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Best mount for binoculars

davekelley

By davekelley
in Discussions - Binoculars

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davekelley

davekelley

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After reading this forum, I decided to buy some expensive Helios apollo 15x70, instead of celestron Skymaster, or helios quantum 4. I am delighted that i did and these are worth every penny of the £270!  I have only had a few hours of misty skies since they arrived, but I loved what i could see, pleiades, orion neb, Jupiter....Now that i have these wonderful binoculars, i need to know what is the best and easiest way to mount them?  I am looking at a monopod with a ball head, or a parallelogram type mount. i don't mind spending  £150 or so, to get the best thing i can, i think these binoculars are well worth it. I'm sure i will receive good advice on here, as i did over choosing the binoculars!

Clear skies,

Dave

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F1ash

F1ash

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I just bought them too - see my 10x50 thread. I bought the trigger grip that Steve at Binocularsky recommends to go on a monopod and it works brilliantly. I'm also using a cheap tripod I already had which works OK but tripods are awkward. I'd love a P-Mount but they are a lot of money unless you can make one yourself.

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davekelley

davekelley

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I've seen an orion P-mount at 180, if i could attach that to the tripod from my EQ4, I would strech to paying that much. I think I will go with the moniopod/trigger grip firstly, for the low cost!  Even handheld, sitting in a garden recliner, it's  obvious these give stunning views, but they are really too heavy for hand holding. Built like tanks! :D  maybe a p-mount for Christmas!

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Christhorpe

Christhorpe

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Have a look at the skywatcher az4 mount. Get the dearer one with the sturdier legs. I think it's a great grab n go mount. I use it for my 20x80's and also my William optics megrez 90. The movement on the mount is smooth. £170 brand new. Picked up second hand for £100. Bargain :)

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astronomy22b

astronomy22b

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I myself, want to get a pair of "Zhumell Tachyon 25x100s" I've read many reviews on them, and for me, seem to be the way to go. Here's the lowdown...

* They have fully multi-coated lenses.

* Their BaK4 prisms give excellent light transmission.

* "Both" eyepieces focus for precise adjustments.

* They accept standard 1.25" (screw on) eye filters.

* Their rugged metal construction is amazing, (my friend owns a pair)

* They are also waterproof and nitrogen purged.

You can buy them alone at a cost of around $250.00 depending on where you get them. They come with a heavy duty neck strap, caps for the eyepieces & lenses, and a   locking aluminum case. For an additional $170.00 you can also buy a Zhumell heavy duty tripod, although I'm going to get the Celestron heavy duty one. It's $100.00 less and just as good. The vortex pro GT is another good choice, at $140.00.     Take care and have a great, clear night.  CHEERS!!!     

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scarp15

scarp15

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Based upon a lot of excellent advice from here, I have recently switched use from a tripod (Horizon 8115) to a monopod  with my Apollo 15x70's. I feel that this is much more versatile and comfortable to use, making for a quick and easy set up. The monopod is five sections (Giottos GTMML) providing enough height, 190cm,  for standing, although I expect I will use this sat on my observers chair to. The mount is a Manfrotto trigger grip head. I am able to store this in my Tamrac 326 carry bag, which I used with my former tripod.

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StarSapling

StarSapling

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Over the years, I have tried many different mounts for my bins, and in my opinion nothing beats a P-Mount.  With a P-Mount I can easily observe from the horizon to the zenith - try observing near the zenith, for any length of time, with a camera tripod.  Monopods are great for quick grab and go observing, but you are touching it when you use it, and no matter how steady you try to hold it, you will be imparting shake into the system.  With a P-Mount, you can observe "hands free" and "rock steady" nearly anyplace on the sky.  I often lock the altitude and sweep the azimuth along the Milky Way, using nothing more than gentle nudges from my eye sockets.  It is the closest you can get to standing in space and looking around.  When you think about it, isn't that what we observers are realy doing anyways? 

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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

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Based upon a lot of excellent advice from here, I have recently switched use from a tripod (Horizon 8115) to a monopod  with my Apollo 15x70's. I feel that this is much more versatile and comfortable to use, making for a quick and easy set up. The monopod is five sections (Giottos GTMML) providing enough height, 190cm,  for standing, although I expect I will use this sat on my observers chair to. The mount is a Manfrotto trigger grip head. I am able to store this in my Tamrac 326 carry bag, which I used with my former tripod.

That Giotto monopod ticks a lot of boxes: sufficient height and very reasonable price. I might well get one for use when I do not have my P-mount around

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davekelley

davekelley

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I have just received today my Dynasun trigger grip ball head, as recommended on here, for my Apollo 15x70 bins. I havent yet received the monopod or the socket adapter, but, this head seems rather stiff, which would suggest movement will be anything but smooth, is there a way to adjust this. As the trigger (also very stiff) has to be squeezed firmly when moving the bins, with one hand on the monopod,  I am quite concerned that I am going to struggle with this setup unless I can loosen off the tension a little for a smoother easier movement!  I had assumed that the trigger would lock the ball head in position and not the other way around!  Please help!!

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BinocularSky

BinocularSky

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I have written a manual for the trigger - grip mount; it includes details of how to adjust the tension. It iscin the " choosing & using section of the website (clicky url in sig)

On the batphone, so expect weird autocorrect

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davekelley

davekelley

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I have written a manual for the trigger - grip mount; it includes details of how to adjust the tension. It iscin the " choosing & using section of the website (clicky url in sig)

On the batphone, so expect weird autocorrect

Thanks, I've got it!  Tension loosened. Trigger takes some squeezing though, I guess I'll get used to it!!  Great website!

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davekelley

davekelley

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Please can I ask for one more piece of advice!  Is the bracket that came with  the Apollos up to the job?  I can't seem to get it screwed tightly enough to stop the Bins rotating about. I have tried my long nosed  pliers, but I don't want to ruin the thread on the binoculars!!   what to do?

Thanks

dave

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  • 2 weeks later...
RedSpot

RedSpot

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On the back of my earlier question, I've managed to fit my Helios Apollo 15x85 to my AZ4 Mount using the L Bracket supplied with the AZ4.  It was just a matter of undoing the bolts in the middle of the bracket so that the quarter inch thread was facing outwards from the bracket (if that makes sense).  I've attached a couple of pictures if anyone else is wondering how to do it.  The 15x85s are heavy bins (5kgish) but they are rock solid on the AZ4.  I continue to be amazed at just how versatile the AZ4 is for both scopes and binos.  The legs in the picture are at half height by the way but as mentioned earlier, go for the steel ones as they are much sturdier.

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post-21301-0-43233700-1399209034_thumb.j

post-21301-0-25154600-1399209048_thumb.j

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wookie1965

wookie1965

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Exactly so.

On the batphone, so expect weird autocorrect

Cheers for that Trust me get a dodgy pair, they are pretty clear i can see four moons of Jupiter with them no problem think i will invest in some relevation 15x70.

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