Mount for refractor??

What is the best mount and tripod for a 70-80mm refractor operating at f/8 about 26" and 7 pounds? Steady enough for some photography but very portable. Thanks for the info
Doug

Doug,

I have an older Vixen Polaris mount with a single axis drive that I use with my 80mm F8 refractor (about 7lbs with diagonal and finder). I find it easily handles the scope visually, even in moderately windy conditions. It is also good for piggy back photography but it's marginal for prime focus or eyepiece profection work. It is very portable and lightweight, though. The build quality is also much better than the current chinese mounts. For prime focus or eyepiece projection work I suggest a CG-5 (re-lubed and de-burred according to the instructions at Astronomyboy.com) with dual axis drives as a bare minimum. A Vixen Super Polaris with the dual axis drives would be even better if you can find one used at a good price. In my opinion, once you add the drives, the current Vixen Great Polaris mounts are overpriced. Most of the current import mounts will benefit greatly from a leg upgrade. When I'm using the Polaris mount for photography I use a huge set of heavy wooden legs under it.

Joplin