Looking at tripods to mount slider on. Is carbon fibre a no go area?

Sorry to say this but, it really depends.

Different tripods have different maximum weight payloads they can handle whether they are made of aluminum or carbon fiber.

And as far as steadiness goes, you can always sandbag a tripod.
 
i'm with david. IT DEPENDS...

on camera weight, surface you're on, even the type of move youre doing.

GENERALLY, as long as the tripod can confidently support the weight of the rig, and your move doesnt introduce any shear. the HEAD is going to be more important than the tripod itself.

im no expert on the mechanics of carbon fiber. but what ive always heard was that carbon fiber is very strong in its ability to cary weight, but much less strong laterally.
 
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I've got a 20+ year old set of manfrotto tubular aluminum sticks that was my primary stills tripod forever (heck, still is). Not really heavy, has an adjustable center column (great for stills and really nice for leveling a slider). My slider's about four feet so it often gets my stills legs on one end. Unless you're backpacking, I'd hunt around for a used pro stills tripod - you should be able to find something really tough, a little scratched up, and of acceptable weight and save some cash.
 
Do you really have to use a tripod? Two stands, be it C-stands or low combos, will be much sturdier than one tripod will be. You just need two points for that sort of thing...Even three if it's a longer slider.
 
I hear what you are saying Ryan. But I shoot weddings. I need it on the fly. My idea was that i would have a tripod with a slider and a lockable carriage. I would lock it off and continue using it as a standard tripod with occasional slider use when appropriate.

I find that for the slide shots I do, i could probably cope with a short slider which would also minimise shake.

Michael, I have got o set of old Manfrotto stills legs. They are super sturdy. But Also heavy. This is why I was wondering if i could get away with carbon fibre, for the ability to carry them around easily at a wedding.

As for my weight load. It shouldnt be too much. Shortest possible Konova slider, Weifeng 717 head and a Canon T2i with a Sigma 30mm 1.4

Still debating a bowl video tripod for levelling reasons. Its so hard to know without trying stuff!
 
My Kessler Cineslider sits quite happily on my Manfrotto 536 carbon fibre legs, so does my jib. Carbon fibre is strong, very strong - that's why F1 cars are made from it. As long as you position the legs correctly, so it can't tip over, you'll have no problem.
 
I have a Gitzo carbon fibre stills tripod from the 90’s (cheap’ish eBay buy) which works OK with a Glidetrack Hybrid. I’ve had some wobble on some shots, but others have been fine. On an aluminium video tripod I get no wobble at all, so I guess it depends on the situation, if I stick the feet into soft ground it’s stable, if it’s on firm ground and there’s wind I’d expect it to be less so.
 
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