Tripod for binoculars

[colonelfrog]

Hi there. I was wondering what anyone could recommend for a tripod for my binoculars (Celestron Skymaster). I have had neck problems for years and I get a terrible crick in my neck from staring upwards for long periods. I don't want to spend the earth. Is there anything that extends to make viewing a more comfortable experience?

Cheers:D

[Johnboy]

Hi,

I've never tried them, but this looks quite good: http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/binocular/mountings/mirror/scopeteknix/astro-engineering.html

regards,

John

[Doug]

Hi

Yes I can recommened the Horizon 8115 got mine from First Light optics( at the top of this page)had it for a few months now it's very sturdy and a few of my friends from my club have had them for years and still looks brand new I use a pair of Opticron 15x80 which are heavier then yours and one of my friends uses them for a 25x100 and works well, hope this helps

Doug

Essex

[JamesM]

The biggest problem with a typical tripod is first their limited extended height relative to your own. The other difficulty I found was the fact that they don't tilt up high enough to see anything near the zenith (above you). When ever I have sen purpose built binocular mounts, they have always placed the binoculars in a kind of yoke that allows you to reach that extra bit of sky that the usual 'pan and tilt' tripod heads can't supply. Given your neck problems I would recommend John's suggestion above or something like it but I would want to make sure that the size of your skymasters are compatible.

James

[brantuk]

Perhaps you could look into parallelogram binocular holders and/or consider laying down on a camping bed to view. A lot of people do this quite successfully - you often see them at star parties wrapped in a cucoon of sleeping bags and blankets lol.

Have a gander at this:

[glowjet]

I suffer with neck problems too and I am making a parallelogram mount similar to that provided by Orion telescope and binoculars, I have just acquired a Blacks reclining camping chair ( excellent product ) at present on offer at half price, to complete the outfit.

John.

[Taff]

With my 20x80s bins i use a horizon 8115 tripod which is very steady and go up to a nice height.Mark

[scogyrd]

Hi,

I've never tried them, but this looks quite good: http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/binocular/mountings/mirror/scopeteknix/astro-engineering.html

regards,

John

I've got one of these and I do like it but it's only really any good for 10x50s or smaller so I don't use it much. If you plan on using it with bigger bins I would recommend getting a bigger mirror mount.

[pete_l]

I can second (or third) the comments about using a tripod. Further, the higher up the binoculars get (even if the tripod will extend above head height) the less stable they become and the more wobbly are the views through them.

I'm a big fan of a parallelogram mount and made one for myself. Since I use my 25x100 binoculars from a fixed location, I sunk a piece of scaffolding pipe into the ground. Since this is hollow I can insert the wooden upright from my home-made parallelogram into that and rotate it 360° quite easily. Using a 2 litre plastic bottle filled with water for the counterweight the whole thing is actually easy to use - even with those large binoculars.

It looks a bit unsightly, but at night no-one can see it anyway