what is the smallest lightest travel mount availabe...

[David010167]

I am starting to think about my summer holiday near in a small village in Spain. Last year the sky was wonderful clear and full of sights, Saturn was also clearly visible.

This year I am planning on taking more than a pair of binoculars.

I have bought the Vixen VMC-110L scope, it weighs 2kg, is small and very well made. At the moment I have mounted it onto a carbon photo tripod with ball head.

What other solutions are there for a lightweight small mount (head) that can be attached to a photo tripod, but provide a good experience. The only mounts I have seen like this are the Vixen Porta mounts.

Does anyone have experience with these mounts, are they worth it, or are there alternatives that I could look at that will not break the bank:)

regards

David

[Darren B]

Have you thought about using a Manfrotto 410 geared head. I use one with my SW Equinox 66ED. That weighs around 2kg Amazon.co.uk: manfrotto 410 . Combine that with your carbon fibre tripod, it's a good lightweight and compact set up.

I also have the Vixen Portamount. If you're going to drive to Spain in a campervan, the Portamount would be a better option. If not forget it, it's a lot bigger and heavier.

[Darren B]

I must admit, I'm always intrigued by the Vixen VMC110.

[David010167]

I did take a look at the manfrotto geared heads earlier today, and have looked at them in the past for macro photography. I may take that route as it will be useful for both astronomy and photography.

I have not used the vixen 110 yet, other than in daylight with a couple of baader EPs, I was hoping to give it a try tonight, but there appears to be a lot of clouds and Saturn is hiding behind one.

Regards

David

[m.tweedy]

what about the astrotrac system

Astrophotography Made Easy - Home

or even just this part mounted direct onto a tripod for visual

http://www.astrotrac.com/Default.aspx?p=head

[Stardust]

I use a 410 geared head, very posative but quite stiff.

I'm sure Astro engineering used to do an ALt-az head that was quite nice.

[Sarah]

What about the mini giro mount? Not used the mini version myself, but really like the giro 3.

Giro Mini - Neigekopf & azimutale Montierung - bis 9kg belastbar

[David010167]

I decided to but the Manfrotto 410, which arrived the other day. Very solid build quality. I understand the comment about it being a bit stiff, but it appears to be a good solution for a travel mount and it also fits a macro purpose for my photography.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

regards

David

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

What about the mini giro mount? Not used the mini version myself, but really like the giro 3.

Giro Mini - Neigekopf & azimutale Montierung - bis 9kg belastbar

I am considering this as well, the mini giro weighs in at 1kg. It does not get much lighter than that.