Tried to capture the Milky Way with a tripod made of wet noodles

Last Wednesday I drove out to a dark spot near Lake Chelan to finally get a decent Milky Way shot. Set up my gear, framed the shot, everything looked good. Then a breeze that I swear was barely moving the grass somehow turned my 3 minute exposure into a star trail blur fest. Turns out the cheap tripod I've been using for years has a leg lock that's basically decorative at this point. I ended up cradling the camera with my jacket wrapped around the tripod for the rest of the night. My neighbor saw the final images and asked if I was trying to photograph a comet. Has anyone found a decent tripod under $150 that won't fold like a lawn chair in a light wind?

3 comments

3 Comments

xenam8419d ago

dude I was literally just watching a YouTube video about this last night, some guy tested a bunch of budget tripods with a literal leaf blower to see which held up. the Neewer one around $80 actually did pretty good in the wind test.

sullivan.quinn19d ago

Wait, wasn't that the video where he used a gas leaf blower on full blast? I remember the Neewer one held steady but the legs started wobbling after like 30 seconds. The aluminum legs started singing from the vibration. The real winner in that test was the Magnus C-193, not the Neewer. It stayed rock solid the whole time.

sagejackson19d ago

Wait, hold on. You wrapped your jacket around the tripod and cradled the camera for three minutes? That's dedication, man. I would've just thrown the camera into the dirt and called it a night. And your neighbor asking if you were shooting a comet is savage, but also kind of a compliment. Comets are cool.