Artcise HS80C Tripod. Wow!

[Space Oddities]

Hey everyone!

I figured it was time for a new tripod. My cheap Neewer carbon fiber tripod has served me well, but I felt it was not stable enough. While looking on Amazon, I found the tripods from an unknown brand called Artcise (apparently sometimes advertised as 'Innorel' too). The reviews were very good for all models, so I decided to give it a go.

I went for the HS80C tripod unit, that costs 280€. The specs are impressive:

• Carbon fiber legs (10 layers), in 4 sections
• One of the legs unscrews and can be used as a monopod
• Legs diameter vary from 25mm to 35mm
• 30kg payload (!)
• About 2kg in weight
• 161cm in height, fully deployed (I'm about 1.76m tall and the base of the tripod is roughly where my eyes are!)
• Feet are made of rubber, and can be unscrewed and replaced by the included metallic spikes
• Comes with 2 bases, that support the ballhead: one is fixed, and one is adjustable, so you can level your ballhead
• No central column, but a triple hook made of metal, that also serves as a locking screw for the bases
• A 3/8" hole at the base of the tripod, allows you to fix accessories. This model comes with a 'magic arm' and a smartphone holder.
• Everything, including accessories, is made of metal and seem very solid
• You can add a central column too (sold separately)

Here are some pictures  

What's in the box:

 

The bag is pretty nice, and fits both the tripod itself and the William Optics polar wedge (it's a bit tight, but it fits). The bag has an inner pocket where you can store some tools. That's where I put the magic arm and the tablet holder. The bag can be carried from the top handle, side handles or with the strap.

Here is the tripod unit and the wedge.

You can unscrew the rubber feet and replace them with metallic spikes. They seem very solid!

Now the interesting part! I selected this tripod because you have the choice between 2 bases, both made of solid aluminium and with 3/8" connection:

• A fixed one (grey)
• An adjustable one (black), if you want to level the tripod precisely and easily

They're both lockable by turning the triple hook below. Really ingenuous design. The adjustable base is very smooth to adjust, and as you can see on the picture, you have a lot of room to adjust the angle! I'll probably use that one to level my mount precisely   The adjustable base can also be rotated freely in azimuth.

The fixed base cannot rotate freely, due to the use of 3 notches to lock it in place. But that still gives you 3 possible positions. 

There's also a little bubble level, it seems to match the one on my WO wedge. Always nice to have, but a dedicated bubble level might be more precise.

Another thing I liked is the possibility to screw something to the base, that has a 3/8" threaded hole. It's perfect for my iPad mini while setting up the ASIAIR. During the polar alignment or focusing routines, it is so much easier to have the iPad close and visible, while having your hands free to make adjustments to the mount or the scope.

The tripod comes with a 'magic arm', that's really well made and seems to support the weight of the iPad Mini + the metal holder pretty well. It vibrates a bit, but I can live with that!   They also give you a smartphone holder. I'm not sure if it's useful, but it can be nice if you want to use it as a remote control on a small Wi-Fi go-to mount, like the az-gti!

 

And here is the tripod unit with my AZ-GTi!

 

Overall, I'm really impressed by the quality of the tripod. For the price, and given the specs, it's excellent. I'll have to test the stability in the field, but it's definitely an improvement compared to my Neewer tripod. I'm pretty sure it will handle my setup very well.

It ticked all the boxes I had:

• Leveling base for easy and precise leveling, and adjustment of the azimuth
• Hook to suspend my bag & accessories, and improve stability
• Possibility to mount my iPad mini on the side, or another accessory
• Nice carry bag, that fits both the tripod and the WO wedge
• Quite light but with a high payload
• Very sturdy and solid construction
• Reasonably priced (279€!)

This brands also sells other models that can carry a bit more weight (35 or 40kg!). They're all very similar, but what I liked with this one is the accessories it comes with, and the fact that it remains easily transportable. My scopes are rather small (RedCat or 72mm refractors), and they usually both fit in a backpack, together with the camera, battery, filters, red light, etc. The backpack could potentially even carry the tripod, so that's perfect for traveling.

I'll try to continue this thread after the tripod's first light!  

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Space Oddities

[Ags]

I am a big fan of Artcise tripods since buying one earlier this year. I got this one:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001609653198.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.23.3ae41819HSkVOc

[Space Oddities]

Nice! How stable did you find this model?

[Ags]

Very good, fine for my Skymax 102 and for photography with an AZ-GTi. It's a nice size and weight for air travel too 😀

It just feels well thought out and oozes quality.

[Ags]

Just a note - I had the 60C fully extended tonight for a change and was looking at doubles. The tripod held up nicely while using 220x magnification. 

[Space Oddities]

I made a payload test yesterday (all I can do now due to weather...) with the rubber feet instead of the spikes, and was pleased by the stability. It seems rock solid! Of course I have a rather light setup: 3.3 kg for the OTA, camera and accessories; 4 kg for the mount, latitude base and counterweights. So less than 8 kg in total, for a tripod that can carry almost 4 times as much.

I realized (almost the hard way) that although the adjustment bowl is very practical, you shouldn't try to loosen it with your gear mounted   After all it's carrying 7-8 kg, so you need to be careful smart!

I also found out that the little arm holding my iPad can be tightened more firmly using a hex key. That proved to be useful and much more stable than tightening it by hand.

Overall this tripod is extremely stable and well made, I'm very pleased  

[Alien 13]

Thanks to your thread I went exploring Artcise kit and ended up buying one of the mid range ball heads, am blown away with the silky smoothness and the whopping 20Kg load capacity..

Alan 

[Space Oddities]

Glad I could inspire you  Maybe I should become their influencer to earn a few bucks... 😅

[Alien 13]

19 minutes ago, Space Oddities said:

Glad I could inspire you  Maybe I should become their influencer to earn a few bucks... 😅

Not a bad idea, do realy want that tripod too.

Alan

[Mr Spock]

That's a real beauty. It looks really well made.

[Icesheet]

Love that little arm to hold the iPad! When you’ve already got a solid package that’s the attention to detail that makes a difference

[s33k3r]

On 16/04/2021 at 13:33, Ags said:

I am a big fan of Artcise tripods since buying one earlier this year. I got this one:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001609653198.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.23.3ae41819HSkVOc

I've been looking at this exact tripod to replace the one that came with my AZ-GTI + 127 mak combo (this setup should be around +/- 8kgs, extension pillar + AZ-GTI + telescope), but I'm unsure of it's stability, would you say it's better than the stock one? Looking to dabble in EAA in a nearby future, so maybe a wedge and weight are in the horizon, but with a max load of 18kg, it looks like this tripod would be the best bang for the buck.

[Sunshine]

That is one beauty of  a tripod, now lets convince them to make scopes!

[Ags]

6 hours ago, s33k3r said:

I've been looking at this exact tripod to replace the one that came with my AZ-GTI + 127 mak combo (this setup should be around +/- 8kgs, extension pillar + AZ-GTI + telescope), but I'm unsure of it's stability, would you say it's better than the stock one? Looking to dabble in EAA in a nearby future, so maybe a wedge and weight are in the horizon, but with a max load of 18kg, it looks like this tripod would be the best bang for the buck.

I have never used the stock tripod so I can't really say. I don't consider the tripod as particularly stable though - I like it because it is light and small and very transportable, and much taller than my Report tripod. The most visual load I have put on it when fully extended is about 6kg (extension tube, 1kg counterweight, AZT6 travel head, small refractor, 50mm finder). For photography it an carry my AZ-GTI and a small scope or lens.

Edited August 25, 2021 by Ags

[Space Oddities]

I've been using the HS80C lately with my 130mm Newtonian and mount (about 8-9kg), and it was very stable. I can't comment on other models, but if it's anything like mine, then it's a great buy!  

[s33k3r]

Thanks for the insights, yeah for what I'm looking to do the HS80C seems to be the best fit, but a portable astro photography setup with the CS60C seems quite tempting.