Budget bird watching tripod suggestions for a monocular

[mikeyr]

Short story long, we have a nature reserve down the road from us and when taking a casual wander a couple kindly let us use their monocular to see close up two grebes in the wetlands. And an egret.

Other half loves all things feathered and really liked the idea of one (monocular, not an egret), we've also got some good forests and even zoos round our way so figure it would get some use. As a surprise I've managed to pick up what I believe is a good value second hand monocular (HR 66) with a couple of lenses for well under £100. Seemed a good deal and from waht I can tell it weighs about 1.3kg and has a mount fitted underneath. And I reckon that you must need one with a scope otherwise image would be akin to the view from a rollercoaster?

Just want a tripod to try it out with now, happy to go second hand and to be honest doesn't need to be amazing, not going to be using it every day but want to avoid anything that might tip over easily. Any suggestions to look at? Also, is it worth having something with a swivelly handle (technical term!) on the side to make adjusting the angle easy?

Haven't actually got said monocular yet, is coming later this week, but are most tripod screw threads the same size? As you can tell, not an area of expertise for me...

[mikeyr]

Not sure why this posted three times. Ignore other threads.

[isaldiri]

mikeyr said:

Just want a tripod to try it out with now, happy to go second hand and to be honest doesn't need to be amazing, not going to be using it every day but want to avoid anything that might tip over easily. Any suggestions to look at? Also, is it worth having something with a swivelly handle (technical term!) on the side to make adjusting the angle easy?

Haven't actually got said monocular yet, is coming later this week, but are most tripod screw threads the same size? As you can tell, not an area of expertise for me...

What's the magnification of your monocular/scope? If it's reasonable then yes a tripod would be much better. You would very likely want to be getting some kind of fluid head (would suggest they are more stable for viewing than a ball head) with it. Make sure the tripod is solid enough for the weight of what you're going to put on - 1.3kg doesn't sound that light tbh and I'm not sure isn't in the same ballpark weight if not more than a 65mm class objective spotting scope. Should be able to get a decent second hand carbon fibre tripod anyway these days (personally I'd always get a cf one than aluminium but no need to go crazy and get something like a gitzo either, the chinese cf ones are plenty decent i think). Thread mounts are almost certainly identical sized as well afaik.

Edited by isaldiri on Monday 9th October 23:07

[mikeyr]

Two eye pieces with the monocular, one is marked

50s X 32x
60s 40x
80s 65x

And other is

60s w22x
80s w30x

So assuming a tripod to keep it steady will be good but I've no idea what the images will look like in real life, excited to find out! Just spotted what looks like a decent level velbon tripod for very little cash so will enquire about that...

[isaldiri]

Do you know what the objective size you have is? That eyepiece basically states that magnification (rhs) will depend on objective lens it's fitted to. The wide angle eye piece probably will be easier viewing fwiw I think. Any scope should be a major improvement but as per above, think you will be better off with a stable fluid type head to pan easily that can balance that weight as well as a solid enough tripod that can hold the weight especially if used in the open with some wind (tripod quoted maximum weights tend to be very optimistic imo).

Best of luck in your search and do update on how you get on!

[mikeyr]

66mm I believe.

Will let you know how it goes, arriving today apparently!

[lancslad58]

You state out for a ‘casual wander’ as opposed to say settling down for a day’s bird watching in which case I would suggest that you are better off with a monopod as:

it’s easier to carry, certainly be lighter, most collapse these days.

Faster to use, you don’t need to deploy three legs, potentially on uneven ground, trying to get them all the same length, then adjusting the scope to the right direction.

You may be beter off with a trigger grip opposed to a swivel head as they easire to use to use though you may find find you can atttach the scope derectly to a monopod

I have both a tripod and a monopod, the former I use with binoculars for stargazing, the latter for the same purpose as yourself except with a camera.
They both use the same plate connector.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sequpr-Release-Compatible...

Velbron are good for the price I use one of their monopods, my try tripod is Manfrotto, better build quality but can be quite expensive. Other makes are available try some of the camera or astronomy forums.

As for where to buy, you try these.

I’ve heard good reviews of Wex photographic, new and used

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/monopods/?p=category...

I’ve been using my local branch of LCE for forty odd years, again the have new and used,

https://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Secondhand-Search/?SHMa...