Celestron – Heavy Duy Alt-Azimuth Tripod – Sturdy Extendable Aluminum Tripod – Use for Spotting Scope, Binocular, Camera, and Small Telescope – Slow Motion Handles for Smooth Small Adjustments

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's 1 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's 1 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.

Very strong, stable, rigid, yet Lightweight. Vibrations damp quickly. Great for telescopes or optics up to about 15# (if well balanced). Slow motion altitude and azimuth controls work smoothly and have little slop or backlash. Great for small astronomical telescopes, spotting scopes, and long telephoto lenses. Mount anything with a 1/4" x 20 thread with the included large thumbscrew.

I see a wide range of opinions on this, and I'm writing this because I think they're all missing a piece of the puzzle. Here's the deal. When I buy an optical instrument for astronomical viewing, my thoughts are that I should expect to pay about as much for my mounting system as for the instrument itself, give or take. However, if I've got something cheap, say a C90MAK or C130MAK or similar, what are my mounting options? A sturdy, but sub-professional photographic tripod is problematic. First, you're probably pushing the weight capacity of the mount. Second, since most tripod manufacturers are thinking "camera" (or maybe camera with a moderately long lens), the moment arm of a telescope is probably larger than the mount manufacturer expects. Third, it's hard to point, especially if you're close to the limits of the mount. The "Heavy-Duty" tripod addresses these three issues. It's sturdy enough to hold small telescopes, and provides fine motion controls which are extremely useful for high magnification optics, and it does so at a reasonable price. That said, there are some issues with this piece of equipment. First, while there is a fine control for altitude adjustment, and both a fine and coarse control for azimuth adjustment, there is no coarse altitude control, like a tilt lever for a "normal" tripod. Instead, you grab the scope and push or pull on it to tilt. I wish there were a lever for this, and I wish I could tighten it or loosen it like on a regular telescope. It's possible that adding the tighten/loosen feature and making it hold the projected equipment isn't possible without adding significant cost. I can see that. So at least give me a lever with which to tilt the existing head. How much could that cost, really? Some parts are also a bit flimsy. The tripod legs are hollow aluminum, and I wish they were maybe one gauge thicker to make them a little sturdier. Of course, this would add cost and weight, but I'd be cool with that. I'm also a bit worried about the leg cross brace/equipment holder. While I think it feels flimsier than it is, I could easily see it getting bent and causing problems. Again, I'd be good with paying a little more for something a little sturdier. Third, the tripod has no bubble level. This isn't a huge deal, at least not nearly the deal it would be on an equatorial mount, but still, if I can get one on a $14.99 photo tripod, it can't be that expensive. Fourth, my only choice for leg tips are plastic points, which will sink into mud or soft grass and transfer vibration well on bricks or paving stones. Having the option to use rubber feet would be nice. I don't expect that making the changes I recommend would cost more than, what, $20 extra? I'd be willing to pay that, bringing the Amazon cost from $80 to $100, in order to make this thing more generally useful to me, but if I'm careful, it works fine with the equipment it was designed to be used with, and it's a lot cheaper than going to the "next step up", which will probably cost about $200. One additional problem with the tripod, though, is that I don't think it's very suitable with the 20x80 or 25x100 binoculars that are listed in the product description. First, with a maximum height of 45" ... well, you do the math. Yeah, you could try to use that combination in a seated position, but once you tilt the binoculars off the horizon, it's going to get crowded, and you'll wind up with a frustrating experience. If you're looking for a real mount for your big binoculars, I don't think you'll be able to do something decent for less than the cost of a decent tripod base plus a low-end parallelogram mount, which means spending $250 or more. For a small, inexpensive reflector, though, such as those listed in the product description or others with a standard tripod 1/4"-20 screw receptacle, it works well enough without breaking the bank. If you've spent $300 on your scope, go ahead and buy a better mount than this, but if you've just bought a C90MAK or something similar on Amazon for $150, this will do.

I was beginning to think I would have to spend $300+ for a decent tripod but this thing has been great. It's very rigid when the legs are retracted, but definitely loses some stability when extended all the way, so I tend not to extend them at all and instead set the tripod on an elevated surface. The altazimuth mount feels of great quality and the slow motion knobs are very responsive. One thing to know, is that the range of motion using those knobs is VERY limited. The vertical control to incline the telescope only lets you point the telescope up maybe 30 degrees or so. I thought I was going to have to send the tripod back but then I learned you can just loosen the bolt on the mount (pictured) slightly and this will enable you to manually tilt the telescope up and down through a full range of motion, and then use the slow motion controls to fine tune your aim.

It's a decent, sturdy, alt az mount. It doesn't have a Vixen connector so if you need one to you'll have to get an adaptor (see photo). Thing most missing is the control rod. But there is an unused hole in the bottom of the top part of the mount. What I did was to unscrew the two washers in the bottom of that part, took a screw and connected a 45 cm rod in which two holes were drilled. Then I first fastened the internal screw, then put the top back and fasted back the two original screws. In addition I take with me a wrench to tighten the center axis if needed (did it once only). All on all, like it. Use it with a C90 Mak and a SW130PDS. Works fine.

I bought this for my Sky-Watcher Skymax 102mm telescope. A bit over kill but wanted the Azimuth controls. Works well but a stiff out of the box. The horizontal control is limited and if you are observing a distant object at high magnification you run out of adjustable range pretty quickly and have to reposition the scope. My old Meade tripod was much better and definitely had more range of motion but quite after 25 years. Hence the three stars for this one. But if you are looking for a decent tripod at a reasonable price, I recommend. If you are more than just a casual astronomer, spend the money for a better model.

Easy to assemble and sturdier than photographic tripods. A must have for spotting scopes and small to medium telescopes. I took it out on my very first night and enjoyed great views of the half moon with this mount and my 80mm Mak spotting scope. An excellent mount that is very stable and easy to use for beginner and more experienced astronomers.

This tripod was purchased to provide a stable platform for the Celestron C90 spotting scope with zoom eyepiece providing a 52x to 156x magnication. Placed in an apartment approximately 350 feet above street level, the scope needs to pitch (i.e. rotate front up/down) -45 degrees to +25 degrees. Moreover, the scope should remain extremely steady to observe small subjects. Unfortunately, the Celestron Heavy-Duty Altazimuth Tripod fails to deliver on both requirements. With a magnifications greater than 50x, the slightest movement can cause the observer to lose track of the subject. At one mile, every degree equals 92 feet. So, I was a bit surprised that rotating the zoom of the eyepiece will move the field of view because the tripod is NOT rock solid. While I realize there are vastly most expensive and heavier tripods available, this tripod isn't exactly portable. Moreover, there is even some play in the adjustment knobs that proves problematic. On the pitch motion, I was a bit surprised there wasn't a greater gross adjustment range. That is to say, it only provides about 30 degrees up and 10 degrees down. The latter is far too close to horizontal to look down a steep hill or an urban street scene from a high rise building. Oddly, the gross adjustment is controlled by manually moving the scope and hoping the friction of pivot bolt holds it into place. There should be a clamp to insure steadiness such as on a machinist's vise. If the user would like to invert the pivot range, the tripod can be around with the adjustment knobs pointing in the wrong direction, away from the user. Clearly, the tripod was not designed for spotting scope applications such as viewing subjects in hilly terrain. Some users may find the height of the tripod insufficient. For use while the observer is standing, the height should be about 6 to 18 inches shorter than the user. So, if you are 70 inches tall, the necessary height could be 52 to 64 inches depending on the type of scope. Again, there is room for improvement as the max height is only 46 inches. Lastly, I was stunned at the lack of knowledge demonstrated by the Celestron tech support team. Basic questions such as an explanation of the different mounting arrangements could not be answered. More complicated questions led the support representative to talk in circles. Don't expect much pre- or post-sales assistance from Celestron. Pros Modest price Heavier than travel tripods Cons Poorly trained tech support representatives No clamp/thumbscrew on gross adjust pivot Too short for some applications Not rock solid despite weight