Tripod leveling base for lightweight mounts

[Space Oddities]

Hello! 

In the futile pursuit of a perfect polar alignment, I wanted to improve the leveling of my setup. Portability being essential for me, I'm using a fairly light one: an iOptron SkyGuider Pro, a carbon fiber tripod and camera lenses.

However, I had the feeling that my mount wasn't perfectly leveled, which probably leads to tracking innacuracy... The small bubble level of the SkyGuider's base is very small and not very precise; fine tuning directly with the tripod legs isn't either.

After some research, I believe I found an interesting system, and after a first test, it seems to be much more precise! So I thought I'd share it here, as there might be people with a similar need 

 

I'm using this tripod leveling base from Neewer (also sold under different names/brands, but they're all the same), which I place on top of the tripod. This base features 2x 3/8" screws, one female and one male, and has 3 adjustments axis. It's made of metal and seems very solid. According to the approximative product descriptions, the maximum payload varies between 5kg and 15kg, so I'm really not sure which one it is... But since the SkyGuider's max payload is 5 kg, it doesn't really matter anyway.

The base includes 2 small bubble levels on the sides, as well as a circular one on top, but I don't find them very precise (and sometimes wrong). Instead, I placed on top of the base a metal plate, to which I attached a simple (but more precise) bubble level. This allows me to have the bubble level pointed in the direction I want, and it's slightly off-axis, which is easier to read when the SkyGuider and the camera are mounted (especially in the dark).

Finally, I place the SkyGuider on top of it. And voilà!  

I tried this setup in the field one time so far, and it worked very well! It took me a few minutes to figure out how the 6 knobs work together, but once I did, I could make a very precise level adjustment in less than a minute  

After 2 hours of imaging different targets, I regularly checked the bubble levels, and nothing had moved, so I believe it's very stable and supports the payload well (that night, it was about 4.5 kg in total). 

 

I'll try to post a picture of the setup later. In the meantime, here are some customer reviews:

• Rayfoto version
• Desmond version

I also saw another option from Manfrotto, but it's 2-3 times more expansive and didn't have great ratings. 

Cheers!

[laser_jock99]

The tripod/pier top/mount does not need to be pefectly level for good PA- the polar axis of the mount just needs to be stable & pointing along the polar axis of the earth.