Tripods In Water - Stability

[Dave Pluimer]

Just starting to work with ND filters and framing foreground elements. In water, my tripod (Manfrotto 190) is picking up vibes from gently lapping water. Any tips for getting a stable base while the feet are in the water?

[PeterAit]

The time-tested technique of hanging something heavy - such as your camera bag with its 18 lenses - from the tripod might work. Some tripods even have a hook at the lower end of the center pole for this purpose. Or, rig up some sort of mesh sling and use handy rocks.

[NancyP]

1. Save the mesh bag from your oranges, potatoes, etc to use as a rock holder - weighs very little and can attach to hook easily. Advantage - rocks are more dense than water. Cost: zip. 2. Or, if you don't need much weight, 1 to 4 pounds worth, and the tripod is well above the water surface, hang your water bottles off the hook. Obviously this won't work if your water bottles are partly submerged! Either way, you don't risk your camera bag getting wet.

[Paul2660]

Actually in my experience, nothing works as well as a big leg.  I shoot in water about 70% of the time and fully understand the issues you are having.  I use a RRS 3 leg, 3 sections per leg tripod in water, and I now use the rubber feet 100% of the time.  They don't grip as well as spikes, but do give you some shock protection.  The RRS with center column have a hook (which most tripods do now) that you can attach a heavy bag (just like Nancy P suggested), I also carry the grapefruit bag and fill it up with rocks.  Hang that from the center column or if you don't have the center column, under the base should have a hook.  This will give you a lot more stability.

I just switched to a Gitzo Series 2 4 sections per leg, tripod.  Not as heavy duty as the RRS, but much lighter and I can carry it on longer trips.  The RRS with BH-55 was just getting a bit heavy for me.  The Gitzo is the 1542 model. 

If I am closer than 1 mile, I still use the RRS as it's a great platform.  But if there are a lot of hills involved, I now go with the light tripod. 

Paul

[Paulo Bizarro]

Very good suggestions already, and I use some of them regularly. It also depends on the water depth, and on the type of bottom surface. For example, if in sandy terrain underwater, one thing that works well is to actually push the legs of the tripod into the sand, burying them some.

[duane_bolland]

Great question.  Great answers! 

[JayWPage]

For salt water i.e. tidal pools, etc I use a heavy, old beat-up tripod that I don't care about it getting ruined from the corrosion. For fresh water I am OK with using my Gitzo, but I never put into more than a few inches of water. You may have to unscrew the legs to get them to dry out. Getting sand in the threads is a big concern.

I have found that it's more useful to have a cord along to tie a day pack, mesh bag of rocks, etc to the tripod. If the weight is quite heavy and it's hooked to the center column, it may start pulling the center column down unless the retaining ring is cinched down with a death grip. So I use a loop that goes over the center column and rests on the apex with a couple of ties going down to the weight. This way you can still use the center column.

[wolfnowl]

I have found that it's more useful to have a cord along to tie a day pack, mesh bag of rocks, etc to the tripod. If the weight is quite heavy and it's hooked to the center column, it may start pulling the center column down unless the retaining ring is cinched down with a death grip. So I use a loop that goes over the center column and rests on the apex with a couple of ties going down to the weight. This way you can still use the center column.

Just remember that if you raise the center column on a tripod you no longer have a tripod, you have a monopod. And if you're going to do that, don't bother with the rocks, etc. 

Mike.

[ripgriffith]

Just remember that if you raise the center column on a tripod you no longer have a tripod, you have a monopod. And if you're going to do that, don't bother with the rocks, etc. 

Mike.

+1 (or  more)

[Fine_Art]

Tie a bungee cord around the legs mid length. You want it pulling the legs together while your heavy bag helps push them apart. The water pushing intermittently on the legs is different from the regular tripod problem. The legs have to resist buckling far more than normal. Making the legs rigid at mid span greatly increases buckling resistance.

[Some Guy]

I had a cheap Velbon I got somewhere.  One of the aluminum legs always slipped in cold water.  It had those flip-lock levers and I don't know if the water itself got into the flipper mechanism or the aluminum shrank and caused it too loosen.  Least I could catch it loosening while working on the camera and noticed the thing sagging to one side.  Couldn't hang much weight on it either.

I prefer the twist-lock grips over the flip-locks.  Not much you can do to tighten the flippers once they begin to slip.  Mine had some nylon wedge under the flip-lever and it may have gotten compressed over time causing it to loosen.  Probably best to store the flippers loosened too.

SG

[Misirlou]

I had a cheap Velbon I got somewhere.  One of the aluminum legs always slipped in cold water.  It had those flip-lock levers and I don't know if the water itself got into the flipper mechanism or the aluminum shrank and caused it too loosen.

Aluminum has a very high expansion ratio with heat increases. That is the likely explanation; the water just cooled it very quickly and caused the looseness. You try carbon fiber, which has the additional advantage of not being attacked by salt water. Not cheap though.

Wood would also work, but is of course not happy in salt water, unless thoroughly sealed.

[jjj]

For salt water i.e. tidal pools, etc I use a heavy, old beat-up tripod that I don't care about it getting ruined from the corrosion. For fresh water I am OK with using my Gitzo, but I never put into more than a few inches of water. You may have to unscrew the legs to get them to dry out. Getting sand in the threads is a big concern.

Alternatively use a Benbo tripod that is designed with being used in the soggy real world. 
Benbo tripods are a bit quirky but can be more versatile than a traditional tripod due to their unusual design. Also because the top part of tripod slides inside the lower part placing it in water is not the issue it is with other tripods. Obviously as long as the water is not higher than the bottom leg, which is generous 58cm on mine, which isn't even the biggest.
Not sure which one this is as I've not looked at them since I bought mine 20+ years ago. They last a long time. 

[ripgriffith]

Just marginally off-topic:   Didn't Gitzo (IIRC) once make a tripod with the largest section at the bottom, well sealed against water?