I paid $22 for a used tripod off a guy in Nampa and it saved my whole shot of the Pleiades
My old tripod had a leg that slipped about an inch whenever I locked it, so every long shot came out as little streaks instead of tight dots. I picked up a beat up aluminum tripod from a guy in Nampa for $22 and got out to the desert past Kuna with it. First clear night, 20 second shots of the Pleiades, round stars, no trailing at all. Has anyone else fixed a tracking problem with a cheap used mount instead of buying new?
Man that leg slipping thing is the worst, you don't even notice till you're stacking frames and everything's smeared. What's the head on that $22 one though, ball or pan? I've had cheap legs work fine but the heads are usually where they get ya.