AstroTrac - is it worth having?

[JonH]

Hi All,

After a little research on the net, I'm seriously considering splashing some cash on an AstroTrac. There's no way I'm going to chuck my NEQ6 in to the back of the car for a couple of hours at a dark site so this looks like the perfect solution. Almost too good to be true in fact, so any feedback from AstroTrac owners out there would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jon

[Astrogeordie]

Hi Jon,

I have an Astrotrac 320TT - the classic first version - and I agree it is a nice ultra-portable setup for telephoto lenses and even compact scopes.

However, you have to take additional costs into account:

- A sturdy tripod that does not lose the polar alignment when you handle the camera.

- A geared head for the polar alignment is gold worth - you can even once in a while check on your alignment and do fine corrections, e.g. after moving to another target.

- A sturdy ball head for the camera, preferably the version with a separate lock to move in azimuth only as this helps to preserve the camera orientation when you have to rewind the AstroTrac after two hours.

I truly recommend the machine for cameras with camera lenses as you have a very portable setup that on top does not eat up electricity in the rate an EQ6 does (have two of them as well). I am not sure if the autoguider option of the new ones is worthwhile as the bottleneck is not so much the worm error (you have the equivalent of a 24" worm gear!) but the error in polar alignment - and for this you would have to correct in declination as well what the AG version of the Astrotrac currently cannot do.

[MartinB]

I have mainly used mine on holidays to Greece. Great for taking on the plane. I will also be taking it to Kelling. Living next door to the peak district I really should get out there and get more wide field shots locally. I have never put a scope on it, just a camera and wide to standard lenses.

[JonH]

Many thanks for the replies chaps.

I'm okay for a tripod and B/S head, though I'd need to get a geared head. The Manfrotto 410 at around £150 is recommended by AstroTrac. I also like the idea of taking it overseas with my regular photographic kit. It really does look the business!

[Astrogeordie]

Hi Jon,

the geared head is definitely worthwhile to go for. My first tripod for the Astrotrac was a cheap one bought 2nd hand for £4 at a dealer's clearout corner at a star party. It worked, but the amount of heavy language when misaligning the pole star and trying to align it with a tripod head that changes position while clamping was enormous. The geared head turns this into a joy !

[Merlin66]

There's a lady in Scotland who uses the AstroTrak with a modded Canon 450D and a 85mm prime lens - with a Star Analyser grating objective mounted....

She is getting some tremendous spectral images.....

Certainly seems to do the job!

[JonH]

Cheers Ken.

Juergen - Yeah, I can see how the geared head is vital. Will help keep "heavy language" to a minimum too!

My tripod's a carbon fibre Gitzo - very lightweight but also extremely sturdy. It deals with a hefty DSLR + heavy lenses so hopefully will be up to the job.

[Psychobilly]

If you need to take it on a plane and as you already have quite a few of those "essentials" then the Astrotrac is your best bet...

Seeing as I deliberately let my passport lapse to avoid trips to Schenzen and Guangdong and haven't bothered to renew it I went for an EQ3 Pro instead...

[JonH]

Thanks Peter. I've pretty much made up my mind and will give the guys at FLO a ring tomorrow.

[melsky]

Hi Jon

You won't regret it the Astrotrac is brilliant but you don't need the geared head, I use a l manfrotto 501 video head for mine, it allows for very fine positioning and also doubles up as a great daytime spotting scope mount. Check out my photo's, they're all shot on a video head.

Flickr: Search astronomel's photostream

Look forward to seeing your photo's

Mel

[JonH]

Hey Mel,

One of the first posts I saw on here after ordering an Astrotrac was your 85mm shot of the Heart and Soul nebulas, so you can imagine how chuffed I felt after seeing what it is capable of. Now after checking out your Flickr shots I've even more chuffed. Thanks for the link, it's made my day!

Rather than a Manfrotto 410 geared head, I went with the AsroTrac wedge. Although it was around £90 more than the 410, it's about half a pound lighter and seems more compact. This was key for me as I intend to take it on overseas photographic trips.

Cheers,

Jon