Tripod for Bino's ??? Please help.

[catdubbs]

Good day folks.

I have been having a bit of trouble finding a suitable tripod for my binoculars, I have been checking vigourously online for the last few days and cannot seem to find an appropriate model.

I was wondering if anyone could possibly point me in the right direction of a tripod which can be used for standing observation, I am 6 ft tall, I have found (Zhumell astronomical tripod) which is 6 ft, but with the binocular angle pointing skywards I would still have to bend a little I think?, and the other one is a (Garret 5000 series) which is 7 ft and a suitable height me thinks, but the Garret can only be purchased from America and the postage alone is £100, I have only about £150-£180 to spend. Most of the tripods I have found are too small. Does anyone know of a large tripod capable of holding 20x80's and usable for standing observation in this price range?

Any help would be most gratefull.

Many many thanks folks.

have a nice day.

Andy.

[JamesM]

Had a search around for you and you might want to read this recent thread. One guy is 6' 4" decided on this model for £50 and felt it was comfortable although the specifications list the maximum height of 166cm, being slightly short of your own height. The big question here is how much do you want to spend as it seems the cheaper tripods are going to be a little short for what you want. First Light Optics does this one at £80 which has a height of 180cm and would be my choice as it also has the right capacity to carry larger binoculars. Hope that helps.

James

[catdubbs]

Hello James,

cannot thank you enough for looking at tripods for me, very gratefull indeed. I have had a look at the links that you have so genourously given me and they have helped a lot. I have just ordered the "horizon 8126 3-way tripod" looks pretty good. The sky at night review for the "horizon 8115 2-way tripod" is pretty good also, and for an extra £5 I went for the 3-way.

Many many thanks James for taking the time out to help me.

Have a lovely day mate.

Andy.

[pajr777]

Andy,

8126: -75° to +45° vertical adjustment

8115: -90° to +60° Vertical Adjustment

I would suggest that the 8115 is better for astronomy as with the 8126 you will be unable to view objects at or within 15° of directly overhead.

[glowjet]

Just something else for you to ponder over, have you looked at the possibility of a parallelogram mount, they are just about the bees knees for bino work ( not the hight that is lol ) I believe Orion Telescope and Binoculars do a model, you can position your bins anywhere from lying down, deck chair fashion or standing up, any height to suit you

John.

[David JM]

Buy a sunlounger!

Or try a photographic shop for a large tripod and then get a suitable bino adaptor. You could also try standing the tripod on plastic boxes. Not pretty but cheaper.

[catdubbs]

Many thanks to everyone for helping me out, it really has helped a lot.

I have changed my order (just in time) to the 8115 model, so a massive thank you to pajr777 for pointing that one out for me, I am forever gratefull. I am pretty new to astronomy and have found it rather difficult getting my set up sorted. Without everyones pointers and advice I would probably be looking through toilet roll tubes attached to a stick. cheers folks. I will be pointing my binos towards the heavens in a couple of days (and hopefully they will be stable) thanks again.

Andy

[David JM]

Without everyones pointers and advice I would probably be looking through toilet roll tubes attached to a stick.

You may as well with the cloud and rain we have at the moment.

[LukeSkywatcher]

The 8115 is a real work horse. I use it for big bins,small refractor scope and my camera. Great tripod.