Rickilu52

I'm interested in this tripod mount however I have no experience with this type of equipment for photography. Can any give me their opinion on this device? Also please explain sidereal, solor and lunar functions? I appreciate your patience with me. Thanks.

dlmorris Loc: Loma Linda, Ca

I have not used that specific unit, though I have a couple of other such trackers. They are very good for wide field and mild telephoto photography. Sidereal should be used for photographing the stars. Solar is for the sun, and Lunar should be used for tracking the moon. The sun, and especially the moon, move at different rates (speeds) then the stars, and if you want to track them for any extended times, you need to set your tracking rate accordingly. Hope this helps.

Rickilu52

Thanks for your reply. What other brands of trackers are recommended?

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

The SA is a good light weight, low load rated EQ mount. A great grab 'n go EQ mount for camera/lens or camera/light telescope combinations. I know people who have used up to a 400mm focal length lens/telescope off a SA with reasonable success but its strength is probably with focal lengths below 200mm.

Getting and retaining a real good polar alignment with a SA can sometimes been difficult due to shifts in the SA, tripod head or tripod when setting up and/or imaging; however, a good HEAVY weight tripod head and solid tripod can reduce this. Polar alignment on the SA is very important since you probably won't have the load capacity to implement guiding.

I personally like a GoTo mount since I'm not an expert at finding stellar targets and the SA is NOT a GoTo mount. This is the biggest complaint I've heard WRT to the SA mount. This is not really a problem if one is shooting at focal lengths below 200mm since the field-of-view will normally be large enough to find, frame and capture the target you're looking for...

Sidereal, solar and lunar tracking are for tracking stellar objects (stars, the Milky Way, nebulas, etc.), the Sun and the Moon, respectively.

I have three GoTo mounts that I really like: a Celestron (Alt-Az) Evolution, a Celestron (EQ) AVX and a Celestron (EQ) CGEM DX. The AVX is my most often used EQ mount simply because it is relatively light with a good load rating for the astrophotography I normally undertake. The Evolution is my grab 'n go mount for solar and lunar imaging; ease of setup (no polar alignment required), built-in power supply and light weight are its primary benefits. I've also used the Evolution mount for deep sky objects (DSO's) when I can keep exposures short enough to reduce the field rotation associated with all Alt-Az mounts. The Evolution mount is the one I grab when I head off into the mountains on a camping/imaging adventure!

I use Celestron's StarSense with all of the above mounts for accurate star alignment as well as QHY's PoleMaster for accurate polar alignment.

Good luck and clear skies!

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

I have a question for Brian. So on the CGEM DX you use the PoleMaster first for polar alignment. Then do the 2+4 alignment and finally the StarSence???
Craig

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Pardon me for jumping in with my two penny's worth..
I use the polemaster first to get a solid polar alignment and them a 2+4 and it has really helped.
I cannot get the startracker to work, when I fire it up it sits at the initializing screen on the hand controller and that's after letting the controller update.
Sorry to jump in the middle of this..
Jim

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Hey Jim no problem, are you talking about the Google App "Star Tracker - Mobile Sky Map"
Craig

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

I don't even know what a "2+4" alignment is!?

My startup:

1) Mount camera / lens or / telescope configuration; balance slightly to rear end heavy; make sure all knobs are tight and all cables are tied down.

2) Check Polar Alignment with PoleMaster and adjust to the very best; ~ 5 min.

3) Do Star Alignment with StarSense; ~ 3 min.

4) GoTo a nice bright star in the area in which I'll be imaging and use a Bahtinov Mask to get a good focus; ~2-3 min.
4a) If star isn't centered, calibrate StarSense and redo Star Alignment (Step #3).

5) GoTo target; double check camera settings; start imaging.

6) Hover around to make sure everything is working as anticipated...

Since I seldom guide imaging sessions Step #2 is critical!

bwa

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Thanks Brian. The 2+4 is, 2 Star Alignment with 4 Calibration Stars run through the hand controller.
Craig

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

No need for this with StarSense.

bwa

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Will StarSence replace my Guide Scope???
Craig

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Sorry, starsense the gizmo.

dlmorris Loc: Loma Linda, Ca

My current tracking mount is the IOptron SkyGuider Pro. I think it has a slightly better tripod attachment method, but that is just my opinion. Sure, a go-to mount would be nice (I do have a Gemini GM-8), but that entails a lot more expense and weight. Plus autoguiding if you are really serious, which I've also done. But I'm older now, and am having a blast with the simple, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive SkyGuider. It does have a balance bar, so is a true GEM mount that can be carried entirely (except for the tripod) in a small tool box. It does accept autoguiding in one axes, though I haven't tried it. There are a few other brands or variations on the one I have. Probably no clear winner of any one over any other....

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

StarSense is not a guide system. It is for star alignment.

bwa

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Thanks Brian.
Craig