iOptron Minitower / EQ5

[Dellis]

I currently own and use an EQ5 to mount my 102mm F7 refractor and am considering getting myself an iOptron Minitower to replace the EQ5. I've dabbled with astrophotography but it's not for me so I'm thinking I would like the ease of setup and viewing comfort offered by an altazimuth mount and with that in mind I'm interested in users experiences of the Minitower particularly with regard to stability, vibration and reliability. If I go for one it may well be a used V1 although I may go for a V2?

Dave

[Dunkster]

Me too

[biz]

Dave.

I have 3 of these mounts, 2 version1 mt's and 1 mtpro.. The oldest is 4 and a half years and all 3 have been totaly reliable, no issues at all... They would, in my opinion, be the easiest of any go-to to set up and use.

The pro has a much heavier and sturdy tripod but that setup is much more expensive. I have designed and developed folding spreaders for both tripods and that has made one heck of a difference in performance to all three mounts. Mind you spreaders make a difference to any tripod regardless of how good the design is..

Alignment of these mounts is dead easy and targeting and tracking on my 3 is superb.. I have 3 OTA's I use on them skywatcher Equinox 120ED, ioptron 152 mak, skywatcher 127 mak. I am pleased with the performance of all three when fitted to these mounts. I made a tripod extender to prevent the 120ED from hitting the tripod legs when at zenith, now all is good.

For straight looking these mounts are all you need and because of the small weight they are a great grab and go.. The mount all packs up into a small alluminium supplied case so is easy to cart around.

cheers.

Graham.

[ollypenrice]

Ian Morrison reviewed these favourably in Astronomy Now and Graham's post above makes happy reading. I'd LOVE one. Alt Az Go To is stunningly nice if you're enjoying a visual night out. GEM's are a real faff and involve all sorts of contortions in visual use.

Olly

[Marki]

Ian Morrison's review is spot on in my opinion, and was a big contributor to me getting my Minitower II. For ease of use and simplicity I much prefer my Minitower to my EQ5. Easy to align, simple go-to, solid, robust, reliable and accurate. Easy to set-up and transport. I often use it for "grab and go" with my 80mm. I also have fun using it with the SCT tube from my 8SE balanced with the 80mm on the other side.

The only reason I still use my eq5 is because I have a pillar extention fitted to it to I can use my longer 'fracs on it (quite interested in what Biz said about an extention for his minitower...). For simple fun alt-az go-to visual use, the minitower is excellent!

[Dellis]

Thanks for the replies and nice to hear such positive views. Looks like I may be going shopping

Dave

[Dellis]

I've pretty much decided to bite the bullet and buy one and will opt for the V2 as the head is exactly the same as the Pro with the only difference being the more robust tripod and the addition of a Losmandy dovetail clamp. I don't need a Losmandy dovetail clamp and a 2" tripod is around £120 which turns the V2 into the Pro for £920 minus the Losmandy.

Dave