What's the maximum supported weight? for instance, would it be able to take a professional-level full frame dslr with a hefty 300+mm telephoto lens?

The factory rated loading weight is 2kg but it will handle 3kg quite happily. The problem with a 300mm lens is the length rather than the weight - the longer the lens, the more torque applied to the mount and the higher the chance that the tracking will run too fast or too slow, depending on where the camera is pointing. We recommend around 200m maximum focal length but the Polarie is really designed to work with short focal length lenses for wide field photography.

Do you need to buy a special tripod for the Vixen Polarie?

The Polarie has a standard tripod thread connection on it's base (1/4 inch Whitworth thread). You should look for a tripod that has a pan head with up/down and left/right adjustment. Ideally find one with a pan head with thumbwheel adjustments rather than a twist handle or pistol grip.

The andoer cam tripod ballhead that was advertised with the polarie doesn't fit (3/8" thread). can someone spell out what will fit, please?

I bought adapters - Fomito 1/4" to 3/8" Convert Screw Adapter for Tripod,Monopod, Ballhead, Stand and Video light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CZTJ234?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I may be being dumb here but...You attach a camera to it and attach it to a tripod? How? It only has 1 mount

You attach the tripod to the base of the Polaris and set the tripod's head to the correct angle for the Pole Star. A second tripod head is the attached to the faceplace of the Polaris and the camera is then mounted on this. If you go to the Vixen website you can download the Polarie manual as a PDF where this is explained fully with illustrations.

Package Dimensions L x W x H	32 x 23.2 x 16.2 centimetres
Package Weight	1.19 Kilograms
Product Dimensions L x W x H	13.7 x 5.8 x 9.5 centimetres
Item Weight	2.1 Pounds
Brand	Vixen
Colour	Black and Silver
Has image stabilisation	No
Included components	Polarie star tracker, Manual
Minimum shutter speed	0.0001 seconds
Plug profile	Tripod
Part number	FBA_75505
Water Resistance Level	Not Water Resistant
Focus type	Manual Focus
Maximum shutter speed	30 seconds
Aperture Modes	f/1.2, f/2.8
Guaranteed software updates until	unknown

Vixen Polarie Star Tracker

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