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The Tripod Advisorby Michael and Diane Porter
Q. Which economical tripod is good for a full-sized spotting scope?
The Manfrotto legs are excellent for all full-sized spotting scopes, and are the best value for the price of anything in their price range. The head is a microfluid head with a quick release. It's the Manfrotto 128RC. Until a couple of years ago it was called the Bogen 3130. It's still made Manfrotto, in Italy, as it always was, but the US distributor, which used to call itself Bogen, has had a name change from Bogen to Manfrotto Distributing. This has been a favorite tripod head for many years. It has stood the test of time, and it's still our best selling tripod head. The Manfrotto 055XDB tripod legs and the Manfrotto 128RC head are available as a kit. This is the standard tripod-and-head combination that we recommend when people ask us what to get. Q. What is the lowest cost good head to use with a full-sized scope? The Manfrotto 700RC2 head is very economical and is well made and effective. It works with any standard tripod legs. Q. Is there a head that makes it easy to balance scope and camera while digiscoping? Manfrotto makes the 701HDV head with a long sliding plate that helps you position your scope's center of gravity. This is especially helpful when you add a camera for digiscoping. Q. Is there a high-end, super-lightweight tripod that is really steady? A. Indeed there is. It's a carbon fiber tripod by Gitzo, the GT2531. This is a wonderfully strong tripod. It will hold a full-sized scope just as steady as a much heavier aluminum tripod. Imagine carrying a superbly strong tripod that weighs only three pounds! You cannot get a better tripod. You must buy a head to go with it. We recommend the Gitzo Fluid Head GH1720. This is a splendid head that weighs only a pound. It is a completely new design, made especially for birders. It is smooth and controlled when you move it slowly, but it releases the friction for fast panning so that you can zip from side to side easily. Q. Is there a compact carbon fiber tripod at a lower price? A. We recommend the Manfrotto 190CXPRO4. Thanks to its 4-section telescoping leg sections, it is very compact, just under 20 inches stowing length. It weighs under 3 pounds, with a maximum height of 57.5 inches. This carbon fiber tripod by Manfrotto has a much lower price than those by Gitzo. Q. Is there an extremely tiny, lightweight, top-quality carbon fiber tripod for a small scope?
We like it with the Gitzo Fluid Head GH1720 head. Great for travel when compactness is the main consideration, but you still want a steady tripod. We would not normally pair the Gitzo Traveler with a full-sized 80mm spotting scope, but it's simply wonderful with a small scope such as the Nikon 13-30x50 ED Field scope. Copyright 2012 by Michael and Diane Porter.
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