Tripod recommendations for astrophograpgy

Zanshin999

Zanshin999

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Can anybody recommend a decent budget tripod for Astrophotography? I have an old Velbon VE-3C which ways as much as the moon and doesn't have a quick release head, so looking to replace it.
 
The honest answer is there is no such thing as a budget tripod for astrophotography. The thing you need the most is stability so you can do long exposures with no movement or vibration transmitted up to the camera. You will need a sturdy tripod with thick, strong legs.
I use a Gitzo series four (carbon fibre). You may find an old fashioned wood tripod on ebay - wood is very good at damping out vibration.
Hope this helps
james
 
I use a Manfrotto 055CXPRO3 Carbon Fibre tripod, along with a Krk BH1 head - not a budget combination by any stretch of the imagination, and I still suffer from lack of stability sometimes. There are so many opportunities for movement during a long exposure - wind, movement of base (sand being a real problem at times), vibration caused by nearby movement.

The Redsnapper range have a very good reputation at the budget end of the market - I used to have one and found it excellent.
 
As others have said, don't go cheap on your tripod as any vibration or instability will effect the sharpness of your images. Whilst a Gitzo may be a bit overkill, something like a solid Giottos or Manfrotto will do the job nicely. I would recommend actually seeing the tripod you buy before handing over any cash so a visit to your local Calumet might be a good idea...
 
Check teh heads out as well and make sure that they can go fully vertical... I had the Manfrotto jnr geared head and annoyingly the head doesn't point directly upwards, which you might want if you;re trying to do a nice panorama, or the object you;re after is directly overhead.
 
Tried a photo of the Milky Way for the first time last night on a not very dark night with lots of light pollution. Didn't get much as I suspected, but then came across this video on Youtube -
View: http://youtu.be/J1Kfr8RG3zM
I had some shots where I had "exposed to the right" on my Canon 7d MkII. This was the result - bear in mind it was only 1 hr 45 mins after sun down and my neighbours had their floodlights on! Canon 7D MklI with Samyang 12mm lens. 20 seconds at f2.0 ISO 6400. Hey, its a start. I could barely see any stars! I used Sky Survey app on my iphone to locate the milky way.
 

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Anybody want the original file to see if they can tweak it better, I'll send it to you. It was really just a first test of the new lens, and the only cloudless night we have had in ages!
 
Tried tweaking the white balance a bit more on a second shot. Not sure if the object in the middle going from left to right is an aircraft or a meteorite...
 

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