[Alasdair]

While I faff about not being able to decide about telescopes, I thought I might at least get a tripod for my binoculars.

I understand that with tripods, as with everything else, you pretty much get what you pay for. Also that it's not worth skimping on price, as weak and wobbly tripods will be worse than useless: you need solidity and strength.

I've done a bit of hand-held binocular astronomy in the past - and of course the virtues of binoculars are their wide field of view and simplicity. However, I've never used a tripod with them. The ones I have are Nikon Action 10x50 6.5° - not top of the range by any means, but perfectly satisfactory.

OzScopes sell a SkyWatcher tripod and mount for $179; this plus a Nikon adapter ($40 from Digital Camera Warehouse, which happily is just up the road from my house), puts me at about $220 for the lot. Is this a reasonable price, or can I do better?

Thanks!