Digiscoping advice for Swarovski 65HD (1 Viewer)

Hi

I've got a Swarovski 65HD and Nikon D50 and would like to try digiscoping. The scope is on a Manfrotto 190CLB with 700RC head and is already tail heavy without adding adapters/camera etc to the back end. What do I need to get to get the balance better and stand a chance of getting a picture? Apologies if this
has already been covered but couldn't find what I was looking for.

Regards

Hi John

To be honest the tripod head you are using will struggle to hold this scope with an slr on the back of it, you could weight the front end, but really this isn't the ideal solution.

Personally I think the best bet would be to replace your 700 head with a 128, this will instantly improve the stability and usability of the set up. To make it even better you could also add a Swarovski balance rail - this is a great bit of kit that replaces the quick release plate and allows you to move the centre of balance forward by approximately 10cm. The balance rail also had grooved edges to stop the scope from rotating. The picture shows a 128 head with the balance rail.

or another good option would be to buy this bargain 055 legs and 501 head that is on sale in the classifieds - http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=46471

This is the set up I use both for digiscoping and when using a dslr and long lens. I'm very tempted to snap it up myself as a spare, but don't think my wife would think it was a good idea.

Thanks for the information postcardcv, think I'll investigate the 128 head/balance rail route as this is probably the lighter (I've still got to carry all this stuff) option. Make a nice Christmas present to myself!

It is definitely lighter than using the 501 head, and should be cheaper too - a 128 head should be £59 and a balance rail will be about £30. Another big advantage of the 128 head with the Swarovski scope is that when you aren't using the balance rail the foot of the scope fits directly into the head without the need for a quick release plate, this totally removes any potential rotation problems.