Tripod for flash fell on the ground, how to solve ?

I bought a cheap Chinese tripod for outdoor modelshoots, today it fell on the ground due to some wind as it's way too light.
I couldn't put my backpack on it or something.

How do you solve this, I guess you cannot buy a very heavy tripod or put sandbags on it, as this seems a bit unhandy I move it now and then

If you ate on soft ground.

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=18021855

CanonYouCan wrote in post #18088973
I couldn't put my backpack on it or something.

Why not?

If something is too heavy for me, I'd head to the gym and get stronger.

Bring empty sand bags and fill them with something on site. Empty the sand bags before you leave. Bring tent stakes and some rope. A friend to come along helps too.

I even used duct tape to stabilize a 7" Parabolic. Taped to the ground and a tree. Then I got some tent stakes...

Get creative. For every issue there are many solutions. Spending a lot of money is not the only way out.

Use a quality c stand they're more stable than a tripod from China.

I had the same issue, and most of my shots are on off road locations with long walks, heavy stuff isn't an option, certainly not C stands.

So I bought a pack of these, any type will do;

https://www.amazon.co.​uk …-19&keywords=bungee+cor​ds

Most tripods have a hook for weighing it down or holding it down, I make sure any I buy do for this exact reason. So, I do this;

Dump your heavy bag under the tripod, bungee cord the tripod to the bag, sorted.

No heavy bag? Soft ground? Bring a plastic tent peg, weighs nothing and costs nothing, shove it in the ground, bungee to it, sorted.

Something heavy already there or a feature you can attach a bungee to? Sorted.

Pebbly beach? Bring a plastic bag, fill it with stones, bungee to it, sorted.

Cord too short, put two together, sorted.

Cord too long, double it over, sorted.

Object too big to clip to? Wrap some bungees around it, then attach a bungee from the tripod to the bungee loop, sorted.

Since I've put some bungees, a plastic bag and some plastic tent pegs in my tripod bag, which effectively cost and weigh nothing, I've not come across any situation since where I couldn't secure my tripod.

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #18094181
I had the same issue, and most of my shots are on off road locations with long walks, heavy stuff isn't an option, certainly not C stands.

So I bought a pack of these, any type will do;

https://www.amazon.co.​uk …-19&keywords=bungee+cor​ds

Most tripods have a hook for weighing it down or holding it down, I make sure any I buy do for this exact reason. So, I do this;

Dump your heavy bag under the tripod, bungee cord the tripod to the bag, sorted.

No heavy bag? Soft ground? Bring a plastic tent peg, weighs nothing and costs nothing, shove it in the ground, bungee to it, sorted.

Something heavy already there or a feature you can attach a bungee to? Sorted.

Pebbly beach? Bring a plastic bag, fill it with stones, bungee to it, sorted.

Cord too short, put two together, sorted.

Cord too long, double it over, sorted.

Object too big to clip to? Wrap some bungees around it, then attach a bungee from the tripod to the bungee loop, sorted.

Since I've put some bungees, a plastic bag and some plastic tent pegs in my tripod bag, which effectively cost and weigh nothing, I've not come across any situation since where I couldn't secure my tripod.

Great ideas. Now my question to you - how do you carry both a backpack and tripod bag for long hikes? I have never come up with a good solution to this conundrum!

I'm quite a large chap, so I have a camera backpack with some external loops and tie it to that, or, I have a tripod sling I can lob over my shoulder, rare I use it though. I've been thinking about an off road trolley though, the sort they use for festivals, my 3 wheel off road buggy is soooooo much better off road than the normal pram, just effortless, that I might butcher that when he's a bit older, bought it for peanuts second hand off e bay

http://www.ukcampsite.​co.uk/articles/view.as​p?id=762

http://www.outnabout.c​om/products/nipper-sport.asp

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #18094251
I'm quite a large chap, so I have a camera backpack with some external loops and tie it to that, or, I have a tripod sling I can lob over my shoulder, rare I use it though. I've been thinking about an off road trolley though, the sort they use for festivals, my 3 wheel off road buggy is soooooo much better off road than the normal pram, just effortless, that I might butcher that when he's a bit older, bought it for peanuts second hand off e bay

http://www.ukcampsite.​co.uk/articles/view.as​p?id=762

http://www.outnabout.c​om/products/nipper-sport.asp

Thanks, welshwizard. I have yet to solve the issue of taking my big tripod up to waterfalls. I just take a table-top up the big hills though - no other choice for me!

No, you're doing serious walking up there, I'm just ambling about pretty much on the level, chances are on tracks made by so many walkers, no heather moors for me. But then, you've got soooo much to work with when you get there! I see Applecross was voted one of the best beaches in the UK this week, but then I'm from Pembrokeshire, so I have very high standards!!

CanonYouCan wrote in post #18088973
I bought a cheap Chinese tripod for outdoor modelshoots, today it fell on the ground due to some wind as it's way too light.
I couldn't put my backpack on it or something.

How do you solve this, I guess you cannot buy a very heavy tripod or put sandbags on it, as this seems a bit unhandy I move it now and then

Heya,

Depends on the terrain. On concrete/asphault/wood​/etc, ie, hard surface where you cannot drive anything into the ground, all you can do is weight it down. Personally that is annoying to me, because carrying more weight is just that... more weight, and portability and extra weight kind of oppose each other in that way. But you can get attachable weights that are heavy enough to keep the base stable, or you can use sandbags. I often just put water bottles into "sand bags" as it serves the purpose, and as a dual purpose gives you water if you need it. Not too heavy, and you can drink the water after you finish up.

If you're on ground like soil, you can just stake into the ground. I do this 99% of the time. Even with speedlites, even with my strobes, etc. Wind will grab a modifier and take down any heavy stand. So I use 9 inch nylon stakes and foot-drive them into the ground (soil). I then use 24" bungees to strap it down, I use two and cross over. Holds my 60" umbrella and 6lb light no problem even in the wind.

Examples using bungees:

Speedlite & 43" umbrella at crazy angle and length, needed a super solid base, the bungees did this:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uc9a​FP

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uc8X​Wr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AF9f​dx

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/ADWs​nE

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/AKa1​5q

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/J18b​Hr

Ground stake is the professional solution outside, even with heavy stands. I have to believe there's a solution with vehicles if you can drive them onto the set as a mount point for reflectors, or a nice big boom.

CanonYouCan wrote in post #18088973
I bought a cheap Chinese tripod for outdoor modelshoots, today it fell on the ground due to some wind as it's way too light.
I couldn't put my backpack on it or something.

How do you solve this, I guess you cannot buy a very heavy tripod or put sandbags on it, as this seems a bit unhandy I move it now and then

The rated capacity of a stand has to be sufficient for the load you put at the top of that stand - and - the stand has to be strong enough to cope with your estimate of the side-force that wind on your modifier choice is likely to generate.
Info about loading the base of a stand (including how to break a stand) is here:
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=18075433

If using a camera bag, check its weight and limit its potential swing.

re Tie-downs and bungies: I agree they can be extremely effective but you still need to estimate the maximum safe down-force, applied at the apex of the stand's tripod base, expressed as a weight equivalent, for the stand in question. It's easy to check what weight achieves any given degree of bungey stretch.

OceanRipple* wrote in post #18094987
re Tie-downs and bungies: I agree they can be extremely effective but you still need to estimate the maximum safe down-force, applied at the apex of the stand's tripod base, expressed as a weight equivalent, for the stand in question. It's easy to check what weight achieves any given degree of bungey stretch.

Most folks do not need to worry much when a simple flash is used. If wind is 15mph, and the flash is presenting about 10 sq.in. cross section to the wind, the Force on the flash is 0.32 lbs. Then we need to consider that the tall stand provides a lever arm advantage over that Force, to defeat the small radius of the stand's footprint.
So 0.32 lbs. at the top of 6' tall stand is about 1.9 lbs.ft. of torque. Assuming the radius of the stand footprint is 1.5', we need 1.3 lbs. of force on a single leg to offset. But if the weight is simply centered on the stand, the offsetting weight requirement is a whole lot higher, as the mechanical advantage of the weight at the leg end is lost...an M.E. or phyisict is needed to supplement my very rusty memory here!

But when we put an 30" umbrella or softbox on the flash, the wind forces multiply due to greater surface area, and 2.8 lbs. of lateral force, on top of a 6' lever arm, means that a weight at the end of a single leg increases to offset torque of nearly 17 fl.lbs., which needs 11.2lbs on the end of the leg, and a whole lot more if simply centered.

I generally used metal dishes outdoors for windy reasons - Elinchroms beauty dishes in several sizes, high performance reflectors, softlight reflectors. Never had an issues in the wind. Even windy days on the beach. Still use sandbags, and I am satisfied with these modifiers outdoors. As desired, I'll use grids on them too. They just don't fold flat very well...