20 x 80 binoculars- suitable tripod

[ShellyL]

Hi

Happy New Year to you all  

I’m looking for recommendations for a suitable tripod for my 20 x 80 Celestron binoculars, they are used infrequently so was hoping to get something that doesn’t really break the bank too much. 

Could anyone help please? 
 

TIA Shelly

[Nik271]

I have the same binoculars (Skymaster 20x80) and use this tripod 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SAMTIAN-65inches-Aluminum-Portable-Panorama/dp/B07RKPMZLL

One of the legs can be removed an it becomes a monopod. I found monopods even more useful for binoculars.

[Shimrod]

2 hours ago, ShellyL said:

Hi

Happy New Year to you all  

I’m looking for recommendations for a suitable tripod for my 20 x 80 Celestron binoculars, they are used infrequently so was hoping to get something that doesn’t really break the bank too much. 

Could anyone help please? 
 

TIA Shelly

I have just bought one of these K&F tripods for use with my 20x80 binoculars. You don't specify a budget - the one linked to is their tallest aluminium tripod and costs £103 - however if you are tall (I am 6'2") then this tripod puts the binoculars at eye height without needing to extend the centre column. There are also a range of shorter K&F tripods available if you don't  need the height. The other useful feature this tripod has is a second 'centre' column that can pivot through 90 degrees - this means you can have the binoculars off to one side so you are not kicking the tripod legs - or use the tripod to one side of a chair while having the binoculars in front of you. Not as good as a parallelogram mount, but a lot cheaper!

[ShellyL]

Thanks Guys, I’ll check these both out. 
 

Shelly

[BinocularSky]

I'm more a fan of monopods than tripods, but, if you're sure you want a tripod, this is worth it just for the trigger-grip head alone.

Edited January 2, 2021 by BinocularSky

[ShellyL]

Thanks, I’ll take look but I’ll also have a look at some monopods too. 
 

Shelly

[HollyHound]

6 hours ago, BinocularSky said:

I'm more a fan of monopods than tripods, but, if you're sure you want a tripod, this is worth it just for the trigger-grip head alone.

I’ve just received this exact same one for Christmas (having seen previous recommendation on here)... really excellent, tall and the trigger grip is really easy to use 😃

I’m using it with Nikon Monarch 5 8x56, which although should be hand holdable, I find them so easy to use on this tripod and they make a good “spotting” binocular alongside one of my scopes 👍

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Also a monopod fan. Mine is a Benro with Falconeyes pistol grip

[cupton]

Ive seen recommendations for both a monopod and tripods and I have no idea which would be better. Im in a similar boat. I just recently purchased some Nikon SP 20x60 WP binos at a super good price I just couldn't pass up. Ive been wanting those for a while. I have no way to mount them at the moment other than on my scope tripods. Been looking at some dedicated Bino options. The Trigger-Grip Head looks interesting. I've read Steves Binocular Sky page which was super helpful in laying out all the different options, so then I was also looking at pan heads and found what looked like a decent tripod/monopod combo that can support 4 times what the Pentax weighs. This is what I was looking at: Victiv 72 Inch Tripod/Monopod

Anyone know if the Amazon tripod and ball head max extended size of 72.6 inches includes the trigger ball head in those dimensions or is that the height of just the tripod. Sorry, I couldn't find that particular bit of info. I was going to message amazon to see if they knew. 

 

I would could also be mounting some roof 10x50's on whatever mounting option I end up with. Thats my hand holding pair, but I can see mounting them from time to time. 

[HollyHound]

36 minutes ago, cupton said:

Anyone know if the Amazon tripod and ball head max extended size of 72.6 inches includes the trigger ball head in those dimensions or is that the height of just the tripod. Sorry, I couldn't find that particular bit of info. I was going to message amazon to see if they knew. 

I would could also be mounting some roof 10x50's on whatever mounting option I end up with. Thats my hand holding pair, but I can see mounting them from time to time. 

It does include the trigger ball head... just measured mine.

I keep my Nikon Monarch 8x56 on this setup all the time now, as although they can be hand held, I just love that this can be quickly setup alone or next to a scope and used for quickly looking around the sky 👍

[cupton]

56 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

It does include the trigger ball head... just measured mine.

I keep my Nikon Monarch 8x56 on this setup all the time now, as although they can be hand held, I just love that this can be quickly setup alone or next to a scope and used for quickly looking around the sky 👍

Thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated! So basically both options I am looking at are roughly 72-inches not including the Bino adapter. Now I just need to decide if I would prefer the trigger grip or a pan head to mount 20x60's on.  I've never used binoculars on a mount before. I guess one of the good things about Amazon is the ease of returning an item. 

[HollyHound]

14 minutes ago, cupton said:

Thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated! So basically both options I am looking at are roughly 72-inches not including the Bino adapter. Now I just need to decide if I would prefer the trigger grip or a pan head to mount 20x60's on.  I've never used binoculars on a mount before. I guess one of the good things about Amazon is the ease of returning an item. 

Yes the Bino adaptor would extend on top of that. I'm 6'2" and can easily view up to around 50 degrees or more with this fully extended 👍

[cupton]

4 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Yes the Bino adaptor would extend on top of that. I'm 6'2" and can easily view up to around 50 degrees or more with this fully extended 👍

Good to know! You have about 4" on me.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @ShellyL and welcome to SGL. 

I use a Manfrotto 055PROB tripod, [sometimes a monopod... I have three], and a joystick/trigger ballhead with my 20x80's or 7x50's. (images below).

<--- Revelation ASTRO 20x80's

<--- SONY 7x50's

[TerryMcK]

On 01/01/2021 at 19:14, Shimrod said:

I have just bought one of these K&F tripods for use with my 20x80 binoculars. You don't specify a budget - the one linked to is their tallest aluminium tripod and costs £103 - however if you are tall (I am 6'2") then this tripod puts the binoculars at eye height without needing to extend the centre column. There are also a range of shorter K&F tripods available if you don't  need the height. The other useful feature this tripod has is a second 'centre' column that can pivot through 90 degrees - this means you can have the binoculars off to one side so you are not kicking the tripod legs - or use the tripod to one side of a chair while having the binoculars in front of you. Not as good as a parallelogram mount, but a lot cheaper!

I have just bought one of these K&F tripods and am impressed with it. It holds my Helios 20x80's with ease along with a Dynasun WT011H 3/8 Tripod Head Grip Action Ball https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001B0C2S6

It also converts to a monopod. Well recommended.

[cupton]

Hearing great thinks about the Oberwerk 2000 Monopod and Trigger Grip Head as I peruse though forums and reviews. I fired off an email to Kevin at Oberwerk asking a couple of questions and he got right back to me and said he loves using monopods and thinks the 20x60's would work great with them. I think I will give it a try since I can also use the monopod with my 10x50's as well. For now, I am looking to go light and portable for instantaneous viewing since the window of opportunity where I live in the fall and winters is short. Good news is if I decide I want to get a tripod down the road I can pick one up and I would already have the head and binocular adapter.

Thanks for all the info and advice. Also, last night I realize that I may of hijacked this thread so many apologies to the OP of this thread. 😬

Edited January 14, 2021 by cupton

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I much prefer using a monopod over a tripod for ease of use. My Benro MAD49A monopod is a good 75" in length (before attaching the trigger-grip and ball head, or the binocular adapter. They sell for between 50 and 70 euros over here, so quite affordable too. It is very sturdy indeed

[ShellyL]

Thank you all for your replies, I decided that I preferred a tripod over a monopod so went with the suggestion of @Nik271 as I am not very tall so don't need the extra height and at some point I may decide to use the monopod anyway.  So far Im really pleased with it.  Again, thank you all for your suggestions and taking the time to reply to me, its greatly appreciated.

Shelly

 

[BinocularSky]

The advice that comes with these trigger grips is usually conspicuous by its absence. So I wrote some: https://binocularsky.com/manuals/TG-manual.pdf 🙂