Ultralight tripod/head for a 400 g (14 oz) scope (1 Viewer)

[4John]

I have a monopod I’ve used with my Celestron hummingbird and I find I max out of tolerable viewing around 30x and it takes some getting used to how to hold it. It has a rubber spike which pulls off to reveal a metal spike and I find it most stable with the metal spike in soft ground like grass or dirt. I would be wary of using a monopod at any magnification over 30 as even in ideal conditions you won’t have a good time. I also have a tripod with a removable leg to use as a monopod but it’s pretty horrible on account of being way too short to get to eye level for me (I am over 6’) so if you are considering that look at how long the leg is.

I have used a Nikon ED50 for over 10 years. I started with lightweight tripods and the lightest 3-way heads and found they were all too flimsy, easily blown over and too cumbersome. I then switched to a monopod and I haven't looked back. The hardest motion to control is the twisting of the monopod. Without something to stop it I agree you won't have a good time. Sticking the end in the ground will help, but there are much better solutions available. The Monostat as championed by Hermann in post #7 above is one solution. I use a single fold-down foot robbed from one of these :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Aluminium-Monopod-Single-Tripod/dp/B001CZOQ0W

All you do is fold the foot down and put your foot on it. This completely stops any rotation of the monopod and I get perfectly "good time" at the x40 limit of the MC2 zoom (lighting and atmospheric conditions permitting). If I need to twist the monopod to get on the bird I simply lift my foot slightly to let it slide over the ground and then put my foot down to hold it once it's in position. I started off with a 3-way head on the monopod but soon found it was redundant, because it was quicker and easier to get on the bird by tilting the monopod left and right, forwards and backwards and by adjusting the height. The ED50 is therefore attached to the top of the monopod with a Velbon QRA-3 Q/R plate.

 

[has530]

I have used a Nikon ED50 for over 10 years. I started with lightweight tripods and the lightest 3-way heads and found they were all too flimsy, easily blown over and too cumbersome. I then switched to a monopod and I haven't looked back. The hardest motion to control is the twisting of the monopod. Without something to stop it I agree you won't have a good time. Sticking the end in the ground will help, but there are much better solutions available. The Monostat as championed by Hermann in post #7 above is one solution. I use a single fold-down foot robbed from one of these :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Aluminium-Monopod-Single-Tripod/dp/B001CZOQ0W

All you do is fold the foot down and put your foot on it. This completely stops any rotation of the monopod and I get perfectly "good time" at the x40 limit of the MC2 zoom (lighting and atmospheric conditions permitting). If I need to twist the monopod to get on the bird I simply lift my foot slightly to let it slide over the ground and then put my foot down to hold it once it's in position. I started off with a 3-way head on the monopod but soon found it was redundant, because it was quicker and easier to get on the bird by tilting the monopod left and right, forwards and backwards and by adjusting the height. The ED50 is therefore attached to the top of the monopod with a Velbon QRA-3 Q/R plate.

Thanks for the tip, yes swivel is the biggest challenge. I see if I can give something like this a try.