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Astrotrac or Star Adventurer

roarke80

By roarke80
in Discussions - Mounts

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roarke80

roarke80

Posted
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I am thinking of buying the astrotrac travel system but am intrigued by the Star Adventurer which seems to do the job at less than half the price. Can anyone give me your thoughts on which would be the better option?

I need something portable and light as I hope to travel with it, and I'm a newbie so would like something easy to setup and use. I'm starting on a DSLR but my end goal is to take images of nebulae and galaxies, eventually moving onto a CCD camera. I won't have the budget for longer camera lenses at the moment. I do however have a Celestron ED80 which I hope to use once I'm more familiar with the equipment.

For people who own the Star Adventurer, does the whole setup become bulky once you add a suitably sturdy tripod? Would an astrotrac travel system still be better if it was just a couple hundred quid more?

thanks very much!

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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I know nothing about the Astrotrac, but do own a SA, it is easy to set-up couple of minutes to do the PA and you're looking at 5 minute subs with a wide field lens, it's better to use a sturdy tripod but the same tripod would i assume be needed for the Astrotrac. i run the SA, 600D Canon, dew heater all from a multi cigarette adapter  this being plugged into a Tracer battery..

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MattJenko

MattJenko

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Both mounts are good but the astrotrac has a much greater load capacity (similar to the HEQ5) but at that point would be less portable so if you are sticking with camera lenses the SA would be fine. 

Alan

I have owned the SA for a while now and this is spot on. I have done some solar visual with the SA and it works fine, but think AP with that setup would be pushing it...

StarAdventurerSolar

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Alien 13

Alien 13

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I have owned the SA for a while now and this is spot on. I have done some solar visual with the SA and it works fine, but think AP with that setup would be pushing it...

That looks like a great grab and go setup so many are grab and lug.

Alan

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Astroscot2

Astroscot2

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I owned the original Astrotrac for 4 years , I found when well polar aligned  it tracked and produced pinpoint stars with a 100mm lens @ 5mins.  when you add on all the other bits and bobs you need like a good wedge, sturdy tripod, camera, lenses. batteries , dew equip, .As a full kit Its not as portable as you think.

I began thinking that Ideally I wanted to autoguide on both axis and use longer length lenses and the relisation that somthing like an EQ3 pro woud probably be just as portable and have added features that I could use.   Plus cost less ?

To me the SW star adven just looks insteady - I may be wrong?

Just my thoughts.

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Alien 13

Alien 13

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I have an Astrotrac but use a Star adventurer wedge to attach it to the tripod easier for PA than a geared head...

My biggest regret was letting my EQ3 Pro go..... 

I would buy another in an instant if funds allow..

Peter..

I dont have the pro version but love my EQ3-2 for Camera/lens widefield its so portable.

Alan

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MattJenko

MattJenko

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To me the SW star adven just looks insteady - I may be wrong?

Just my thoughts.

In the configuration I have for Solar in the image above, then yes, it is not very stable, and a better tripod would be a good idea. However for a camera and lens setup, it is perfectly fine. This image is a 200mm lens on it :

SA 450d 200

And here are a few 50mm shots taken with it at a pretty windy Kelling last week, all 20 x 2 mins and I have yet to chuck a sub because of bad tracking. I used the counterweight bar for this, but have also had success just using the ballhead connected to the SA directly, without the L dovetail bar.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/252582-a-kelling-heath-smorgasbord/

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MartinB

MartinB

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I have often taken my astrotrac setup out to Greece and it has worked very well, no problems getting under my 20kg baggage limit with a CF tripod, junior geared head and a lightweight head for my DSLR and 3 lenses. That's along with sailing gear and all the usual holiday stuff. It was designed as a portable solution but because of it's design is capable of carrying a substantial load which, of course, compromises portability.

As well as high load capacity (which I don't need) it effectively has a massive worm gear which makes it very accurate. The polar scope is a bit flimsy and you are restricted to 2 hours before you run out of thread and have to reset it. It is well engineered and has withstood the abuse that I have thrown at it very well.

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Beyond_Vision

Beyond_Vision

Posted
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The Astrotrac system is very compact and portable fitting in an easy to carry cylindrical bag. It can carry a lot more weight than the SA and will be more accurate at tracking. If you need the extra load capacity and intend to use it abroad then it will prove it's worth. If you use small lenses on a DSLR at home or setup out of the boot of a car in the field then the SA would be up to the job and you will save some money. The Astrotrac is very well engineered and is intended to be highly portable yet strong so hence the higher price.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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Hello Peter, not wanting to Hijack a thread , did you ever autoguide your EQ3 ?  if so how did it perform ?

I would consider an EQ3 as a portable mount however there is not much info on th Web by those doing widefield imaging with one.

Thanks

Mark

Ahhh...... Autoguiding an EQ-3 Pro - now they are fine.... I never bothered unless I was using longer FL...

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roarke80

roarke80

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Thanks so much for all the replies, been really helpful! This is the scope I have and am hoping to use: 

http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/uncategorized/80ed-refractor

The Celestron 80ED specs says it's around 2kg. Including the DSLR body it would take it to about 3kg, is this something that can fit comfortably on the SA for imaging?

I'm leaning more towards the astrotrac now as I'm thinking it's better to have capacity to spare, but would it be too ambitious to image with this 600mm scope on the astrotrac without any guiding in any case?

It seems like astrotrac hasn't released any new products for years though, I'm a little worried about getting support if needed. Furthermore I'm buying it secondhand, are there any tips as to how to check if it's working alright?

Thanks very much for all your thoughts!

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MattJenko

MattJenko

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Given the requirement to put the ED80 on the mount, I would go astrotrac, as while the SA will just about cope, it will be a struggle. Astrotrac is more money, but hey ho! I wanted to use my SA for some wider images with my 60EDT, but reality kicked in when I tried it out. For DSLR + lenses, it is a brilliant little thing though and I have developed a serious liking for constellation and widefield imaging now, as well as getting a 200mm lens to try out.

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Davey-T

Davey-T

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Never had an Astrotrac but I think I'd rather have the SW SA , polar aligning with the excellent polar scope is the work of minutes and it seems to cope with everything I stick on it.

Here's a couple more pics of the poor thing groaning under the weight :)

Dave

post-21198-0-10220300-1442498755_thumb.j

post-21198-0-86832800-1442498858_thumb.j

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