Decent Tripod for Spotting Scope ?

tsqurd

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Jul 29, 2015
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Thankfully Cabela's backed out of their plans to build, they put one in Delaware instead. With Bass Pro in AC, deferred sales taxes have almost dried up.

Didn't you hear? Bass Pro is in the process of buying Cabela's, though deal has run into some difficulty recently.
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Got the chance to glass some white pelicans at Blackwater this weekend. Very happy with the tripod and the scope.
The scope price of $287 was all I wanted to spend right now and that is for the Redfield Rampage 20-60x x 80mm . I returned the 20-60x x 60 after Christmas and got the 80mm objective with an angled eyepiece. All of the reviews I read confirm what I experienced on Saturday and that is, "very good for the money." With a lifetime warranty backed by Redfield, which is now owned by Leupold, how can you go wrong ?
5 out of 5 stars in 40 reviews and most other websites were similar in rating it.
http://www.opticsplanet.com/redfield-rampage-20-60x80mm-angled-spotting-scope-kit.html

The Pelicans were nearly 1000 yards away (Google Earth image scaling) and at 40x, they were identifiable and fairly clear. I am not sure if high end glass would make much of a difference at those distances. Birds within a 100-200 yards were sharp at the lower magnifications but went to somewhat crappy at 60x. The 8omm also has a larger diameter eyepiece which helped expand the field of view.

My younger son says I am crazy for not going out and blowing $1500 or more on good glass. Maybe he's right but this will do for now.
 
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46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
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The Pelicans were nearly 1000 yards away (Google Earth image scaling) and at 40x, they were identifiable and fairly clear.

This is a digi-scoping shot at around 1500 yards with the Pentax at 60x with a Nikon 995. Most go soft to some extent at high magnification levels.

Forgot to mention atmospheric conditions like 'heat shimmers' can really mess things up, with the scopes and AF cameras.

18466420.jpg
 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
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Pestletown, N.J.
I emailed Redfield today to see if they can recommend an iPhone 6+ camera mount. I really want to try that digiscoping.
That is a cool pic 46er.

By the way, I am a little disappointed with Manfrotto's customer service.
After trying two of their online warranty registration platforms, I could not enter the QR code to complete my registration. I called them and got a real human being in the US of A (NJ) . She told me to email the box end and my other info to them and they would complete it. That was a week ago and I have received nothing and I emailed them again yesterday asking for a response.
Still waiting.

Update. Redfield emailed me back already, less than 6 hour response time !
Unfortunately they had no mount recommendations for me.
 
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Boyd

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I thought consumer protection laws require that companies offer warranty support without any registration, as long as you have proof of purchase?
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
I thought consumer protection laws require that companies offer warranty support without any registration, as long as you have proof of purchase?

They're kind of wacky Boyd.
2 year standard warranty, up to 10 years extended IF you register and depending on the product type. I am going to get 8 years IF it goes through. :mad:

Interesting too, if you purchase a Manfrotto product through an unauthorized seller, i.e Fulfilled by Amazon, they will not give you any warranty. Not sure how they pull that one off.

https://www.manfrotto.us/faq
 

Boyd

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Possibly "grey market" stuff. For example, an identical product but not originally manufactured for sale in the US. B&H actually sells some grey market products at reduced prices (or at least they used to). However they were clearly identified as such with a warning about the warranty issue.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
I emailed Redfield today to see if they can recommend an iPhone 6+ camera mount. I really want to try that digiscoping.
That is a cool pic 46er.

My Pentax uses the same eyepiece as astronomy telescopes so it was easy to find a mount. Now Pentax offers one, back then they did not. This site might be helpful, or perhaps a generic adapter. A lot depends on the camera, in particular how the lens operates. No experience using an iphone, they weren't around back in the good ole days ;)

https://www.phoneskope.com/

Edit: they offer an adapter for your phone/scope combo.

Picture is one of 4 Griz that fed on a Bison kill over a 4 night period. It was as if they had reservations as one after the other would come out of the treeline, feed then leave as another showed up. Nature at its best, unless your a Bison. I have some good shots of a wolf feeding on an Elk kill, but is too gory for the web site.
 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Possibly "grey market" stuff. For example, an identical product but not originally manufactured for sale in the US. B&H actually sells some grey market products at reduced prices (or at least they used to). However they were clearly identified as such with a warning about the warranty issue.
The first thing the rep asked was where I bought it. When I said B&H she said "Oh, okay. " B&H is an authorized dealer.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Interesting too, if you purchase a Manfrotto product through an unauthorized seller, i.e Fulfilled by Amazon, they will not give you any warranty. Not sure how they pull that one off.

It is the way Manfrotto/Bogen does not get stuck having to repair knockoffs, and there are many out there. Similar, but not the same as grey market, which for us is usually a USA vs the rest of the world market. Some good info at the link regarding it all from a Canon perspective.

http://www.canonpricewatch.com/blog/authorized-unauthorized-dealers-and-grey-market-explained/

Nikon is beginning to loosen the grey market warranty issues in the USA on some of their products; a small list right now.
 

Boyd

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Haven't bought any of their products recently, but my two Manfrotto tripods are about 16 years old and still going strong. From what I've read, one of the things on these old models that sometimes break are the plastic leg locks but mine are OK. I don't use the lightweight Manfotto tripod much anymore, and the big one is mostly used with a lightweight DSLR. I have a Miller tripod for my big video camera that has also been very durable, but now you're talking about real money. ;)

Anyway, unless their quality has started to slip, your Manfrotto should serve you well for many years.
 
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
It is the way Manfrotto/Bogen does not get stuck having to repair knockoffs, and there are many out there. Similar, but not the same as grey market, which for us is usually a USA vs the rest of the world market. Some good info at the link regarding it all from a Canon perspective.

http://www.canonpricewatch.com/blog/authorized-unauthorized-dealers-and-grey-market-explained/

Nikon is beginning to loosen the grey market warranty issues in the USA on some of their products; a small list right now.

Why does life have to be so complicated ?
:)
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Bring back Kodak :)

This what I saw at every family gathering.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/229816...08793a01b344&gclid=CJTiu_Lhy9ICFYiKswodeigPZQ

My Dad had an Argus C3 with this very same flash attachment.
This was back in the days when a flash was audible. Every flash photo was accompanied by the "Poof" of the wasted bulb. I used to marvel at the melted filaments.
I loved that camera and it was what I used to learn photography in the late 60's. I remember my Dad buying me a cable release and going outside that same night and doing time exposures of the moon.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
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Coastal NJ
I still have my Kodak Instamatic 60, the camera I took with me on our first trips west. In great shape, but no batteries are available. Have a few others from Kodak and a few flash cubes as well. My how things have changed :)

__57.jpg
 
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Boyd

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Jul 31, 2004
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My dad collected old cameras. He would buy broken ones for next to nothing and fix them as a hobby. I have a small trunk full of them up in the attic, there, and Argus, a couple Contax, one or two Leica's and Rollei's, some old Kodak's with bellows, a couple Minox, Speed Graphix press cameras, Polaroids and other strange things. Might be worth something but I just keep them as a way to remember him. :)
 
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46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Might be worth something

They certainly are; the Instamatic 60 is worth a whopping $15. I'll have to try and rebuild the battery, probably up the value to $16 ;)

Started to snow here.

"A Winter Weather Advisory was expanded southward to include Philadelphia and its surrounding western suburbs in SE PA and eastern suburbs in S NJ. Snow is arriving later than previously advertised but will also end later (through the early afternoon in some spots). Update to the snowfall accumulations was minor.

Outlook for Next Week:

We are continue to monitor the potential for a significant coastal storm to affect the region during the Monday night through Wednesday morning time frame. Potentially significant snowfall accumulations are possible but it is still too earlier to discuss specific amounts. Monitor the latest forecasts as details regarding this event become clearer. We would likely issue briefing packages for the event this weekend if confidence continues to increase." - NWS
 
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