Heavy-Duty Altazimuth Tripod

I got this Tripod to go under an Orion Apex 90 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope as an upgrade from the camera tripod I was previously using. It's gotten a fair amount of use since I got it and believe its a 5 star tripod for what it's built for but definitely not for everything.Pro's1 It's very solid compared to other tripods at this price point. A light breeze or nudge doesn't make you totally loose whatever you're looking at. It's heavier than my camera tripod but I don't feel wary about slapping a big telephoto or actual telescope on my DSLR when using this. That being said...2 It's surprisingly light. It's pretty much my grab and go tripod now. It's not a chore to pick the whole setup up and reposition for a different view.3 It's fine controls work well. For sky viewing or photo's at a distance having micro adjustments really help. You manhandle it to get close and then dial it in.Con's1 They use a nut and screw mechanism for the fine adjustments. So trying to track an object moving across the sky for extended viewing you will find yourself running out of fine adjustment. Then you have to twist the knobs to get everything in the center (or a little bit the other way), and then find whatever you were looking at again by manhandling the scope. This was most likely done to keep the costs down as it's cheaper and easier to do this robustly than for a worm and wheel type adjustment seen on more expensive mounts.2 Virtually no declination. This scope has a hard stop that prevents you from pointing it more than a few degrees below the horizon when orientated correctly. Now you can always take a rotary tool to the offending lip to free up some more play but as is, no "top of mountain looking down into valleys" action. Not a deal breaker but 10-15 extra degrees would have been nice as I don't like setting anything expensive on a not balanced and level mount.3 It's a bit short for some applications. This is both a pro and a con but unless you have a 90 degree star diagonal and a shorter scope (like a Maksutov-Cassegrain) looking at things near apex (or straight up and down) will have you about sitting on the ground. Even with the diagonal when I tried out a friends 60mmx700mm refractor there was a limited range of things I could look at "comfortably" .4 The cheap plastic cover that hides the side to side adjust screw has already broken off. It is just there to hide the mechanism and not worth me taking a star off. Actually this with a little glow in the dark paint made it easier for me to eyeball how much more travel I had left before I need to reset so if it hadn't broke I probably would have taken it off eventually.Overall this is a good deal if you have a compact scope with a decent star diagonal or want to strap a really beefy telephoto lens on your camera and take LONG distance photos. Not so much if you have a longer scope or need something that can track accurately over long sweeps of travel. Still it has a place in my camping kit or when I want to check out the moon or planets and don't feel the urge to drag my much larger and bulkier telescopes out. Also at this price point and with the Apex 90 I don't have a problem letting somebody I don't know handle the scope and tripod (e.g. kids the next campsite over wants to look at Jupiter). Something I can't say for some of my more expensive setups.

I was surprised of the quality of this tripod... it's well made, and adjustable to a good height. Just right for a small telescope or heavy camera.

I am satisfied with this device's stability, that is the reason I purchased it. Ordinary camera tripods is not capable.I mounted my Celestron C90 scope on it.The images were stable. The movements up and down and left a d right is slow enough that you don't loose the planets or stars.The third, smaller control knop disengages the upright axle to enable rapid movement to the left or right or I lift everything and point it to the right direction.I welded a smal steel rod to the back of a metric 19mm impact socket, and now I have a handy tool to disengage the large nut, to enable rapid up and down movement.This is not an equatorial mount, mut light enough to carry, but stable. I will recommend as a good purchase for a small telescope, for stargazing.

Worth the 110.00 and I got it quick. After reading lots of reviews on Amazon.com, I thought I would give an honest assessment.PROS:- Full range of altitude and azimuth- strong large movement friction clutches- Decent gauge aluminum construction- solid alloy cast mount with large balance plate surface- fine alt-azimuth adjustment flex rod handles- locking free spin azimuth- very simple and easy to use- Overall a very sturdy tripodCONS:- Center piece hinges are flimsy and weak- Eyepiece tray too thin and fragile- should be 60" total height- could have large adjustment handles as wellFINAL THOUGHTSOther than moving the mounted scope to the object by hand, the fine adjustment handles work well keeping it in view. It should be taller. Either have another section or have solid adjustable feet extensions with the screw in type for different surface applications. The flex rod handles work well with a scope, but apparently not for binoculars. Could have removable flex rods or just the handles. Some plastic parts on the tripod may wear out or break, but for the money, it's a great altazimuth tripod. Can't go wrong. Very happy with the purchase. No regrets.

La verdad quedé muy contento con la montura, necesitaba una montura mas estable y precisa para mi telescopio pequeño y no me defraudó. La montura es robusta y con las perillas de ajuste milimetrico pude seguir el movimiento de la luna de manera muy estable. Nada más creo le haría falta un dial de ajuste de azimut vertical, porque ahi si lo tuve que ajustar con las manos desde donde se enrosca el telescopio ya que la perilla del ajuste milimetrico vertical tiene un limite, de ahi en fuera todo genial