TimeOut

Marcus Hanke
[PuristSPro Moderator]
11295

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Table tripod prose ...

Apparently, I have a tripod problem. As I have a camera bag problem. And some other problems ...

No, really: somehow, tripods and camera bags keep meeting themselves in my closet and basement, only to stay. And whenever I manage to get rid of some of them, sooner or later, others will sneak into the house, inevitably.

For fifteen years, I had a nice little Manfrotto table tripod, which I really liked. ---- No, I have to start elsewhere: For nearly a decade, I am visiting the Basel watch fair with a camera equipment permitting me to take some - as I hope - useful pictures different from those overly perfect press pictures supplied by the brands. For this purpose, I of course use a tripod. A nice and sturdy Gitzo G106 it is, not the carbon, but a good travel tripod made from aluminum, sufficiently sturdy for a lightweight APS-C DSLR. Before, I had larger tripods, from Velbon, Manfrotto and Cullman, but these were too heavy for the purpose.

Believe it or not, over the years, my camera equipment gained weight. Especially the tripod. I swear it is now at least three kilograms heavier than it was when I bought it in 1998. I am sure that the ageing of myself has nothing to do with it, absolutely!

Last year, I simply broke down at the prospect of tugging along the bag and the tripod on my tortured shoulder for full six days at Basel, and I tried to achieve the same picture results with my tiny Manfrotto table tripod. Despite its absent size, the 709B is very sturdy and reliably wears even heavier cameras. So everything worked out very nice, the only disadvantage was that the Manfrotto does not offer the possibility to change the working height, which is also very low to the ground - or table.

Consequently, I decided to give something different a try, when my eyes fell on an absolutely gorgeous-looking tripod, made from wood.

Have you ever asked yourself why ground surveyors still prefer wooden tripods for their measuring equipment, their theodolites, in spite of all the high-tech materials available?



As a matter of fact, wood is far better in dampening vibrations than all metal and carbon alloys. One of the best timbers for this purpose is ash wood, it is hard, insensitive to humidity, comfortable to handle (especially at freezing temperatures, when metal tripods become really cold), and suppresses vibrations better than most other materials. Its main disadvantage: weight, of course.

In Germany, there is still a manufacturer producing wooden camera tripods, Berlebach. My "Report", which I purchased more than fifteen years ago, was the result of my interest in architecture and landscape photography. Knowing that any, even the sturdiest tripod loses its qualities in the very moment when the center column is extended, I chose a tripod that would rise the camera to eye level without extension of the central column. From hard wood. Okay, the tripod is a big bulky. And a bit heavy. In spite of a carrying bag, it can be deployed only if the car park is not more than a hundred meters away from the motif. But I love it, absolutely! Well, I loved it, as long as I had these huge and heavy full-metal analogue and manual-focus Contax SLRs with the equally huge and heavy Car Zeiss prime lenses. Even an earthquake would be unable to introduce any camera shake, I am sure!

Since I replaced the big SLRs with the much lighter and handier Leica Ms, I never used tripods any more. The M is not a tripod camera, never was (also applies to flash, cannot recall a single famous M picture shot with flashlight).

But let me return to my new Berlebach table tripod: Just by coincidence, I saw this neat dwarf Berlebach on its homepage, and immediately fell in love. Ordering it was a quick decision, and a few days later, I received it:



The Berlebach Mini-Tripod is available in various colours, including a dangerous-looking camouflage scheme. In my opinion, the natural wood colour fits best, and the years will add some patina.

All joints and connections are made from metal, and screwed together, there are no rivets or glued parts, which cannot be easily opened and repaired. The camera plate features a small bubble level, nice detail, but not really important. Massive tommy screws permit a very quick and reliable operation and adjustment of the legs.



Also important is the fact that the three legs can be braced independently in various angles, even down to table level.





The tripod's maximum working height (without ball  head), legs fully extended, is 36 cm, minimum height is 5 cm. It carries up to 15 kilograms!

A nice detail is a sheet, disclosing the names of the employees who checked and packed the tripod.



Rummaging in the infamous closet delivered a dusty Manfrotto ballhead, not the best, but certainly strong enough for my lightweight cameras used for the Basel reports, and a Velbon magnesium quick release adaptor.

Up to now, I spent my time admiring the tripod, because I had no time actually using it. From a handcraft aspect, it perfectly matches the Leica M and mechanical watches! Yet, after looking at it for a while, I think I need a new camera bag with a dedicated compartment for it ....

By the way, here is the "Mini" aside its slightly larger cousin, the Berlebach "Report":



Regards,
Marcus