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The tripod in your photo looks very similar to my Quickset Husky IV model. Mine has the older shiny legs, rather than the newer black ones and my panning handle seems slightly shorter. Otherwise they seem identical. Most folks know of the big Quickset tripods with sturdy elevator columns. The Gibralter (200 lb. capacity), Hercules (150 lb. cap.), and Samson (40 lb. cap.) are still made and pretty expensive if purchased new. Used ones are sometimes available at more reasonable cost and are ideal for astronomy use (especially for refractors), since the column can be raised or lowered to give comfortable viewing. They are also ideal for star parties, as the scope can be lowered by cranking down the column so that kids can view more easily. They come with a head designed for photography or video, so usually it is necessary to modify or replace that so that the mounted scope can point to objects near zenith. Quickset also made a whole variety of lighter tripods for photography. They were sometimes marketed under other brand names, but the Quickset quality is easy to identify once you've seen a few. I have a light tripod that weighs just under 3 lb. that is labeled "Fairfax Elevator" but I believe it is Quickset built. To help you ID the tripod in question, the Sampson tripod with head weighs about 12 pounds while my Husky IV weighs 7 lb. The Husky IV with the legs fully extended (3 sections to each leg) and spread holds the camera mount 1/4-20 screw about 62" above the floor and the elevator column extends that up an additional 15". I've also seen a nearly identical "Hi-boy IV" Model with legs having four sections. The Quickset Husky IV is a heavy duty camera tripod and is very nice to mount my homemade spotting scope with Jaegers 3" lens. I paid $25 for my Husky IV, bought used at a camera store years ago. I think it's hard to beat the larger Quickset or Majestic tripods for stable, portable astronomy tripods, provided you have the ability to modify them or just replace the pan heads with an equatorial or alt-azimuth set up for astronomical use. That Husky IV should be useful for mounting a small scope for "Grab & Go" or for mounting binoculars. Hope this helps. - Bill

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