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Solid and tall tripod for big binoculars ?

John

By John
in Discussions - Binoculars

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John

John

Posted
Posted

I've recently acquired a couple of pairs of large binoculars - some 20x80's and a pair of the rather daunting 25x100's.

I'm now looking for a tall (6 ft plus) tripod that I can put them on and I'd be interested in suggestions from those with more experience of big binos than I have :p

I've seen the Horizon 8115 tripod listed at First Light which may be a good bet for the 20x80's but I'm unsure if it's up to the 25x100's - they weigh around 5kg :)

Thanks :p

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Chris Stacey

Chris Stacey

Posted
Posted

I don't know about specific tripods for binoculars, but I bought an Adam Hall tripod (for pa speakers) it can hold up to 40kg, very stable, and a height of up to 2.2 meters....then with a bit of modifying here and there I put a camera adaptor on top, so the same could be done for binoculars.......i'm not sure what they cost these days, but I paid about 50quid a few years back, I don't know how that compares to dedicated photographic tripods though as I rarely use them...

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G2EWS

G2EWS

Posted
Posted

Hi John,

Depends entirely on how much you want to spend.

From the recent thread on my new binos here is a photo of my tripod with gimbal holding the binos:

DSC_5481.jpg

Wimberley Head Mk II (GIMBALMKII) - Warehouse Express

Jacobs Digital | Gitzo GT3530LS Systematic Tripod

This set up is probably an overkill. but you need to make sure that you have a steady tripod. Most of them with a centre column move too much for tall people.

Chris Stacey's solution sounds good, particularly if the tripod is up to 2.2M as not many photographic ones are that large.

Best regards

Chris

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Andrew*

Andrew*

Posted
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At a stretch, I think the horizon will take them, actually. It's a good sturdy tripod, and very tall. It handles my 15x70s with ease.

The Horizon is very good for the price, so I imagine to get a higher capacity tripod you'd have to spend over £100. The problem with a standard tripod is of course it's difficult to access zenith. Have you thought of alternative solutions (e.g. deckchair, parallelogram mounts, 1st surface mirrors, that weird counterweighted shoulder contraption)?

Andrew

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matt220781

matt220781

Posted
Posted

I've just got myself a Camlink TPPRO32B tripod which is fantastic.

I'm 6'2" so wanted something that easily goes above my head so i can look up into the binoculars.

Its very sturdy with my Revelation 15x70's on it. I'm not entirely sure what the capacity is though so i don't know if it would be suitable for your bincs.

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Andrew*

Andrew*

Posted
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That looks an evil contraption, with serious danger of damaging yourself and others near you!

Maybe so, and obviously if you're observing in a small space or with others, you might want to try something different, but it's a good alternative to tripod as it's less fiddly, more portable, not height dependant, easier to use, and enables zenith viewing :)

Andrew

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

Posted
Posted

Some good options for those bins already given John, for me I asked on the forum and took advice for my 20x90 Helios, Manfrotto 475B tripod and 501 HD head, comes in at around £300 so sort of mid range price wise.

Chris, that kit you have for your bins is very nice and very expensive :)

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John

John

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Thanks for the ideas so far - lot's to think about. As an occasional bino user I'm not going to be able to justify £1,200 for a tripod and head but thanks for the links Chris - it looks a great mounting solution :p

My CG5 2" steel tripod plus 16" extension goes well above 6 ft high - I guess another option would be a robust "L" adaptor to be carried by one of my alt-azimuth heads. Maybe I could get somethine made up for me :).

I was hoping to get something vaguely portable though .......

More thinking to do obviously - thanks again for all the ideas :p

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Hobbes

Hobbes

Posted
Posted
I've just got myself a Camlink TPPRO32B tripod which is fantastic.

I'm 6'2" so wanted something that easily goes above my head so i can look up into the binoculars.

Its very sturdy with my Revelation 15x70's on it. I'm not entirely sure what the capacity is though so i don't know if it would be suitable for your bincs.

I also have the Camlink TPPRO32B which I have used with 15x70's and 20x80's - it handled both with ease. I am 6'4" and I would not want anything shorter than the 200 cm that this one goes to.

Excellent tripod - I also like the boudle handles for steering.

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  • 4 weeks later...
John

John

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Matt

So would you really recommend these?

Any negatives and did you compare with the Horizons?

Thanks

Keith

In the end I bought a Horizon 8115. I found it pretty good and it held my 25x100's pretty well and is rock steady with my 20x80's. I've also got a Celestron C5 SCT which sits nicely on the Horizon 8115. It's slightly taller than advertised I reckon.

Overall I'm very pleased with it.

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