Stainless Steel / Solid Metal Tripod ?

[TheSharpshooter]

Okay this may sound odd to some but those of you who have invested in avenger light stands and the like probably appreciate the heavy duty feel of stainless steel tripods. I have seen many over the years mostly at studios belonging to photographers who are probably older than God but never have I seen a metal only tripod in a photography equipment store. What brands sell them? Which ones are the best and sturdiest?

 

[Derrel]

I like the Bogen 3051 tripod....aluminum top section, but STEEL lower legs for bottom-heavy goodness and stability. This tripod is "automatic"....it has finger-trigger locks, one for each leg, as well as "simultaneous release and lock" ability, so with ONE squeeze of the mutli-triggers, you can raise or lower the entire tripod, all three legs, then let go, and BOOM! LOCKED!!! Need to ajust any one of the three legs? THen just squeeze that individual leg's top-mouinted trigger and press down on the leg that needs lowering, OR lift up on the one that needs to be taller! With the heavy STEEL lower legs, this makes this work great....lifting up means the heavy steel lower-leg sections slide out easily!!!

The 3051 is THE FASTEST tripod ever for raising and lowering. It has, I believe, been re-numbered to go with the "new" Bogen/Manfrotto numbering system...

Weight? 12.65 pounds without head. This thing is built for stability and SPEED and EASE of adjustment...it works with everything from 35mm to medium format to 4x5. Mine is closing in on 30 years of age and is still in great condition.

Bogen 3051 Tripod Review Round-Up

 

[TheSharpshooter]

Thanks Derrel, to be exact the reason I was asking was because I'm not a big fan of black plastic and the like so I wanted an all silver tripod. It just looks nicer IMO and has that vintage 60s feel to it.

 

[TheSharpshooter]

Any more ideas?

 

[Derrel]

I am not 100 percent sure of what you want in a tripod...is it silver color??? Silver-colored aluminum was very popular in the 1980's and 1990's, but NOWADAYS, BLACK is "the color"....me and a TPF buddy went out and shot some fall color images today and there were LOADS of "serious shooters"...I saw about a 50/50 split between carbon fiber and aluminum...I counted one dozen shooters, plus the two of us. We ALL had black tripods...

Anyway....if you want "retro", there is also a very fine brand called Berlebach... they make 'pods out of ash wood. Allegedly, wood is a very fine material that damps vibration very effectively. These are QUALITY tripods; there might be some other makers of wooden tripods as well...I dunno...

Tripod Legs | B&H Photo Video

 

[TheSharpshooter]

So these old tripods I saw were probably aluminium instead of stainless steel? I thought they might be SS because of the heavy weight. But yeah I'd love an all metal tripod. Blame me growing up in the 90s.

Even my light stands (Okay they're actually C-Stands) are silver coloured.

 

[RichardH]

I have a Tiltall that is silver color that I used in a studio in the 80's. I still use it for the RB system. I did use it some at weddings and such when I used the RB for large group shots. I know they show up every now and then on the auction site.

I also have a wooden Ries that I use outdoors. Both are fairly light but sturdy.

I also have a tripod that I found at a clearance sale. It is stainless steel and cast fittings. VERY HEAVY. I have never used it because it takes both arms to carry it. It will extend with the leg extensions and center post up to about 10 ft. high. It looks like it was made for Very Large format cameras.

I know the feeling about silver and I wouldn't choose one over black though myself. I am not familiar with the plastic ones enough to answer about.

 

[Big Mike]

I was wondering what you meant with Stainless Steel Tripods...that sounds pretty extravagant. Maybe for holding up a Leica

Most of my tripods are silver/bare aluminum....and yes, I'd guess they were made/bough in the 80s or 90s.

I think it makes sense to go with black. In certain situations, a shiny tripod may cause reflections that you don't want showing up in the photo...black may be less indusive to causing reflections etc.