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Benbo tripod for 20x80 binoculars.


col

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I found a thread on here talking about these from years ago as they extend to 7 feet tall which is ideal. 

But when I was looking at them on their site I noticed the centre post comes out and cameras can be attatched that way too. 

I think you might know where I'm going with this? Would a set of 20x80's be usable on this cross post with a counter weight of some sort on the other end? 

If the tripod was set very low and the binoculars were mounted on the cross post they could be used from a reclining chair possibly? 

Just a thought, but what do you think? 

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42 minutes ago, col said:

I found a thread on here talking about these from years ago as they extend to 7 feet tall which is ideal. 

But when I was looking at them on their site I noticed the centre post comes out and cameras can be attached that way too. 

I think you might know where I'm going with this? Would a set of 20x80's be usable on this cross post with a counter weight of some sort on the other end? 

If the tripod was set very low and the binoculars were mounted on the cross post they could be used from a reclining chair possibly? 

Just a thought, but what do you think? 

 

I don't see why not! Give it a try and give us your thoughts. 

When I was in looking for a sturdy tripod/monopod, I did look at the Benbo range, but I settled on a Manfrotto 055PROB instead.
One of the things about Benbo, Manfrotto/Bogen, and other 'high-end' brands, etc., is the amount of add-ons so you can customise 
them to your specific needs. 

That said, I do have a Benbo two-section monopod; (and a three-section 'twist-lock' Velbon).

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I used to have a Benbo Trekker, great and versatile but heavy and awkward at times. The ball heads are strong and can take a fair bit of weight.

I think the cross bar with counterweight would work, can't remember if it can be easily removed and a longer one made up. 

 

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Inspired by this google find I tried my 20x80s using a manfrotto pole, works well but I need a better ball head and an alternative to my 4x cans of tomato sauce counterweight....I attached the pole to a spare alt az tripod I had knocking around and works well while reclined on a sun lounger. My only concern is the flexure on the pole is quite noticeable. You could also as pointed out in the weblink use a different pair of binoculars as the counterweight then you'd have 2 binos on one pole.

https://garyseronik.com/build-this-simple-binocular-mount/

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Thanks guys, I'm still in the deciding stage, as I'll also be using it for my Helios 80 scope as the tripod I have is a very old Velbon VE3 which has a lot of drift when tightening up and is showing its age now. 

Something that's tall enough for the binos and scope, possibly even my camera the odd time, and grab and go ish. I'm not worried about a little heavier than light tripods. 

But that cross bar option as an extra use for The binos crossed my mind if it was up to it. 

 If something like this does as I want, it would be a light and easily mobile option instead of going for the monster parallelogram mount which would be limiting as far as easily mobile is concerned, and would save a lot of money too. 

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16 minutes ago, Bruce Leeroy said:

Inspired by this google find I tried my 20x80s using a manfrotto pole, works well but I need a better ball head and an alternative to my 4x cans of tomato sauce counterweight....I attached the pole to a spare alt az tripod I had knocking around and works well while reclined on a sun lounger. My only concern is the flexure on the pole is quite noticeable. You could also as pointed out in the weblink use a different pair of binoculars as the counterweight then you'd have 2 binos on one pole.

https://garyseronik.com/build-this-simple-binocular-mount/

How did you attatch the pole to the tripod head? As I had thought about that sort of answer, but didn't want to try making something out of wood. My new monopod is a very strong hefty thing so would work if I could attatch it to my Velbon head, which is a very sturdy metal tilt head . 

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I've got three Benbo tripods, the largest of which is the rare Mk V. It is massive and hugely sturdy. It's enough to support a large format camera, and I've used it with binoculars up to 25x100 with a beefy head. I've also used it both standing and reclining. It weighs an absolute ton and setting it up is a bit like wrestling an octopus but once in position it works very well. Note that the trekker model is a fair bit lighter, so more portable but not quite so sturdy

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27 minutes ago, col said:

How did you attatch the pole to the tripod head?

I used heavy duty cable ties and some padding under the pole, I had to add in an extra tie with a rubber type of material to stop the binos slipping/rotating as I moved upto zenith, I think a wooden square pole would work better than the rounded manfrotto pole.

*To add the whole assembly is very light and the poles retract so when the tripod is folded it takes up little space the disadvantage of the alt az is the elevation, 1 side favours sitting the other side favours standing due to the alt saddle.

 

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Edited by Bruce Leeroy
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Thanks for that. That's such a simple solution, I love it. 

I might try similar and use the Velbon tripod, as I still want a new tripod that goes to 7 feet in height to put my binos on when standing. 

 

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Be careful on setup that your binos don't suddenly drop when your messing about with the counterweight, as said above a shrunk wrapped 4 pack of tomato sauce is about the same weight as my 20x80s, I pierced a hole top and bottom of the shrink wrapping then used 2 small clamps to stop the counterweight sliding.🤓

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