Mounting a Tripod on a Table?

While doing focus stacking of tiny (1/8") gnats, I ran into an issue with camera movement.

My camera is on a decent tripod (Vanguard Alta Pro w/Vanguard ballhead). The subject is in a light tent on a 2' x 4' sheet of plywood on a sturdy folding card table.

The problem is not with the tripod or table, it's with the floor, which flexes when I walk near the camera. Live view on my Android tablet clearly shows substantial movement.

It was recommended that I put the tripod on the table. Considerations of working space and distance to subject aside, having the legs completely collapsed results in serious stability issues. In fact, the tripod fell over while I was looking for an optimum position on the table, fortunately without damaging the lens.

I've done considerable searching, but have only found a couple of articles or YouTube videos on how to mount a tripod on a table so that it doesn't tip over from being out of balance. One involved tying the rear leg to an anchor point, the other using a twisted piece of coat hanger to anchor the back leg to the end of a table.

Is anyone aware of any more sophisticated methods of securing a tripod to a hard, flat surface, like a table?

I have some ideas, but wanted to see what other people had done.

Have you thought about maybe getting a shorter tripod? Personally I have my main tripod and i have this one more for hiking and "on-the-go" tripod, and thought maybe if might work well for you:
https://www.amazon.com​/gp/product/B003II3FD0​/

It does hold well with my 6D body with 16-35m f2.8 L (which is relatively heavy for that focal length so I imagine it would hold most lenses)

good luck!

hobinsohn wrote in post #18307238
Have you thought about maybe getting a shorter tripod? Personally I have my main tripod and i have this one more for hiking and "on-the-go" tripod, and thought maybe if might work well for you:
https://www.amazon.com​/gp/product/B003II3FD0​/

It does hold well with my 6D body with 16-35m f2.8 L (which is relatively heavy for that focal length so I imagine it would hold most lenses)

good luck!

I hear good things about the GorillaPods. However, I've got a 100mm Tokina macro on a full set of extension tubes, and sometimes reverse a 50mm Minolta MD manual onto the 100mm, so I have my doubts about its stability under those circumstances.

If I went with another tripod, it'd have to be a rigid one, and I'd still have the same stability issues.

If you can track down a used Gitzo GT3320BS then that would be extremely stable and shouldn't be silly money. When I was at the Birmingham Photography Show earlier this week I noticed Benro are doing some interesting shorts "Systematic" type tripods - well worth a look. They are basically copies of the Gitzo but available new.

Temma, with just a few tools you could MAKE an ultra-stable tabletop camera support.

Start with a disk made of 3/4" plywood. In the center of the disk, mount a 3/8-16 bolt through a hole in the disk in a threads-up orientation and with just enough thread showing above the plywood disk to mount a good solid tripod head of your choice. On the bottom of the disk, located out near the edge of the disk, mount at least three heavy-duty rubber or silicone stick-on "feet".

The diameter of the disk should be at least large enough so that the center of gravity of your camera-lens combination would be well within the outer edge of the disk with the camera (or lens) mounted on the tripod head that you fastened to the disk.

This rig would be located on the table rather than on the floor so there would be less motion between the camera/lens and the subject than with the floor-mounted tripod you described. The cost of this rig would also be very low (except possibly for the tripod head which you may already have).

SkipD wrote in post #18309070
Temma, with just a few tools you could MAKE an ultra-stable tabletop camera support.

I plan to do some experimentation this weekend, both with stabilizing the tripod and with alternate mounting methods.

SkipD wrote in post #18309070
Temma, with just a few tools you could MAKE an ultra-stable tabletop camera support.

Start with a disk made of 3/4" plywood. In the center of the disk, mount a 3/8-16 bolt through a hole in the disk in a threads-up orientation and with just enough thread showing above the plywood disk to mount a good solid tripod head of your choice. On the bottom of the disk, located out near the edge of the disk, mount at least three heavy-duty rubber or silicone stick-on "feet".

Here's what I ended up doing:

I went to Home Depot (and or Lowes) and purchased a large oval furniture foot, which was already equipped with a bolt for mounting on a table leg.

I removed the bolt and replaced it with an externally threaded 3/8" (internal) furniture nut used to allow furniture to be disassembled at will. I got a 3/8" bolt and cut it to fit so that it could be screwed into the brass nut and my old ProMaster ballhead in turn screwed onto it.

I then screwed a very heavy straight brace onto the bottom of the foot.

Finally, I used a c-clamp to fasten the end of the straight brace onto the end of the thick plywood sheet.

Things still move, but they move TOGETHER, eliminating the motion blur. I've actually gotten a couple of decent stacks out of it.

Assuming that I get the next IT job I'm waiting to hear about, I will build myself a purpose made macrophotography table and a more finished camera mount.

Temma wrote in post #18320998
Here's what I ended up doing:

I went to Home Depot (and or Lowes) and purchased a large oval furniture foot, which was already equipped with a bolt for mounting on a table leg.

I removed the bolt and replaced it with an externally threaded 3/8" (internal) furniture nut used to allow furniture to be disassembled at will. I got a 3/8" bolt and cut it to fit so that it could be screwed into the brass nut and my old ProMaster ballhead in turn screwed onto it.

I then screwed a very heavy straight brace onto the bottom of the foot.

Finally, I used a c-clamp to fasten the end of the straight brace onto the end of the thick plywood sheet.

Things still move, but they move TOGETHER, eliminating the motion blur. I've actually gotten a couple of decent stacks out of it.

Assuming that I get the next IT job I'm waiting to hear about, I will build myself a purpose made macrophotography table and a more finished camera mount.

Show us the "furniture foot" if you would, please.

SkipD wrote in post #18321128
Show us the "furniture foot" if you would, please.

Bad cellphone pictures: