acts as a wedge the next time you use it and can break the locking mechanism. Ask me how I know . . .

An old wood tripod might do the trick, but even here, the wood will eventually go to crap, and most of the joints had pins/rivets which can't be undone.

A non-telescoping, fiberglass surveyor's tripod is the only other way I can see getting around it.

Or just buy a few cheap tripods and write them off as consumables.

Laurent · Aug 1, 2008

Terence said:
I have never found a tripod leg lock that disassembles enough to always get the salt out.

If I remember correctly (this was 2 years ago), my Manfrotto's 055 locks were easy to fully disassemble, (the lock is using a bolt).

But I may be wrong, and this was on the older model anyway.

raucousimages · Aug 1, 2008

Manfroto/Bogen can be disassembled with a socket and an allen wrench but I am still seeing some corossion even after washing them out.

I like the PVC boot idea I will try that next. Plastic bags have been a problem in the past with leaks and just a mess if you raise or lower the height.

I tried an old wood surveyor's tripod but to get low enough the legs were so far out it was acting like a spring making the whole thing "bouncy"

I think The PVC boots will be the next attempt.

Thanks

Jim Noel · Aug 1, 2008

I use nothing but wooden tripods so I never have to worry about such things. In addition they are less prone to vibration ,don't get hot in the summer, or freeze my hands in the winter.

cuibel · Aug 1, 2008

Just take your tripod to the car wash when you are finished.
Oh, and hose off your shoes too.
Charles
http://greatSaltLakePhotos.com

raucousimages · Aug 1, 2008

Hosing them off does nothing for the salt inside. You must take them apart and wash everything out or they corrode together. I usualy put my shoes in a bucket of water to leach the salt out for a couple of hours then hose them off. Is that your site? Grear images. It looks like we tromp a lot of the same ground.

Dave Wooten · Aug 1, 2008

Raucous, the pvc pipes work really well, I leave them tied,...the 3 bungies , one for each boot are tied at the top, I pulled that up to a homemade hook, hanger wire etc. very easy to slip on and off. I had an 18 inch set and a 36 inch set used to shoot mangrove roots in salt water tide in and is salt marsh, tide out...an on going project, when I get back around to it. Good luck

DWThomas · Aug 1, 2008

My intimate knowledge of carbon fiber tripods is limited to a "Dynatran" I got from Amvona via ePrey, but its fittings below the head level appear to be all non-metallic materials. I would think that might be a significant advantage in saltwater use. I have no idea whether any of the big name CF units are similar. This one is rated for 17 pounds and I got it for $66 (without a head), so you'll hear no complaints from me.

DaveT

NormanV · Aug 1, 2008

Surely Terence has the right idea. Buy a cheap one and throw it away and buy a new when the salt causes a problem;

coriana6jp · Aug 3, 2008

I do a fair amount of shooting near the beach, and I have been using two layers of plastic bags, and even still I wash the heck out of the tripod when I am finished. Safer that way. Good Luck

Tripods and Salt

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