[leighonigar]

Hi there -

I need to get a new tripod, because I recently purchased my first scope (Nikon RA III 60mm, which I guess is about 1kg). My existing tripod extends to 147cm, but it's about 20cm too short. From this I take it I need something of about 167cm.

My budget isn't enormous, but I would like to spend enough to get a decent product, reasonably sturdy and long-lasting and ideally not horribly heavy. I know, rather a lot to ask!

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/trip...ty-tripod.html for instance is surely great for stability, but at 4kg it's too much to be carting around all day.

I've used a Slik Master tripod a fair bit and that seemed to be able to take a beating, I also liked the one-touch head. From this I'm considering the Velbon Sherpa 600R, seemingly available for about £70. Thoughts?

I've also seen people recommend the Slik sprint pro, which is endearingly light and cheap. Surely a bit too cheap though for the specs?

Any other suggestions (including 'get an angled scope') appreciated.

Oh, and it's me that's 6ft, not the scope...

[John Russell]

I saw a Chinese-made Camlink tripod at a local dealer recently. It was complete with video head, looked very solid and was very reasonably priced.

Could well have been this model:- http://www.camlink.eu.com/products/t.../TPPRO28C.html

Regards,

John

[leighonigar]

Thanks John, I have seen the camlinks advertised, but not in person. As ever I'm trading off weight with rigidity. I suspect that model might be a bit on the heavy side for me. I will weigh my current setup to better inform my judgement.

[johnf3f]

Have a look at the Manfrotto 55 in it's various incarnations - good solid no nonsense kit. However I would STRONGLY recommend that you scour the used market, I picked up a very decent nick 3 series Gitzo Carbon Systematic with a center column. When I asked the price, I was asking about the center column only (as I already had a 3 series Systematic), I was told 100 quid for the lot! True this was the older model of the tripod but they still fetch top money - so well worth a look at used kit.
P.S. This used Gitzo G1329 Mk2 is far more stable (though heavier) than my brand new Gitzo GT2531 and quite a bit taller.

[dwatsonbirder]

The Cullmann Nanomax tripods looks pretty decent, I think the two models are £50 and £70 respectively.