Tripod for bins

[petermartin5]

As I find it difficult to hold my 10x50s steadyfor any more than a couple of minutes Iam considering buying a tripod.

The ones I have looked at ( camera tripods)are not that tall and it would still be difficult to get you eye in the right position, if you know what I mean.

OK with my scope I look " down" into the diagonal but this is not the case with bins.

Hope this isnt a daft question, perhaps I am missing someting here but I cant see much advantage in buying a tripod.

Any comments,

Pete

[Kai]

I think these come as recomended for Bino's

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/products.php?cat=68

[Helen]

Have you thought about buying a camcorder support like the one in this picture? A friend bought one for about £10 I think from a camera shop and absolutely loves it! It stabilises the view brilliantly as you hold a stalk not the binos (and as its chest height your arms don't go to sleep either!). Its particularly good if you use it lying or sitting down, but works great standing up too.

Helen

[Neon]

Nice idea Helen. I use a monopod in a very similar way when I'm in my deckchair and checking out the skies, although be warned, this can cause people to fall asleep whilst looking at the moon. I know I did once.

petermartin5, here's my recommendation, because I use one myself: Bresser 1730 Omega P3

This is quite a heavy duty tripod, but it'll hold your bins rock-solid. Also the legs can be locked at different angles so you can set it up and sit in a chair underneath. The centre column doubles as a monopod too, and I even use it with my 'scope. The bonus for me is that you can make the tripod quite tall, so if you're looking right up you don't need to stoop.

It's very solid and built to last.

[Beyond_Vision]

One method is to use a mirror system which gives a very comfortable viewing postion its available from Scopes N Skies and other places.

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/binoflex-bino-mount-and-tripod/telescope/spotting-scope-tripod/binoflex/trigant.html

Another method is a Parallelogram mount which allows you to keep an object in view when adjusting the height of the binoculars to another persons level.

They are available from Scopes N Skies or Epsilon Telescopes and many other places.

Regards

Kevin

[robindurant]

I have a Binoflex and its brilliant once you get used to the images upside down.

Robin

[themos]

This just looks crazy enough to be genius:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/diy/Image-Stabilize-Your-Binoculars.html

[Neon]

This just looks crazy enough to be genius:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/diy/Image-Stabilize-Your-Binoculars.html

It does! Although I can imagine a potentially 'Laurel and Hardy' type situation when somebody walks up behind and causes the observer to quickly turn around...

[SteelRat]

Another method is a Parallelogram mount

I made one o those a while back out of one of those little AltAz mounts on a black wooden tripod that I'd had kicking round the shed - easy little build that was;