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Feather light, rock solid, dirt cheap photo tripod needed


Ags

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I am off to Namibia next year and need a very light, rock solid and cheap photo tripod (it's easy enough to find a tripod that satisfies any two of those criteria, but not all three :hmh: ). It needs to carry a Star Adventurer with 100-200mm lenses and at other times a very small telescope. What are my best options?

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My wallet feels the pain of yours. :mellow:

I've been researching photo tripods for travel lately, and have given up on the "cheap" part. If it's not solid enough, I'll hate it and won't use it. If it's too heavy, or too long when fully collapsed, I can't take it along. So it's going to cost me...

Maybe you can rent one?

Anyway - and you probably know all of this already, just sharing - the shorter you can get away with, the sturdier it will be. Likewise, legs with fewer sections will be more sturdy when fully extended. If it has a central column with a hook on the bottom, hanging some weight from it (think bottle of water) will increase stability.

 

 

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I have found getting one of the three requirements difficult enough, two out of three is very hard and all three I would say is impossible. I have a Red Snapper tripod that can handle a small scope but it isn't lightweight and not something I would want in a backpack, I recently (this week) bought a Prima photo PHTR001 tripod and its tiny but can just about handle my DSLR with 70-200 mm L lens so will go everywhere with me.

Alan

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After thinking about it, the 8115 looks a bit big and heavy for me... If I forget about having some kind of scope on my trip, I could get this:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p8283_TS-Optics-Optics-A255FS3---Ultra-compact-Tripod-for-travelling-and-hiking.html

I would have to get down with the scorpions to polar align however. I would really have to get a right-angle viewer for the polar scope I think.

If I take a scope, perhaps this would be sufficient:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=8276#cs

But I have some red flags on it: the legs have 4 sections; the central pillar is not braced to the legs at the bottom.

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1 hour ago, Ags said:

TS suggest this mount:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p1443_Triton-Fotostativ---mit-Neigekopf---76cm-bis-155cm---bis-9kg.html

It weighs 1.8kgs minus the head and claims a 9kg payload. So it looks promising.

Looks a good choice, bit expensive worth it for weight saving.

Dave

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I went for the following a while ago based on a post on this forum.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zomei-Portable-Aluminium-Carrying-Olumpus-Orange/dp/B014241XDW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1493728553&sr=8-9&keywords=zomei+tripod

It's far from perfect. I'm not mad keen on ball heads, and it's not rock solid (the 33lbs payload is nonsense), but it packs down small (I can fit in Easyjet hand luggage) and will hold an 80mm frac, 100mm Mak or a spotting scope easily enough. I'm aware of it being used with a Heritage 130P, but I'm not at all sure I would recommend that.

For the price, I think it was a good buy.

Billy.

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1 minute ago, billyharris72 said:

I went for the following a while ago based on a post on this forum.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zomei-Portable-Aluminium-Carrying-Olumpus-Orange/dp/B014241XDW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1493728553&sr=8-9&keywords=zomei+tripod

It's far from perfect. I'm not mad keen on ball heads, and it's not rock solid (the 33lbs payload is nonsense), but it packs down small (I can fit in Easyjet hand luggage) and will hold an 80mm frac, 100mm Mak or a spotting scope easily enough. I'm aware of it being used with a Heritage 130P, but I'm not at all sure I would recommend that.

For the price, I think it was a good buy.

Billy.

Thats very similar to my Redsnapper, the big advantage of this type of tripod is the standardized head fitting which means the ball head can be removed and a Star Adventurer screwed in place. The other plus is that you then have the ball head to use on the SA.

Alan

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On the matter of stability with a relatively light weight tripod, one option is to have a hook on the bottom of the central pillar of the tripod.

From this you can hang a bag which you could fill with sand or rocks.

Alternatively you could get a screw-in peg such as used for securing dogs to. Screw this into the ground underneath the tripod and attach it to the hook with bungee cord.

I hope this helps.

 

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I have this one.  Really light weight? No...  It's 3.4kg so not bad BUT it is extremely solid.  Holds a 120ST with no issues with zero vibration coming from the tripod.  I think it's rated to 14kg - I feel it would handle 10kg without too much fuss and for AP perhaps 6kg would be sensible.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004USQCMI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

More information that's actually useful here:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/763119-REG/Vanguard_AUCTUS_PLUS_283AT_Auctus_Plus_283AT_3_Section.html

I was looking for a very long time for a tripod that was not overly heavy nor too long for lugging with me to a darker site or grab and go that would be suitable for holding a 4 - 5" refractor.  This is in three sections so it's reasonably compact and comfortable for walking with.

Forget cheap tripods - you'll be wasting your time and money.  An alternative of course is to look for a used tripod.

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I use a Manfrotto 190, cost was £120, holds a Vixen Porta Mount head and my Tak 76 with no issues.

There are lighter / firmer tripods out there, think you'll save weight with carbon fibre, but at the expense of £££ As others have said, solid, cheap and light probably tough to find new....

Mine came from a local supplier here in Norwich, this is what's currently available though I bought mine without a head  http://www.wexphotographic.com/manfrotto-mk190x3-tripod-804-tripod-head-kit-1619802/ Good luck!

Chris

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