Quickie: Mounting Heritage 90 Mak OTA to tripod?

[avtaram]

Still waiting for a clear night.

Avtar

[oreu]

As mentioned, here are a couple of pictures of the Mak 102 on the photo tripod. The RACI is useful given the narrow fov of the Mak even if it does look a bit incongruous. Works OK in vertical mode too. Excuse the fussy background!

Mak 102 b2.jpg

Mak102 a1.jpg

Hi, just wanted to ask what photo tripod this is. Thanks

[ghostdance]

Still waiting for a clear night.

image.jpg

Avtar

Looking good Avtar - monster ep! At least on the dinky Mak

I was lucky enough to get half an hour with The Moon and Venus about 9.30 yesterday. Wasn't dark. Moon looked good but the view of Venus was very calm and clear - no surface detail of course. I'll be looking to ditch the rdf in favour of my RACI to show fainter stars what with the small fov of the 90.

Steve

[Alfian]

Hi, just wanted to ask what photo tripod this is. Thanks

Hi, when I bought mine I think it was marketed as Ex-Pro, or something like, but this is the same setup as far as I can tell.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ravelli-APGL4-Professional-Tripod-Adjustable/dp/B003SQEAY0/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432316541&sr=1-2&keywords=Heavy+duty+Tripod+and+ball+head

Note - I have just come across this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Tripod-Pistol-Inches-Adjustable/dp/B00CF1LS94/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1432882799&sr=8-5&keywords=ravelli+tripod

Its marketed as "Basic" but I can't see any difference to the "Pro". At the price its a steal, especially with the trigger grip.

Steve, If the two are the same and you have paid the higher price, apologies. Its worth a heads up to bino fans for the trigger grip ball head alone.

[oreu]

Hi, when I bought mine I think it was marketed as Ex-Pro, or something like, but this is the same setup as far as I can tell.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ravelli-APGL4-Professional-Tripod-Adjustable/dp/B003SQEAY0/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432316541&sr=1-2&keywords=Heavy+duty+Tripod+and+ball+head

Note - I have just come across this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Tripod-Pistol-Inches-Adjustable/dp/B00CF1LS94/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1432882799&sr=8-5&keywords=ravelli+tripod

Its marketed as "Basic" but I can't see any difference to the "Pro". At the price its a steal, especially with the trigger grip.

Steve, If the two are the same and you have paid the higher price, apologies. Its worth a heads up to bino fans for the trigger grip ball head alone.

Thanks a lot! The basic one is fair bit cheaper than some of the other tripods I've been looking at. It's good to know that someone with the same scope (Skymax 102) has used it with success. Ideally though (possibly unrealistically), I'm looking for something that will fold down to a really short length...like about 40cm, so I can fit it in this nice little padded bag I have along with the scope. Do you know if anything like this exists? I've had a look on Amazon and Ebay, but most of the ones that fold down that short don't appear to be sturdy enough (unlike the ones you've mentioned).

[oreu]

Thanks a lot! The basic one is fair bit cheaper than some of the other tripods I've been looking at. It's good to know that someone with the same scope (Skymax 102) has used it with success. Ideally though (possibly unrealistically), I'm looking for something that will fold down to a really short length...like about 40cm, so I can fit it in this nice little padded bag I have along with the scope. Do you know if anything like this exists? I've had a look on Amazon and Ebay, but most of the ones that fold down that short don't appear to be sturdy enough (unlike the ones you've mentioned).

I'm wondering if this would be suitable... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Traveller-Magnesium-Aluminium-5-Section-Adjustable/dp/B00SOSF5GY/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432890201&sr=1-9&keywords=traveller+tripod...folded length is 35cm and max load capacity of 8kg.

[Alfian]

With an 8Kg load it should be OK. The ball head looks very similar to one I purchased and is very solid. Buying stuff labelled with names few people have heard of can be a gamble, but does work out OK sometimes. The reviews look good too.

[ghostdance]

Alfian, I ended up not buying the Amazon 'pod (yet) as I found a sturdy Manfrotto head for my BeFree. Still thinking about the Amazon tho - seems excellent quality and value Good for my 15×70 & 20×60s!

Steve

[Alfian]

Much relieved, hated the thought of you paying over the odds on my account!

[happy-kat]

Any use of these yet ? Love reading reviews of use.

[ghostdance]

Any use of these yet ? Love reading reviews of use.

Can't help on the Amazon tripod/grip, Kat, as I went for some used Manfrotto kit (070 tripod/222 grip/3030 p&t head ). The Befree is a bit too lightwieght for the Mak I think, so am waiting for the 'new' tripod to arrive which should be much sturdier - twice as heavy! Then I just have to fix up a RACI (my 9x50 will fit but thinking of a 6 or 8x to save weight), get some time in with the set up and I'll happily write a bit about the 90 Mak/tripod combo. Thus far I can see this is going to be a wicked little set for planetary and the Moon, but I'd hope it works for some of the easier DSOs. TBH, it's taking some time to get used to the slow F after a fast Newt! Stuff is much easier to find in the F5

[happy-kat]

I was thinking about the little Mak90 to review how you find it.

[ghostdance]

Wilco in a couple of weeks, once its all complete and I've had some consistent use of it on a better mount and useable finder

[happy-kat]

Did you get to use it yet?

I confess to not used my mount properly yet still light when I need to sleep.

Not seen a 90 since those were for sale listed back then.