410-compatible light mount?

Post by **Airconvent** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 10:11 pm

I previosuly sold my 190D to buy a 055 as my ex-Orion 80ED is too heavy.
Now I am regretting it as its so heavy and I am only using a small 60mm scope. I was at Cathay and they have a small light tripod that may bear the weight but its a slik brand and the screw is too small for the manfrotto head.
the tripod is rated 2kg only but from experience, as long as I do not mind the vibration, I can easily put about 5kg on it without problems.
the issue is the screw size.
anyone has a recommendation for a 410-compatible tripod that is lighter than the 190D?
thanks

anat · Post by **anat** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 10:36 pm

Rich:

You may look for a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter. It is available in most camera shops. Most Japanese tripods use 1/4" screws. BTW, 410 alone weighs about 2 kg

Anat

blurblock · Post by **blurblock** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 10:39 pm

Try the Slik 700Dx. The legs are as light as the 400Dx, but rated to carry up to 8kg. You can remove the head.

If you really don't mind the Vibration, for the Screw Size for your 300/400DX, what you need is a screw adapter from Cathay, it is about $2 - $3 for the adapter. Get it from the Studio Lighting side.

ariefm71 · Post by **ariefm71** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 10:46 pm

A good rule of thumb with camera tripods is to only consider half the rated weight capacity when considering it for a telescope. The rated capacities are determined with a camera with little or no magnification, pointed at the horizon, not a long telescope at high power pointed vertical and with a side load.

Post by **Airconvent** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:44 am

thanks all....i know about the weight issue, I actually wanted to keep the setup light, that is why i was prepared to exceed the load rating. not enough to break it but enough to result in some vibration.

for the light Slik model I saw, the guy at cathay photo kept on telling me not to get it as its is rated at 2kg only!

but have some problems imagining how it would look with a 3kg scope + 2 kg manfrotto head on it...not forgetiing the eyepieces and finder!

rich

Post by **weixing** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 2:11 am

Hi,

for the light Slik model I saw, the guy at cathay photo kept on telling me not to get it as its is rated at 2kg only! but have some problems imagining how it would look with a 3kg scope + 2 kg manfrotto head on it...not forgetiing the eyepieces and finder!

I think you are looking at the SLIK 340DX... it really only had a small load... I think will be very unstable when putting something more than 2kg at leg fully extended.

Try the SLIK 700DX with MicroStar... should be a very good and portable setup for your small scope.

Have a nice day.

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 4:30 pm

Hi Rich, I use the Grottos carbon-fibre tripod & Velbon panhead for my 80mm apo (or C5) as a good portable setup. If you like to take a look, let me know.

Post by **Airconvent** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 6:18 pm

weixing wrote:Hi,
I think you are looking at the SLIK 340DX... it really only had a small load... I think will be very unstable when putting something more than 2kg at leg fully extended.

Try the SLIK 700DX with MicroStar... should be a very good and portable setup for your small scope.

Have a nice day.

Hi WS,
Are you talking about the 300DX and 700 DXseries ?
the one I saw at Cathay was the 300ABLE series without the head. it felt light and comfortable in my hands but selling for S$179! at that price, I might as well buy back a second hand 190D.
(I sold my ex-190 D tripod away for $60!) but the 190D is still too heavy for my preference....(I can hear rlow and cc talking about how "light" these tripods are! :-) )

are the weights indicated the mass of the tripod or their load rating?
I see that I can get an adapter if the screw is too small but the guy at Cathay did warn that the screw will break with the adapter if the load is too heavy!

rlow wrote:Hi Rich, I use the Grottos carbon-fibre tripod & Velbon panhead for my 80mm apo (or C5) as a good portable setup. If you like to take a look, let me know.

hi richII,
thanks for the kind offer. I can't seem to find the grottos website. do you have the link?
i do fear the word "carbon fibre" as I noticed all the carbon fibre tripods at Cathay are above S$350! also, I prefer the 410 head as opposed to the handle-type head as I need precise adjustments...

rich

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:01 pm

Hi Rlow, how much does a Velbon pan-head cost?
I recently used my brother's school's video tripod and it was a blast. Absolutely stable! - though abit heavy. But I think that one tripod+head cost about $1k ... hee hee ...
So I've started looking at video setups for my grab+go C8. Though my 055+410 still works well as my travel scope with the 80mm. =)

Post by **VinSnr** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:37 pm

jermng wrote:Hi Rlow, how much does a Velbon pan-head cost?
I recently used my brother's school's video tripod and it was a blast. Absolutely stable! - though abit heavy. But I think that one tripod+head cost about $1k ... hee hee ...
So I've started looking at video setups for my grab+go C8. Though my 055+410 still works well as my travel scope with the 80mm. =)

I say buy a $200 wooden surveyor tripod and add the Astroslew mount for $400++ and you get a super stable setup for less than a thousand. You can even mount two scopes on that.