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Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Need your opinion, please. (1 Viewer)

cncbits

Member
Europe
Hello,

I feel like I've outgrown my starter kit: Celestron Ultima 80 and a cheap tripod.

This year I'm going to buy a Kowa TSN-99 or Swaro 115mm(most likely I'll choose Kowa), and a good quality tripod with a video/fluid head.

These will be expensive purchases for me, so I'll buy everything in stages. I want to start with the head.

I already know that it will be a two-axis video(fluid) head. But I need advice.
Which head would you recommend choosing for the Kowa TSN-99?

I want it to be a technically not outdated, still produced head with modern features.

I'm considering these options:
GHF2W; MVH500AH or VH-10.

Which of these options would be most suitable for the TSN-99?

Or maybe you know even better options that I didn't mention?

Budget for the head up to ~300€. But if I thought it was really worth it and I wanted to, I could spend more.

Another thing - aesthetics are also important to me, so after choosing a head, I will also choose a tripod from the same manufacturer.
 
I own an Kowa TSN-88 and the VH-5 head (+ST-125 legs), so the smaller brother if what you want to get and I really like to set up...the combo is very light weight considering the scope size.

Going for the best is also wise to prevent having the itch to upgrade again in a short while.

At the time I was debating between the TSN-88 and TSN-99 myself and I decided for the 88 (in my case I would have benefited from more light only some of the time vs carrying additional weight all of the time). I also got the 1.6 extender.
 
I own an Kowa TSN-88 and the VH-5 head (+ST-125 legs), so the smaller brother if what you want to get and I really like to set up...the combo is very light weight considering the scope size.

Going for the best is also wise to prevent having the itch to upgrade again in a short while.

At the time I was debating between the TSN-88 and TSN-99 myself and I decided for the 88 (in my case I would have benefited from more light only some of the time vs carrying additional weight all of the time). I also got the 1.6 extender.
It seems like a beautiful and rational combination of power and mobility. Do you think the VH-5 head would hold the extra ~400g. with the TSN-99 just as well? However, I will choose this model because I want to have a larger reserve for sky observation in the future.
 
I own an Kowa TSN-88 and the VH-5 head (+ST-125 legs), so the smaller brother if what you want to get and I really like to set up...the combo is very light weight considering the scope size.

Going for the best is also wise to prevent having the itch to upgrade again in a short while.

At the time I was debating between the TSN-88 and TSN-99 myself and I decided for the 88 (in my case I would have benefited from more light only some of the time vs carrying additional weight all of the time). I also got the 1.6 extender.
By the way, I'm trying to find as much information as possible about the smaller Sirui head and I want to clarify if it's a VH-5 or VA-5?
 
A couple of comments:
  • If you really get one of the big scopes, you'll need a stable head. I personally use the Manfrotto 500AH for my 82mm Fieldscope. It works just fine. I think the Gitzo GHF2W would also work. The Sirui ... I don't know their heads well enough, however, I'd want to try one thoroughly before getting it. IME Sirui isn't as good as Manfrotto and Gitzo.
  • Tripod - I'm a Gitzo guy, and I'd definitely get a Gitzo. A fairly big one ... :cool:
  • You wrote "Another thing - aesthetics are also important to me, so after choosing a head, I will also choose a tripod from the same manufacturer." That makes no sense to me. I'd only base my decisions on how well the head and the legs work.
  • You seem intent on buying the 99mm Kowa or the 115mm Swaro. Are you sure? The available reports on these two scopes aren't all that encouraging, cf. especially these threads: Kowa 99 Update? and Swarovski ATX-115: Star-test and Resolution Measurements. Also search for further postings by Juhani (Boldeneagle), Henry (Henry Link) and Kimmo (Kabsetz) on these scopes. It's saying a lot that none of these three experienced testers use one of these scopes.

Hermann
 
It seems like a beautiful and rational combination of power and mobility. Do you think the VH-5 head would hold the extra ~400g. with the TSN-99 just as well? However, I will choose this model because I want to have a larger reserve for sky observation in the future.

To clarify the models, there is

1. VA-5, which is the one I have (I mistakenly wrote VH-5, which I don't think exists).
2. VA-5X. I think this is the successor of the VA-5...fairly similar.
3. VH-10.

I don't think I would not recommend the VA-5 or VA-5X for the Kowa 99 or the Swaro 115... It works just fine with my Kowa 88 but if I did not walk it as much as I do I would have got the VH-10 and probably the ST224 legs, but that would add c.1.3kg to my combo.

This is the one I have:

Head is 0.5kg lighter than the VH-10 and the legs are 0.8kg lighter than the ST-224. For extra stabilization (or when I am tired) I hang my backpack from the tripod hook.
 
My preference is either the GHF2W or MVH500AH. The VH-10 panning is very loose and easy to inadvertently get knocked off the target. The GHF2W is nice and small, plus the handle isn't captive. The MVH500AH would be fine, but is a bit bulkier and heavier, and has a captive handle. However it is quite a bit cheaper than the GHF2W.

The Gitzo GT2532 would be my tripod choice.
 
A couple of comments:
  • If you really get one of the big scopes, you'll need a stable head. I personally use the Manfrotto 500AH for my 82mm Fieldscope. It works just fine. I think the Gitzo GHF2W would also work. The Sirui ... I don't know their heads well enough, however, I'd want to try one thoroughly before getting it. IME Sirui isn't as good as Manfrotto and Gitzo.
  • Tripod - I'm a Gitzo guy, and I'd definitely get a Gitzo. A fairly big one ... :cool:
  • You wrote "Another thing - aesthetics are also important to me, so after choosing a head, I will also choose a tripod from the same manufacturer." That makes no sense to me. I'd only base my decisions on how well the head and the legs work.
  • You seem intent on buying the 99mm Kowa or the 115mm Swaro. Are you sure? The available reports on these two scopes aren't all that encouraging, cf. especially these threads: Kowa 99 Update? and Swarovski ATX-115: Star-test and Resolution Measurements. Also search for further postings by Juhani (Boldeneagle), Henry (Henry Link) and Kimmo (Kabsetz) on these scopes. It's saying a lot that none of these three experienced testers use one of these scopes.

Hermann
I also like Gitzo. If the GHF2W head is as good as it is beautiful, I might buy it. Aesthetics are important to me, because most of the time the scope will be assembled indoors, so I want the set to be solid. Of course, there are disadvantages, because one manufacturer's strength may be the head, and another manufacturer's legs. Therefore, I understand that for those who are focused on efficiency, performance, it may seem illogical to necessarily choose everything from the same manufacturer.

Until now, I thought that these two large scopes were of exceptional quality and I had not read any negative reviews, so I will definitely read the critical sources you recommended. Thanks for this information.
 
My preference is either the GHF2W or MVH500AH. The VH-10 panning is very loose and easy to inadvertently get knocked off the target. The GHF2W is nice and small, plus the handle isn't captive. The MVH500AH would be fine, but is a bit bulkier and heavier, and has a captive handle. However it is quite a bit cheaper than the GHF2W.

The Gitzo GT2532 would be my tripod choice.
I thought very similarly because I knew the least about Sirui until now. Now I'm starting to get to know this manufacturer better.
 
My preference is either the GHF2W or MVH500AH. The VH-10 panning is very loose and easy to inadvertently get knocked off the target. The GHF2W is nice and small, plus the handle isn't captive. The MVH500AH would be fine, but is a bit bulkier and heavier, and has a captive handle. However it is quite a bit cheaper than the GHF2W.

The Gitzo GT2532 would be my tripod choice.
by the way, what Gitzo legs would you choose without the central column?
 
To clarify the models, there is

1. VA-5, which is the one I have (I mistakenly wrote VH-5, which I don't think exists).
2. VA-5X. I think this is the successor of the VA-5...fairly similar.
3. VH-10.

I don't think I would not recommend the VA-5 or VA-5X for the Kowa 99 or the Swaro 115... It works just fine with my Kowa 88 but if I did not walk it as much as I do I would have got the VH-10 and probably the ST224 legs, but that would add c.1.3kg to my combo.

This is the one I have:

Head is 0.5kg lighter than the VH-10 and the legs are 0.8kg lighter than the ST-224. For extra stabilization (or when I am tired) I hang my backpack from the tripod hook.
Thanks for the clarification and the link. Really nice set for a good price
 

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