Budget Mounting Solution Suggestions

[Stephen]

Suggestions please, budget is key here (I spend too much on my primary interest imaging, let alone blowing the bank on an occasional side habit)

Need a monopod and trigger/joystick head to mount my Aspherics on.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Suggestions please, budget is key here (I spend too much on my primary interest imaging, let alone blowing the bank on an occasional side habit)

Need a monopod and trigger/joystick head to mount my Aspherics on.

Monopods are OK, but on a pair of bins as light as the 8x40 Aspherics, why not use a reclining chair? Much more comfy! I use that with my 10x50s, and even with the Omegon 15x70s (which are quite light). For heftier bins like my Helios 15x70s the better solution is a parallelogram mount, but that is overkill for 8x40s

[Stephen]

That's a rather good solution My eldest daughter and I shall give it a try and see how we get on

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The other trick I use is resting the bins on the roof of the car, e.g. when I am at a campsite, or when I have driven to a dark spot. Some people even use a broom to rest the bins on.

[BinocularSky]

I agree that mountings as such are overkill for an 8x40; they also reduce the extreme convenience of such a small binocular. Michael's suggestions for reclining and support are all good and workable. You could also ensure that you are holding it in the most stable way. For an 8x40, I would use the "Triangular Arm Brace" method (#2, here).

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

One advantage of the p-mount is that I can point the bins at something interesting, and then lower it to the kids' height, and it is still pointing in the right direction. Unmounted, the kids must do their own star-hopping (good practice).