DWARFLAB Mini Tripod with Hydraulic Head for DWARF 3

Very well constructed for such a compact design/footprint. I was surprised by the weight of the tripod, given its size and had concerns that it could handle the weight of my Dwarf Lab digital telescope. Those concerns were completely put to rest. It comes with a storage pouch that can be slung over the shoulder for easy carrying. I expect to get lots of use out of this new addition to my photography arsenal. Read more

Great little tripod. The degree marks help a lot with doin Equatorial alignment. Very sturdy. Read more

This is one of the best items I have ever ordered. I had hoped to use it for some basic astrophotography, maybe a nice picture of the Moon, etc. Well, I was underestimating this telescope by far! First, the setup. It couldn't be easier. Download the app, turn on the telescope, hold the phone near the telescope and follow the prompts to connect. Once you're connected, the fun begins. You then open up the star map, and you can either just look around for something to photograph, or you can search for what you want (like the two big comets passing through this month). That's it, just sit back and watch the magic occur. The telescope calibrates, finds your target, and shows it to you. Then, you start the photo process. Without changing any of the many settings, just hitting the red button, it starts to take photos and stack them to create results that will blow you away! (Note: you will have to take about three minutes of "darks" first to allow the telescope to properly stack the photos of what you want. It is easy, it talks you through it, and you don't have to do it every time. Just make sure to bring the sun filter if you're going out into the wild for the night for stellar photography, as you'll need it to take the "darks.") Second, now that you have some beautiful pictures, it's time to have some fun with them. All of the work occurs on the telescope, so you don't need the iPhone 17 Pro to make this happen. You can edit, stack, watermark and all right on the device. Third, this is also a very useful camera in its own right. You can use it to capture wildlife photos, and once you target something, it will track that target for you. There is even a playfully named "UFO Mode," where it will watch the skies and lock on to any movement to photograph. Finally, time to share. There's a vibrant Dwarf Lab community out there and you just have to see some of the photos! You can also get all kinds of tips and hints to better your experience. It all comes with a padded carry kit, so you can take it on the road with you. The battery life is excellent, I've gotten more than four hours of use each time without charging. It is kinda heavy, but it is about the size of a hardcover book (maybe a Tom Clancy), so you'll have no problem taking it on vacation every time. There is also a mount for a tripod, which I highly recommend. Any standard tripod will do, and it will help if you want to go out into the wild for photography. With that said, if you have any level, flat surface, you don't always need a tripod. The base of the telescope stands flat on the surface and handles all of the necessary rotation automatically. The only possible drawback is the base when you turn it off. As soon as the power is off, you can rotate the lenses back under cover to protect them, but the base stays in its last position. You need to power it on to drive the base back to its starting position. This only comes up because it won't fit in the case if the base is rotated. It's a minor difficulty, and you get used to turning the base back before turning it off each time. I've included a few photos for you to see the actual results. I have the Andromeda galaxy, Comet LEMMON, the North America Nebula, and Comet SWAN. Now, buy this and go make your own images. You won't regret it! Read more

I bought this DWARFLAB Mini Tripod with Hydraulic Head to pair with my Dwarf 3 smart telescope and for about fifteen minutes I thought I had discovered the holy grail of tiny astro rigs. The build feels premium. The compact size is perfect for a backpack and it looks slick in black and silver. The hydraulic head is the real star here. Panning is buttery smooth and tilt feels like a dream for something this small. If this review were only about the head I would be writing poetry and giving it five emphatic stars. Cue the laugh track when the legs enter the scene. Imagine me at a campsite trying to level the tripod while my friends ask when Saturn is showing up. One leg feels like it drank three espressos and wants to run away. Another leg is so stiff it thinks it is a statue. The third leg is a wild card. There is an Allen wrench included which is a nice gesture but no matter how I tweaked I could not get all three legs to match. It felt like tuning a guitar by ear in a wind tunnel. Then there is the leg angle buckle. It stops in the up direction which sounds fine until you realize gravity exists. I kept nudging the tripod into position and the legs kept gleefully snapping to a lower angle like they were practicing downward dog. I am trying to polar align here and the tripod is auditioning for yoga class. About that bubble level. It is hiding under the quick release plate. So to check level you remove the Dwarf 3 then peer down like you are inspecting a tiny aquarium then mount everything up again then realize it is still not level because this tripod cannot actually level itself. At that point I started a new game I call campfire Jenga using shims rocks and twigs to coax the horizon into cooperating. My friends were entertained I was less so. On paper this thing is clever. It is stable for its size and the altitude base with angle markings is genuinely helpful for quick equatorial setup. The weight is travel friendly the height range is fine for a mini and the hydraulic head really is smooth enough to make panning satisfying. In real life the leg inconsistencies and the buckle behavior turn setup into a slapstick routine and the hidden bubble level is like a secret boss battle you did not want. If you are filming smooth pans on a flat indoor surface this rig is pretty great. If you are outside looking for stars on real ground prepare to do interpretive dance with shims. I ended up returning it with a weird combination of admiration and exasperation. Five stars for the head two and a half for the legs average human experience somewhere in the middle. Pros: - Excellent hydraulic head with silky pan and tilt to get polar aligned - Compact and travel friendly for the Dwarf 3 - Angle markings on the altitude base are actually useful Cons: - Leg tension is inconsistent and tough to tune evenly even with the wrench - Leg angle buckle loves to lock lower during setup - Bubble level is hidden under the plate and the tripod has no real leveling method without improvised shims Final take: I wanted to love it and for the first few minutes I did. If DWARFLAB fixes the leg tension consistency adds a proper multi stop angle lock and moves the bubble level somewhere visible this would be an easy keeper. Until then bring rocks. Read more

So far the best I’ve tested. I have a S50 as well but I want to get everything in one frame without using mosaic. And this does it plus. The software and hardware are better. Very immersive. There are a lot of editing and pre processing you can do before you even start taking photos or stacking images for deep sky. I was at a planetarium with the whole are lit up by parking lights and was able to get andromeda and m33 it’s Nextdoor neighbor. Absolutely amazing if you ask me. Very well built. Well designed. I love it. And I’m starting to like better than the S50. Its pans faster. Highly recommended. The picture below was shot in a luminous pollution of 9. So extremely high. Also no cleanup. That’s right out of the lens. Around 300 images stacked. I threw about 100 away do to low resolution Read more

Great tripod for this! Read more

Its short. Its very portable. Nice head mechanism Read more

Solid tripod. Well built. Smooth, buttery motion. Worth the money! Read more