Tripod On Sand/Beach

[Dan AU]

Hi There,

When using your tripod on sand or at the beach do you just put the tripod directly on the sand or something underneath it.

I figure if you put it in the sand you will end up getting grit on the arms and then up into where it retracts and eventually ruin the tripod perhaps corrosion as well?

Any tips for shooting in that type of environment?

[hoffy]

Regardless of what you do, you will end up getting sand on it. I personally dont bother. When I am done, I just wipe the sand off the feet. Just dont bury the tripod

[mrsamo]

I've heard that old tennis balls work really well on beaches.

[Philr]

Tennis balls are the go! I normally just give the feet a quick rinse under the tap. Then dry with a towel. I am not sure if this is good for it or not?? But doesn't seem to do any harm.

[JulesJ]

Tennis balls are the go! I normally just give the feet a quick rinse under the tap. Then dry with a towel. I am not sure if this is good for it or not?? But doesn't seem to do any harm.

I took photos on the beach last night! A couple with the water touching the feet. The tripod is carbon fiber but the feet are not. I have done this many times and I hose off the feet and lower legs when I get home. I haven't had any problems.

Jules

[Jules]

I've used mine on the beach and every time but once had no trouble ensuring that only the rubber feet had contact with the sand.

Then there was the one time that I accidentally kicked sand onto the leg 2cm above the rubber foot - just one time. I now have an audible and very gritty-sounding reminder to be more careful.

[ricktas]

Plastic bags and rubber bands work as well.

I have 2 tripods. my good one and an older manfrotto one that does my 'wet' work, beaches, middle of creeks and streams etc. Its full of sand, but I find if I chuck it in the bath with a heap of water, it cleans up reasonably we..

[Tannin]

What an extraordinary question, Dan! It's for taking pictures with, not for polishing and putting in a display case. It's a tool, just use it in the normal way. If it's not good enough to stand up to normal use, buy a decent one.

I can't think of a time when I have ever used any tripod on any surface other than an outdoor one: sand, mud, clay, grass, salt water, fresh water, rock, gibbers, makes no difference. (Maybe I've done something indoors with a tripod once or twice, if so I can't remember it.) Tripods are normally made of aluminium or carbon fiber: neither material corrodes to speak of.

My tripods do a lot of work, always outdoors, always with heavy lenses. Never had the slightest trouble with any of them, apart from my first 055NAT1 which I broke the top casting on by not properly considering the great leverage an extended leg can have. Not its fault.

(When you are placing a tripod on very thick vegetation (tangled shrubbery or heath), you have to push it down hard to contact firm footing and get a decent shot. The same applies to a smaller extent in very soft mud or even fine sand. Be sure to push each leg individually along its axis, rather than simply pressing the whole thing down - that puts a massive strain on the casting, which is obvious if you think about it for a moment - which I did, 0.024 seconds after I broke the darn thing. Dumb! That was 2004. Never had a problem since.)

Short answer: just use it. It will be fine.

[Dan AU]

Thanks All, appreciate the responses.

I know it's meant to be used, it's just new and I don't want to ruin it on the first use.

Like everything once it gets it first scratch and bit of use I will get over it hehe.

But I still might go with some tennis balls or plastic bags the first few times

[arthurking83]

Yeah, I'm with Tony!!.. eventually you'll be using it underwater, as it's old news and not worth a cracker(to anyone but you the owner)!!

I've never shown my tripods any 'due respect' as they've never shown me any(with half decent stability!! )

Mine have been 'underwater'(beach and rivers) up to a certain level, and well over my knee height I remember once or twice(what a dunce!.. one time didn't take into account that incoming wave when I set myself up at a beach in Warrnambool.

That's a few years back now, and it still works as badly as it did when new

[purephotos]

The tripod should be fine. Just give it a REALLY good blast with a hose when you get back. A little thing I don't know if anyone's game to try it... A model association I know of has a principle of sinking each others boats with bb cannons (all legal) and the "skippers" drill holes in their electronics. This means all though crud gets in easily, it's a hell of a lot easier to get out again. believe you me, grit will ALWAYS fond a way in, but never out again uness it's meant to be taken apart there, I'd say lose the feet altogether and whack a couple of snow shoe type feet on it so you can give the whole thing a proper wash. As long as it is washed after every use, it won't corrode.

-R

[NickMonk]

There is another point to this - when using a tripod on wet sand or with water coming around or near the feet the tripod can move (sink) which on longer exposures will ruin the shot. Attaching a large, flat base to each leg can avoid this problem due to the larger surface area. I often find largish rocks to sit under my tripod legs when at the beach to solve this issue.

As for sand on the tripod - well, mine gets sand and salt water on it virtually everytime I go out. No probs for me but it is a carbon fibre tripod.

[Seesee]

Ah, now here's a subject I've brought up before on AP and a handy little accessory I now use.

Firstly, any water or sand is easy to wash off afterwards anyway so dont be concerned, I immersed my Velbon Tripod many times in sea water etc, and a quick rinse off fixes it.....but

One problem I have found is using my tripod on soft surfaces like mud or sand is finding the legs sinking and never being quite stable enough. I have often thought camera accessory manufacturers could do well to make a cheap basic snap on/push on wide plate foot for a tripod to minimise sinking as the weight is spread out more evenly, rather than a small pressure point as tripods have now. I was wandering through one of the discount stores the other day and came across these for $1.00 for a bag of gazebo fittings. They fit onto most tripod feet nicely and work a treat, I reckon something similar could be found in places like Clark Rubber or elsewhere

[Dan AU]

Theres a neat idea!

I ended up taking my tripod on the sand and just washing it off anyway. But did find in some places with long exposure it would sink a little and those would have come in handy, more surface area = less sinkage!

[Seesee]

Theres a neat idea!

I ended up taking my tripod on the sand and just washing it off anyway. But did find in some places with long exposure it would sink a little and those would have come in handy, more surface area = less sinkage!

It really is a good idea, and can be packed into a backpack easy peasy.......really reckon some company ought to make something along these lines

[purephotos]

All I need is a factory and the moulds and I'll make them!!

-R

[reaction]

wouldn't it be quite hard stabilising on sand? I think u can get special feet for some models.

[parkesy]

for beaches i always use my monopod dig it in until its studry and its perfect

[Ayjay]

I'm a bit pedantic with my tripod too. Yes, it's also new, and I'll get over it one day, but in the meantime, I've used different types of plastic bags and rubber bands. The best I've found are the long slightly skinny ones from an aquarium shop - they're much thicker than those from the supermarket and will give much better protection.