Tripod for ED50 (1 Viewer)

Hello all,

after one year of birding with only a cheap binocular I am planning to buy a spotting scope. Reading through a lot of threads in this forum I think that the Nikon ED 50 with a 13-40x eyepiece would be right for me. Now I am looking for a good lightweight tripod. As I don't know which things I have to consider I hope that anyone can help me with my decision and recommend me a good tripod.

Thanks for any help!

If you've been reading here on Birdforum, you've already heard many testimonials as to the benefits of the 27x eyepiece over the zoom, but I still feel obligated to say you ought to try it. Since the scope body is hard to buy w/o zoom eyepiece these days I can understand why you might go that route at least to start.

As for a tripod, I haven't kept up with the very latest models/offerings, but if you can afford it, I strongly recommend getting a carbon fiber tripod of approximately 1 kilo mass. The benefit of a good quality CF tripod (e.g Gitzo) is that it will damp vibrations much better than an aluminium equivalent (it is also nicer on the fingers in cold weather). As for a head, the ED50 is so light in weight, it hardly matters. Even the very light Bogen 700RC2 fluid head almost seems an overkill to me. I'd probably go with a traditional scope pan head (the kind that has no "fluid", and where the handle twists to lock the head), or else maybe a high quality ball head with good friction/drag control.

--AP

I really read thourgh the posts where the fixed 27x eyepiece was preferred to the zoom but I thought that for the beginning a zoom eyepiece would give me more flexibility (watching birds that are very close and even get a good view for great distances at 40x). Does the better quality and greater FOV really compensate the ability to zoom? Actually it is no problem in Germany to purchase scope and eyepieces separately, so this would be no problem...

A carbon tripod is too expensive for me at the moment, I thought to spend about 100€ for the tripod and head. Do I get good quality for this price? For example, what do you think about the Manfrotto 715SHB ?

LittleBittern;1269107Does the better quality and greater FOV really compensate the ability to zoom? what do you think about the [URL="http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/pid/3935" said:

Manfrotto 715SHB[/URL] ?

Click to expand...

In my opinion, the wider FOV of the fixed does indeed compensate for being able to zoom because the view is quite wide. Of course depth of field is more shallow at 27x than 13x, but since you don't have to zoom, I think the scope is much easier and enjoyable to use overall (you can invest your zooming energy in focusing). I don't think there is a quality difference between these eyepieces, so technically, the 40x will show more detail than the 27x, but in practice that ~50% boost in magnification is usually of little consequence (it is nothing compared to the 300+% when comparing 8x bino to 27x scope). If you use your scope in very low light frequently, the zoom will also have the advantage of greater brightness at low powers.

As for that tripod, I suppose it could be OK for the angled ED50. Still, it seems quite short to me--on a tripod like this you certainly don't want to be using the center column to gain height. I'd be more inclined toward this related model
http://www.bogenimaging.us/Jahia/si...MINI 3W TRIPOD BLK&curBrandId=MAN&market=MKT1
based on specs alone (I've no experience with it. Just looking at the specs/pics I'm not that enthusiastic about it as the tripod weight seems high relative to the weight it is supposed to be able to support. It also seems pricey given the quality. I hope someone will be able to suggest some better alternatives).

--AP

If you're getting the angled version, this is what I use and it performs perfectly with the angled ED50:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Benro-C-028...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Benro-KB-0-...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Much less expensive than the Gitzo equivalent and is of very good quality.
If you are getting a straight scope you will need a taller tripod.
If you put the ED50 on a 4 or 5 pound tripod/head setup you are largely defeating the purpose IMO. Stick with light weight, you'll enjoy it much more. ;^)

If keeping weight down is your prime objective then take a look and the Slik video sprint tripod, it is also very compact when folded. However, it is not particularly stable in windy conditions and is probably a bit short if you are 6ft plus.

Thank you for all the valuable information! I think the Slik tripod would be perfect as the light weight makes it ideal for taking with me on hiking tours and the price is really nice. As far as I see the Slik video sprint is not available in Germany but I found the Sprint GM/GC which has nearly the same specs (-> http://www.slik.com/e/slik_10.jpg ). However the mounting plate seems to be a little bit different and has no arm for panning. Is this important when using a spotting scope?

That has a ball and socket rather than a panhead - the latter is more popular for spotting scopes, and, while some prefer the ball heads, I'd play it safe with a panhead. The Manfrotto 718 mentioned is a good option, as are these, but I dont know if you can get them in Germany. http://www.velbon.co.uk/newvelbon/pages/digitripods.html

When yesterday the package with the scope arrived, I could not wait to try it out and so I went directly to the local retailer and got myself a Manfrotto 715B. It has a ball head integrated in the middle axis and with a weight of 1,15 kg and a height of 44 cm when folded it is perfect for carrying around. At the first test it seemed very stable but the weather was very calm. Maybe I want to get another mounting plate one day because the included one has a quick release lever which may opens when carrying the tripod with scope over the shoulder. I don't know if there exists any other mounting plate system that attaches the scope better?

I am totally enthusiastic about the ED50, I did not expect to get such a bright and clear although with such a little scope. I decided for the 40x zoom eyepiece and I like it very much, even at maximum magnification it is much brighter than with my binocular (a Nikon 10x25 Sport Lite).
Unfortunately there were not that spectacular sightings at our pond this weekend (some coots, tufted ducks, pochards, ...), so I am looking forward to migration in September.