Gear Talk > Lens Talk

How to Dampen Vibrations

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Michael Erlewine:
I have a nice, but rather small, room in my house that I use for a studio. The light is perfect, with skylight, and large vertical windows, etc. What is not perfect is that the floor vibrates, ever so slightly, even if I am just standing there… trying to be still.

So, my question is. If, for example, I use a four-legged stool to set my subject on (a flower) and the camera is on a tripod. The tripod does not seem to vibrate, but he stool does.

What could I place under the four legs of the stool to dampen vibrations?

Akira:
Michael, the first things that comes to my mind are some concrete blocks.  The same method for dampening the vibrations of the record players and speaker cabinets.

Frank Fremerey:
I solved this once (in the case of a wooden floor, dancing, record player) by softly pumping the inner tupe of a bicycle and putting a marble slab on top, both of which I had in the closet by chance.

After that we could dance on the floor without the record jumping.

I guess though that the tripod might then be moving relatively to the Flower, so the construction might even be better if the tripod it on the mareble plate too.

Bjørn Rørslett:
Mass alone is insufficient in the dampening of vibrations. What one needs is decoupling.

For speakers, standing them on spikes is a well known and recommendable practice. You can use a small metal piece underneath each spike to avoid marking the floor boards.

Alternatively, two heavy and torsionally rigid pieces of metal or stone, in between which an intermediate layer of hard rubber or similar pliant material is inserted, can be quite efficient. The shutter unit of the Nikon Multiphot follows this design principle.

Michael Erlewine:
Thanks all. I had come up with the idea of the two (or so) cement blocks and I have ordered some rubber vibration-isolation pads, so I will combine the two. This phenomenon does not seem to affect the tripod, but only the stool I have the subject (flower) sitting on. Obviously I have to solve this, because it affects every stacked photo... a lot.

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