Star Adventurer Tripod Recommendation

[Aidan]

Morning All,

I'm looking for recommandations on a suitable Tripod for the SW Star Adventurer.    Read some of the older posts and the Manfrotto 055 seems to be a good choice and reasonable cost.    I need something which is sturdy enough, but light enough to put in a bag to fly abroad with.

Rgds

Aidan

[GuLinux]

Hi,

I just had the same issue.

When I bought the SA, a few month ago, I bought also a quite basic tripod, with 8kg weight load capacity, for roughly 50 pounds. I thought it would have been enough, and it wasn't too bad afterall, but I had to keep the tripod very low to improve stability, otherwise it would wobble a lot. Keeping the tripod too low was very bad for polar alignment, though, and things were complicated by the fact that the central column lock wasn't strong enough, thus rotating in azimuth if I touched it without enough care.

 

I just bought another tripod instead, rated for 15kg load capacity (specifically, the Neewer Carbon Fiber 67"/170cm). Didn't test it in the field yet, but the difference is huge: the central column doesn't rotate anymore, and I can keep the tripod much higher without significant wobbling.

 

[SteveNickolls]

Hi Aiden,

Thanks for your post. I have had the Star Adventurer for a few months now and didn't get on with the wedge (I bought the astro-bundle) which I found hard to adjust in DEC and needed to apply some silicone lubricant to make it adjustable. I then found play in my Vanguard Tracker 4 tripod (10kg max load) which meant verifying the initial alignment of the polar scope could not be properly performed. The solution was to remove the wedge and secure the mount to a spare Celestron Heavy Duty Alt-Az tripod. Incidentally I found the initial polar scope to be perfectly aligned on testing. The mount is quality.

After setting the tripod head's altitude to match your latitude by roughly pointing to Polaris it is a breeze to do a polar alignment using the manual adjustment knobs on the mount- far, far less fiddly than the stiff, little adjustment controls on the wedge. I'd also recommend using a right angled accessory on the eye end of the polar scope to make polar alignment a pleasurable experience.

I have to set my gear up each night but I  leave the tripod pointing at the right altitude for my location and find that setting the tripod to point North means Polaris is visible in the polar finder and easy to align.

The Celestron tripod is light and portable but sturdy and I add a house brick on the accessory tray to give added rigidity. I'm just exploring the capabilities of the Star Adventurer with all the weather and now lighter nights but have taken 5 minute exposures with a 35mm lens and tests in BYEOS have shown no star trailing after two 5 minute exposures and only the slightest of star movement after three 5 minute consecutive exposures. The combination of Star Adventurer and Alt-Az tripod really works well.

Good luck with whatever solution you find works for you.

Cheers,
Steve

[BargeGazer]

I use mine on a standard aluminium EQ3 or even HEQ5 mount - with a simple wooden spacer to clear the azimuth peg on the mount. Very solid.

[Aidan]

Thanks chaps,

Some great reading from your experiences.   Because i am buying this for a trip to the US, its going to have to be a carbon fibre model.   Ill look at the Neewer in a bit more depth - that seems to be along the lines of my needs.   I'll probably do as recommended once i get back to the UK and get a better tripod as iit will just go in the back of the car if i'm travelling.  

I have read good things about the Manfrotto 055 range - a few mention they use it, but dont comment too much on how steady it is.  

[happy-kat]

There's a thread somewhere where the user uses a clamp base, makes it very small and just need to find something like an outside table top to clamp to.

[Calypsob]

I was going to suggest a zeq25 tripod which weighs about 5lbs.  These are even smaller and probably weigh 3-4lbs and could go in a bag.  You will be hard pressed to find a photo tripod that can match the sturdiness of this one for the price http://www.highpointscientific.com/ioptron-smarteq-tripod-skytracker-tripod-3221?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=IOP-3221&gclid=Cj0KEQjwp83KBRC2kev0tZzExLkBEiQAYxYXOocFlBiI8zcIoBOVUtKT3-jt9-Glqu1dicBccHxEATgaAjaR8P8HAQ

[Aidan]

14 hours ago, Calypsob said:

I was going to suggest a zeq25 tripod which weighs about 5lbs.  These are even smaller and probably weigh 3-4lbs and could go in a bag.  You will be hard pressed to find a photo tripod that can match the sturdiness of this one for the price http://www.highpointscientific.com/ioptron-smarteq-tripod-skytracker-tripod-3221?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=IOP-3221&gclid=Cj0KEQjwp83KBRC2kev0tZzExLkBEiQAYxYXOocFlBiI8zcIoBOVUtKT3-jt9-Glqu1dicBccHxEATgaAjaR8P8HAQ

THe iOptron tripod would certainly be the best option, problem is trying to find one in the UK.   Importing would probably be prohibitively expensive.   I'm probably going to go with the Manfrotto 055 for my trip abroad then sell it and get something llike the zeq25 when i get home.

[Victor Boesen]

41 minutes ago, Aidan said:

Manfrotto 055

It looks like a very nice tripod! Could you write a quick first impression on it when you try it out. I need a more solid tripod for my star adventurer as well.

[Victor Boesen]

On 28/6/2017 at 10:22, GuLinux said:

Neewer Carbon Fiber

Have you tried it yet, if so, how did it do?

[GuLinux]

 

36 minutes ago, Victor Boesen said:

Have you tried it yet, if so, how did it do?

As I said, not tried on the field (Saturday, possibly... weather permitting...)

But the difference is pretty obvious, much much more stable, even when keeping it at almost max height.

And it has the advantage of being very portable (this is one of my top priorities too)

[Victor Boesen]

28 minutes ago, GuLinux said:

But the difference is pretty obvious, much much more stable, even when keeping it at almost max height.

And it has the advantage of being very portable (this is one of my top priorities too)

Just what I am looking for. My current tripod is rated to hold 4.5kg, but the fluid head mounted on the tripod makes it wobble when you touch the star adventurer.

[Davey-T]

50 minutes ago, Victor Boesen said:

Just what I am looking for. My current tripod is rated to hold 4.5kg, but the fluid head mounted on the tripod makes it wobble when you touch the star adventurer.

Can you unscrew the head and bolt the SA directly to the tripod ? this is what I've done.

Dave

[Victor Boesen]

2 hours ago, Davey-T said:

Can you unscrew the head and bolt the SA directly to the tripod ? this is what I've done.

Dave

There doesn't seem to be a way to do this.

my tripod is a velbon videomate 638.

[Davey-T]

24 minutes ago, Victor Boesen said:

There doesn't seem to be a way to do this.

my tripod is a velbon videomate 638.

Mines a Velbon DV7000 and the head unscrews, just leaves a normal camera thread,  a lot of tripods can be bought without a head so you can choose your own or none at all.

Dave

 

 

[DaveS]

I've a couple of old tripods which I might use, either my Manfrotto 074 that I used with my 10x8, or possibly the Miller Solo 1630 legs from my video tripod, which has a standard 75mm levelling bowel, assuming I may want to simplify my alignment by levelling the Skywatcher wedge. The Miller is heavier duty, though the Manfrotto has a mid-level brace.

I wouldn't say these were airline portable though (Hercules, perhaps  ).

[Aidan]

On 29/06/2017 at 09:45, Victor Boesen said:

It looks like a very nice tripod! Could you write a quick first impression on it when you try it out. I need a more solid tripod for my star adventurer as well.

Not fully decided on the Manfrotto 055, but I did look at one today.  It's a sturdy one that's for sure.  

[planetman83]

Have you guys heard of zomei tripods? They have very good reviews. Of course without the ball head using the wedge. Are they suitable?

[JonC]

On ‎01‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 22:10, Aidan said:

Not fully decided on the Manfrotto 055, but I did look at one today.  It's a sturdy one that's for sure.  

You can get an 055 on ebay for £50 delivered, I picked one up to use with my alt az and star adventurer. There is one on there at the moment for £40 delivered, looks like the centre column has been removed so that's its just the tripod screw. Might be worth checking that a head can be directly mounted on it though.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Manfrotto-055SS-Tripod-Only-USED-/182709754218?hash=item2a8a59996a:g:sOkAAOSwtTVZitvZ

 

[tooth_dr]

If you can be sure that the above locks with that allen key then I'd go for it.  The one thing that is a bit of a nuisance is the moving centre columns. Mine has a round plate with the screw so this triangular one may be off a different tripod entirely?

[Midnight_lightning]

On ‎28‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 11:12, BargeGazer said:

I use mine on a standard aluminium EQ3 or even HEQ5 mount - with a simple wooden spacer to clear the azimuth peg on the mount. Very solid.

Great idea, I ruled my HEQ5 because of the azimuth peg, never thought of using a spacer.

[michaelmorris]

At Kelling Heath in the spring I saw someone's solution to increasing tripod stability was to attach a bungee cord between a hook on the bottom of the tripods centre column and one of those large screw in pegs used for tethering a dog on a lead.  I tried it - it works a treat.

[iapa]

I have also done the pendulum solution, bungee and a few litres of water, damps down a lot of wind motion too.