102mm short tube on a photo tripod?

[acey]

Have any of you tried using a 102mm short-tube refractor (eg Skywatcher Startravel, Celestron wide-view) on a photo tripod? Is it feasible for low-power deep-sky views?

For a while I've been using an 80mm short-tube refractor as my holiday scope, mounting it on a Manfrotto 190B tripod. Fine for taking on flights etc. The scope weighs 3lb, the tripod 5lbs. I'm hoping I'd be able to mount the larger scope (which weighs 5lbs) on the same tripod.

Andrew

[zhgutas]

I once popped my ST102 on a video tripod, and it was rock solid. However the tripod weighed about 12kg However I'm quite interested in how the small tripod copes with ST80, since I'm planning to get one for my holiday travels. Would you suggest it's a good idea?

Marius

[acey]

It copes with the 80mm just fine - it won't offer a solid support at high powers, but you really don't want to use very high powers with ST scopes.

I also own a 100mm folded refractor by Yukon which is the same size and weight as the 80mm - but I wouldn't recommend it. Performance is no better than the 80mm scope. So I'm still on a quest to find a convenient way of taking 100mm of aperture on holiday. Maybe the extra light gain isn't worth the effort?

Still, with the Celestron 102 wide-view going for less than £150, it's tempting to give it a go.