AnakChan

Oh how did you order it? They were willing to ship internationally?

I received my T-Factory PCB-EQ2 kit.

I saw this. I find it very hard to believe that the Polarie can hold a EOS-1Dx with 300/2.8 without issues. The "stars must have been aligned" that night, no wind, perfect stability... :- https://ryanwatamura.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/year-of-the-comet/

I've been looking at the SWAT and Toast Pro myself. They're much more capable than the Polarie however they're also bigger & heavier. Having said that, I think the PCB-EQ2 + Polarie would probably equal or heavier than the weight of the SWAT or Toast Pro (I ordered the PCB-EQ2 BTW, should be ready for delivery end of the month). Both SWAT & Toast Pro are much more sophisticated than the Polarie. The SWAT especially is extremely configurable...lots of accessories & options - even a handheld remote control (but no GOTO). These two brands don't just hold heavy cameras but can also hold mini scopes (up to 70/80mm mini refractors?). I'll try my Polarie with PCB-EQ2 when they arrive. If that's not enough to hold my camera setup, then I may consider the SWAT-200 at least...the SWAT-350 is probably an overkill unless I start expanding to mini refractors, etc.

Yes I live in Japan. I picked up my XY-50D from Kyoei Tokyo. At least two weeks back when I picked up the XY-50D from the shop, it was the last one they had in store. I don't know if they're restocked since. As for the cradle I picked it up from Yahoo Auction. The cradle isn't a perfect fit, I had to "hammer" it into the XY-50D. There are 4 tabs that fit into the base of the XY-50D however the size of the tabs a a little large so the fit is tight. As the cradle's made from polymer, the imperfect size of the tabs aren't a big issue, once it's in I doubt if I'd take it out. My Polarie upgrade isn't done yet. I'm waiting for T-Factory to start stocking in their PCB-EQ2. It'll hopefully end up looking something similar to this :- I'm trying to push my Polarie to the max before considering other options like the Swat-200 or Toast Pro.

I shared this on CN and thought I'd share it here too. I picked up the K-Astec XY-50D mount for the my Polarie along with a cradle for it too. I had problems with my Polarie moving especially when I was switching back 'n forth between the Polar Guide scope & the camera mounting block and microadjustment wasn't easy. The XY-50D provides the microadjustment and locking to the Polarie, whilst the cradle prevents the Polarie from lateral twists :- Polarie & XY-50D (no cradle) Polarie with cradle on the XY-50D Microadjustment on the XY-50D Polarie Cradle Sample Setup