Thanks Guys, a lot of experience right there -
Daniel and Lewis, heaviest scope I'd be putting on it will be around the 5kg mark I think. But I don't even own it yet. All I have now is the FC 76. I had been thinking about the GSO version, but now I'm not
Peter Tan has a resonably priced unit there, although not sure if it's second-hand. I will check out Steve's shop too.
Glen and Steve, a 127mm Istar or even 140mm frac did not make it collapse - that's impressive! Also 100mm f/9 seems to be a good indicator of what's possible without going silly. If I get the Porta II, the handle seems like a sensible idea also. Motors will probably have to wait until later, partly because I'd like to see how good manual operation is over several hours at a time. Surely it will be better than the 410 head; I was actually getting some callus on my thumb & index finger by the end of last winter. I will need the flexible knobs I think. Re tripod, I'll see how I go with mine, then decide whether it needs replaced.
Thanks again
