Losmandy 12

I love my Losmandy GM-8--but with a 5 f/9 refractor on it, objects high in the sky require a bit too much bending, twisting, and lying on the ground to use--even with the GM-8s tripod legs fully extended. The obvious solution is the Losmandy Tripod Extension 12 Lift. [ARTICLEIMGL=1] The exterior finish is what you would expect from Losmandy--finely finished, flat black. (As my wife has noticed, the <I>last</I> thing you want a telescope to be is black--too easy to trip over in the dark.) The interior, while reasonably well-finished, reminds you that this is welded together from other parts, but everything is still reasonably finished inside. If you are used to getting down almost on the ground, a 12 lift doesnt sound like much, but in fact, it was sufficient to get my 5 f/9 refractor to a position that I can stand for most objects, and even looking at objects at the zenith, I can sit comfortably in a chair, instead of getting grass stains (or worse) on the seat of my pants. Here you can see the before and after: [ARTICLEIMGL=2] [ARTICLEIMGL=3] The extension adds a few pounds of weight to the mount, but more importantly, it raises the center of gravity of the telescope and mount combination several inches. If you have a very heavy telescope, you need to be aware that your mount may be a little more prone to tip over if you get it much off of the vertical. I have not had any problem with my telescope, and I suspect that if you do have such a problem, you are probably putting too much weight on the GM-8 mount, but think about it the first few times you decide to put this combination anywhere but on the level.