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Model: 50400Brand: Fotomate
Availability
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The Fotomate VT-680-222R is an impressive professional standard tripod for video cameras and DSLRs. Also an excellent choice for spotting scopes, small telescopes and large observation binoculars.
Optimum payload is 5-6kg but can handle 8kg.
Maximum height an impressive 197cm when fully extended.
This tripod does not feature a geared centre column so offers greater rigidity and stability when carrying heavier equipment.
Heavy-duty 2-Way tripod head, which is the same as supplied with the Fotomate VT-2900 model, is robust and well-engineered.
Operation is smooth, well damped and can be panned 360° with a wide range of tilt adjustment.
Supplied with nylon carrying case.
FEATURESProfessional Standard tripod with Heavy-Duty Fluid-Damped PanheadPayload Capacity: Optimum 5-6kg, Maximum 8kg.Adjustable Panhead Tension & LockMulti-Position Left or Right Mountable Pan HandleQuick Release Plate with ¼” & 3/8” Attachment Screws and Video PinSecurity Retention Mechanism on Quick Release PlateMaximum Height (Fully Extended): 197cmMinimum Height (Fully Retracted): 93.5cm360° Panning, -65° Forward Tilt, +90° Vertical Elevation3-Section Multi-Tubular Aluminum Legs with Heavy Duty Leg LocksTri-Leg BraceNon-Slip Rubber FeetBubble level for Accurate levellingWeight: 4.78kgSupplied with Nylon Carrying Case
This tripod is marketed as heavy duty and, at 4.78 kg, it is certainly not lightweight. First impressions are that it is a substantial (and heavy) piece of equipment constructed from good quality materials. Most of it is manufactured in aluminium alloy, including the locking handles for the 3 legs. The smaller locking knobs for the tilt and pan mechanism are of high quality engineering plastic. It has a substantial tilt and pan head mounted on the top of the tripod, with no geared centre column, but I cannot remember the last time I used a rise and fall on any tripod, so I certainly won't miss that feature. It certainly makes for a stiffer and less vibration prone assembly. The tripod and head both feature small, integral spirit levels to aid in levelling the entire system, although you do need to tilt the camera forwards to view the one in the head properly. I haven't checked how accurate they are, but given the size, I would suggest using them only as guide for your initial starting position.I found mounting the camera to be a little tricky, as the quick release plate is very long at nearly 3 times the length of standard ones. The camera has to be mounted in the correct position, too, in order to accommodate larger diameter lenses which can easily foul on it. Mounting the camera complete with an 800 mm mirror lens onto the tripod proved impossible and the lens had to be fitted to the camera after mounting the camera on the tripod. Removal was equally awkward. The quick release plate has to be locked with a small lever under the camera once in place - fortunately, it cannot fall out when it has been inserted as there is a safety catch to prevent this, but it does remain loose until locked. The locking catch is under the right hand side of the mounted camera and the small lever rests up against the foot of the camera, which makes it awkward to release. That does prevent it being accidentally knocked, in use so it's not all bad. The pan handle can be fitted to the left or right of the head and it might be worth having on the left, enabling simultaneous use of the camera controls with the right hand, but that is down to preference.Once the tripod is set to the desired height and levelled, panoramas are easy, as the smooth operation of the panning mechanism may be adjusted through careful use of the locking lever. I did find that there were some stiff spots on the turntable that made this operation not quite as smooth as it could have been, but it proved OK. The damped tilt seemed a little strange to me as it could not be locked solid and when left unlocked it returns slowly to almost (but not quite) it's neutral position of level. Although the locking was far from solid, the camera did not move once set. However, if you do not release the lock before tilting, there is a certain amount of springiness in the mechanism which leads to the camera springing back slightly after acquiring the target object, but this is more noticeable with longer focal lengths as when shooting the Moon. It quickly became a bit of a chore to release, pan and tilt, lock, shoot, repeat for each shot as the Moon moved across the sky. Perhaps with practice, this will get refined and become easier. The big benefit with this tripod was being able to press the shutter release and not have the camera wobble for several seconds after!After the Moon, the next shoot was waterfalls, which revealed the final problem with this tripod: you cannot mount or tilt the camera to shoot in portrait! Why not? This is probably due to it being designed more for video than still photography. Obviously, once you have driven 120 miles to the site, the photographs have to be taken, so landscape it was, figuring the images could always be cropped to portrait if desired. Not ideal, but not a complete show stopper. To get the ideal location for the waterfall meant standing the tripod in shallow water, so to minimise exposure to wet, the lower sections of the legs were extended - they have rubber feet on, so that should be OK? The feet are bonded on to the aluminium tube with a single blob of silicone sealant, so they leak! Before using this tripod in water, take the feet off and seal them properly.Releasing the camera after shooting is not the straightforward action it should be. The locking lever, as mentioned earlier, is tricky to release, then you have to press the silver square button (security retention mechanism, as they call it) at the back of the quick release plate slot and slide the camera off the tripod. Make sure that the camera is not tilted up when you do this or it may slide out on it's own! I like to leave the mount on the camera at all times so that I can pop the camera on the tripod at a moment's notice. With this tripod you won't want to do that, as the plate sticks out quite a long way behind the back of the camera and will dig into your face when shooting handheld.Overall, this a well made tripod, but more suited to video than DSLR still photography. The build quality is generally very good, but some things don't work quite as smoothly as I would like, such as the leg adjustments, which may free up with use. The transit clip for the legs is a pretty good idea, although a little tricky to clip in place unless the legs are all perfectly aligned. It also comes with a strong carrying bag, complete with zip, shoulder strap and handles, but I wouldn't like to carry it too far.It certainly won't be replacing my regular tripod for general use, but for astro-photography it is going to be hard to beat, which is what it was bought for and why I am awarding it 4 stars. If you are looking for a sturdy tripod and can look beyond it's limitations, you will be hard pushed to find better at this price point.
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Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.
The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.
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Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!
We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.
The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs.
We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this.
At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope. We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument.
Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.
We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface.
You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is.
Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us.
All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.
https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html
Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.
For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.
Are you interested in this product but would like to speak to someone with some more information? Simply fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can!
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The Fotomate VT-6006 tripod is suitable for video cameras, DSLR’s and compact digital cameras, also spotting scopes and most observation binoculars.
First Horizon 8115 2 Way Heavy Duty Tripod£89.00
This robustly constructed model combines excellent stability, with precise control, and is ideal for a wide variety of imaging equipment. Comfortably manages all Spotting Scopes and Observation Binoculars of up to 100mm Diameter.
Fotomate VT-2900 Extra Heavy Duty Semi Professional 2 Way Tripod£199.00 £179.00
The Fotomate VT-2900 is a stable and robust semi-professional tripod for video cameras & DSLR’s. Also an excellent choice for use with spotting scopes, small telescopes and most large observation binoculars.
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