Orion 7033 Precision Slow-Motion Adapter

I received a unit which had a bent screw, Orion replaced it straight away.this tripod head is very effective and i am using it with a manfrotto freebee and a celestron C90.i do the basic pointing with the manfrotto head and once i get close to what i want to see i fine adjust with the micrometric knobs.i also purchased the Orion 90 degree dielectric diagonal and it is superb

Quite well engineered if you ignore the plastic knobs. Slo mo controls work well. This is probably OK for terrestrial use but next to useless for even basis astronomy. The problem is that although there is an altitude control there isn't one for azimuth- ie you can't pan except with the fine adjustment slo mo control. This means you have to move the tripod to get at what you are looking.Have a look at the Manfrotto X Pro 3 way head- in the £80 range but far superior and you only have to buy it once.Failing that both Celestron and Skywatcher make a heavy duty tripod with the Alt Azimuth A3 head attached. The Celestron has a 1/4" fixing for a scope. and I think the Skywatcher has too on some models but others require an adapter. Prices £90-£120.

Adds slo mo controls to any photographic tripod. I have used it for astronomy with mag up to 150x with good results. Downside is there is no quick release in the x axis (swivel) so you need a tripod with a swivel head already. Unexpected benefit, the quick release in the Y axis has a friction plate so you can make small manual adjustments. All metal sturdy construction.