Archive for September, 2009

Celestron Tabletop Tripod for the C65 Mini Mak Spotting Scope

September 2nd, 2009 Zee

Amazon.com Price: $20.95 (as of 2010-03-12 22:51:44 GMT) Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Celestron Tabletop Tripod for the C65 Mini Mak Spotting Scope
 
Manufacturer: Celestron
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $20.95
Sale Price: $20.95
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Product Description
Celestron wants to be known as a company that puts quality first in all aspects of its business. It is a complete company, working to make the best possible products backed up by the best possible product support. Because of this commitment to quality, Celestron organized its efforts to manufacture products from the inside out - starting with the most important internal components to the external touches that set the look of products apart. Celestron's overall mission is to provide the highest quality products at a competitive price.petitive price.

Product Details
  • Convenient compact design fits on tabletop
  • Two slow motion control knobs for precise centering
  • Central column for height adjustment
  • Altitude locking knob secures scope in place
  • For use with Celestron C65 Mini Mak series Spotting Scopes

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews
Greate Tripod
 
Review Date: December 16, 2008
Reviewer: Julio Marroquin Mansilla,
Nice finish, a very good adjust system, you can move it just millimeters easy to handle, very efficient for spotting, good quality. NO complains!
Good for cameras too
 
Review Date: January 22, 2009
Reviewer: Jeffrey D. Mckee, Portland, OR USA
This is for a spotting scope, but as I suspected the screw threads are the same as most SLR cameras such as the Nikon D series 40 50 60 70 80 90 and Canons. This is great for nature photos because it has the micro adjustment knobs. Just set it down, tighten the height to mid and do your fine height and side to side with the rotation knobs. Pick it up, collapse the legs and it is light enough to walk around on the camera.
Celestron Tripod
 
Review Date: June 8, 2009
Reviewer: Duc H. Nguyen,
The tripod is very light and portable. I'm using it mainly with a Leupold Golden Ring 27X spotting scope while shooting prone. In that application it is wonderful. The tripod I had before was similar in size and capability but was three pounds heavier. But because of it's light weight, the Celestron is not as stable if you bump it but overall a great buy and it is one of my goto pieces of kit in my drag bag.
Surprisingly sturdy
 
Review Date: January 1, 2009
Reviewer: black thumb, Berkeley, CA USA
First, I have to deal with some nonsense from other reviews:
- this tripod is not all plastic. The legs and center column are aluminum and the mounting hardware is metal. It's a mostly metal tripod with some plastic fittings.
- it is explicitly designed for the C65 and C70 spotting scopes, both of which weigh 2lbs or less. One reviewer knocked it for not supporting his C90, which weighs _more than twice as much_. This is like being disappointed when an Indy car goes faster than your sedan.

I have used this tripod for astronomical viewing with my C70. It vibrates when bumped, but the vibrations die out in 2-3 seconds, which is acceptable for an inexpensive tabletop tripod and better than some cheap full-size tripods I've used. Surprisingly, it is no less sturdy with the center column extended. The slo-mo controls actually work and with zero slop or backlash, which is almost unbelievable at this price point.

The tripod has elevation limits, which probably won't matter for photography or daytime spotting but might for stargazing. The limits are 45 degrees if the scope is mounted as typically shown, in which case the head bumps into the altitude control, or 60 degrees if you turn the scope around, in which case the head bumps into the center column. You can exceed these limits somewhat by moving one leg inward and tilting the tripod, although this makes the tripod less stable.

For travel this thing is crazy compact. I have flown with the C70, tripod, laptop, power cord, digital camera, and several paperbacks in a small carry-on backpack.

In conclusion, this is a great little tripod for the job it was designed to do--holding spotting scopes, binoculars, and cameras that weigh less than 2lbs. If your gear weighs more, or if you can't be bothered to weigh it, find something else. As for me, I'm going to buy a second one just to use with my digital camera; it's far and away the best tabletop tripod I've found so far.

Not quite solid enough for non-mini spotting scopes
 
Review Date: June 14, 2006
Reviewer: Technology Guy,
First off, the technical details are wrong for this entry which seem to be for a full size Celestron tripod. This unit actually measures 14 inches folded, 10.5 inches with the legs opened and stretches up to 14 inches high with the center column raised. The legs themselves do not telescope. A plastic collar can be tightened to lock the column height and still allow it to turn for panning. The collar can be tightened further to completely lock the column from panning. A knob can be tightened to lock the tilting. A 1/4-20 screw with locking nut allows the attachment of a camera or spotting scope though the rubber used to keep the scope from twisting seems to allow some unwanted vibration. The unit is constructed of plastic and aluminum. The legs are extruded aluminum channel but fairly rigid and connect to an hard plastic base. The fine motion controls do not allow full rotation or tilting but this is not a major drawback and is to be expected for something in this price range.

As a mini camera tripod, the Celestron provides good support and is much more solid than other mini tripods in this price range. It was able to support my 35mm SLR with battery grip and 1.5 pound 24-200mm Tokina lens with ease. The tripod, however, isn't designed to allowed rotating the camera for portrait orientation.

As a spotting scope tripod, the Celestron leaves something to be desired. While the tripod can support the weight of a C90 spotting scope, it just isn't quite solid enough to allow fine adjustments or focusing without causing vibrations that disrupt viewing for up to 10 seconds or more. I would guess this to be a problem for any tripod this small but it does limit the usefulness of the Celestron, particularly with a camera mounted to the scope. The fine controls do work well enough and the Celestron is sturdy enough to hold a spotting scope without danger of it toppling over.

All in all, this is a sturdy mini tripod with useful fine motion controls but it may not be all that useful for high power scopes or those heavier than the C65 or for through-the-scope photography.
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HOW TO FIND THE BEST DIGITAL CAMERA

September 1st, 2009 Zee

It seems that every month, if not every week, different manufacturers are coming up with the latest digital cameras to entice potential clients. And it’s just not working for us!

After spending sizeable amount of time at the mall figuring out which is the best digital camera for us, we finally have enough money to buy for that eye-popping, 7 mega pixel, 10x digital zoom, potable, candy colored, up to 512MB expandable memory of super hi-speed SD memory card and not to mention very portable, (that will be the envy of almost everyone we know). We march to the mall armed with our life savings and lotsa pride in ourselves, when we pass by a new display – an eight mega pixel, up to 1G expandable memory, with built it mic and stereo surround, video playback capable, with 22 scenic modes kind-of-camera. And we sigh because the producer of this amazing gadget claims that this is the best digital camera yet out in the market. And so as we always want to have the best, armed with our life savings and a few credit cards, we buy the “best digital camera.” But then again, that doesn’t last too long, after two months or so, there’s another “best digital camera.”

And so it confuses us. What makes a digital camera, the best digital camera?

Well, there are certain factors to consider when looking for the “best digital camera” for us.

MEGAPIXELS. One of the most important features of digital camera to make it into the best digital camera category is its mega pixel property. The higher the mega pixels the better the actual photograph will come out. A mega pixel is equivalent to one million pixels. The resolution of your image is based upon the mega pixel property of your camera. This means that as you enlarge the picture, you would get more detail and less blurry colors.

LCD SIZE. The best digital camera will always have a large LCD to help you frame your subject without having to squint to the viewfinder. This is also helpful when reviewing your images, some cameras enable touch up and editing features with its LCD. A 1.5-inch display is average, a 2-inch LCD display is good, but the best LCD size would be 2.5 inches or higher.

ZOOM. Most digital cameras have both digital and optical zoom. A higher optical zoom is always better than a higher digital zoom. Digital cameras are usually furnished with optical of between 3x to 10x. The better the optical zoom, the higher it climbs up to the best digital camera category.

MEMORY CARD. Always make sure that your memory card is the right one for your digital camera. There are different types of memory card like the xD, SD, Flash card and the likes. And these types of memory cards go with certain types of digital cameras. of course memory storage is also up there in choosing the best digital cameras. Choose the size of memory that you need, if you’re a photo junkie, you might need more than 32MB. Memory cards can go up to 1G.

The key point to find the best digital camera is to find one that will best fit you and your lifestyle. Don’t just buy the latest or the one that claims they are the best digital cameras out in the market. You wouldn’t want to buy a DSLR and use it with your home activities or family outing and have to lug it around?! Or you don’t want to buy the latest point and shoot camera when you’re serious about being a professional photographer. (Of course, you can use this for starters, but if you’re not a novice photographer anymore, you wouldn’t want to get this kind of camera.)

Actually, the best digital camera is the one that you will enjoy and use. Not the type that you’ll just leave rotting in its box or after a few weeks of usage or so, up there in the attic.

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