Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer or HEQ5 mount?

[Steve143]

I'm still quite new to astrophotography using a DSLR on a static tripod but have been thinking about an upgrade to allow me to track but also give me the flexibility to build a more advanced astrophotography rig. I've been looking at the Star Adventurer 2i WIFI Pro Pack for a while now but have seen discussions on SGL about how good the HEQ5 mounts are, especially when building a more sophisticated astrophotography rig. These are the two mounts I'm currently looking at:

 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/star-tracker-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-star-adventurer-astronomy-bundle.html 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/equatorial-astronomy-mounts/skywatcher-heq5-pro-synscan.html 

I know the HEQ5 is 3x more expensive but do you think it's worth the investment? Or are there better alternatives? I just want to make sure, as a beginner, that I invest in a mount that is going to allow me to expand my equipment for both visual astronomy and astrophotography.

Thanks for any advice. 

[qisback]

So this depends alot on what you would like to achieve in the long run and although you've mentioned a bit of both, this may change as you progress.

I have a NEQ6 Pro that I bought 2nd hand for £600 ish, and a star adventurer, love them both but I use then for different reasons.

NEQ6 I use for DSO astrophotography, and go-to visual in the UK.

Star adventurer I use for widefield astro photography and take abroad with a light 50mm scope + DSLR 

The Star Adventurer is a great eq mount but isn't goto, so you have to manually point/align your target after polar aligning. I personally don't think it's of much use for visual either, but it is very lightweight, and can hold a good amount of kit.

If you really are wanting to try a range of visual/photography I would get the biggest go-to mount you can afford. The HEQ5 is a good mount, however depending on your kit weight and the idea of upgrading later an EQ3 Pro may be a good starter mount.

If I were to start again, and buy new I'd still get the big go-to mount first, I think I'd try buy the HEQ5 and possible push for the Rowan belt modded version

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/equatorial-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-heq5-pro-with-rowan-belt-mod-upgrade.html

But ultimately it depends on budget, there isn't really a right or wrong answer if you want to try a little of everything, but if you always intend on using a scope or camera and not intending to load up the mount with the weight of multiple scopes, cameras, power management etc, you don't need a big mount.

[Steve143]

21 minutes ago, qisback said:

So this depends alot on what you would like to achieve in the long run and although you've mentioned a bit of both, this may change as you progress.

I have a NEQ6 Pro that I bought 2nd hand for £600 ish, and a star adventurer, love them both but I use then for different reasons.

NEQ6 I use for DSO astrophotography, and go-to visual in the UK.

Star adventurer I use for widefield astro photography and take abroad with a light 50mm scope + DSLR 

The Star Adventurer is a great eq mount but isn't goto, so you have to manually point/align your target after polar aligning. I personally don't think it's of much use for visual either, but it is very lightweight, and can hold a good amount of kit.

If you really are wanting to try a range of visual/photography I would get the biggest go-to mount you can afford. The HEQ5 is a good mount, however depending on your kit weight and the idea of upgrading later an EQ3 Pro may be a good starter mount.

If I were to start again, and buy new I'd still get the big go-to mount first, I think I'd try buy the HEQ5 and possible push for the Rowan belt modded version

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/equatorial-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-heq5-pro-with-rowan-belt-mod-upgrade.html

But ultimately it depends on budget, there isn't really a right or wrong answer if you want to try a little of everything, but if you always intend on using a scope or camera and not intending to load up the mount with the weight of multiple scopes, cameras, power management etc, you don't need a big mount.

Thanks! That's really helpful and has given me even more to think about. 

[Dazzyt66]

I have an HEQ5 GOTO which I got initially with my Mak 150 but I now predominantly use with a DSLR and lens unguided. This is giving me some good results from my Bortle 7/8 back garden, is quick to set up (I leave it outside under cover) and is controlled via RasPi using Ekos. This enables me to set up a target, focus, plate solve and then leave it to go. Its probably 20 mins from deciding to go outside to capturing first frame. Take down is even quicker.

I am also considering a Star Tracker to take on travels with the DSLR - I have taken the HEQ% but its quite heavy!

If I had to choose again I'd still do HEQ5 Goto first as this gives great ease of finding targets quickly and is capable of numerous kit combos.

I am considering the Rowan Belt mod too for when I eventually move to guiding, but should also benefit the unguided too.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Dazzyt66
added context of mak

[malc-c]

2 hours ago, Steve143 said:

I know the HEQ5 is 3x more expensive but do you think it's worth the investment?

You're comparing apples to oranges...

The Star Adventure is a photographic platform.  The HEQ5 is a telescope mount.  The Star Adventure is designed to be highly portable, mainly for use with DSLR cameras and something like a 50-200mm telephoto or a 38mm wide angle lens, totalling no more than 5kg.  The HEQ5 can handle large scopes and equipment up to twice that.  And as mentioned the HEQ5 is fully goto .  But the HEQ5 is heavy and not really something you could really consider "grab and go".

Is the HEQ5 worth the extra - depends on what you want to do now or in the future.  If you see yourself typically bolting on a DSLR or a small MAK and taking it to a dark site in the back of the car, and want no more then no as the Star Adventurer would suit your needs.  If on the other hand you want to image from the comfort of your back garden then yes, the HEQ5 is well worth 3x the expense.   The HEQ5 also offers full goto, which can also lead to a fully computer controlled set up, and whilst it can accept DSLR cameras, it can take large scopes up to 200m f5 reflector or large refractors, along with guide scopes etc if your went down that road later.

The HEQ5 probably also has a better resale value should your circumstances change and you need to upgrade or sell it as they are very much sought after.

[Steve143]

16 hours ago, malc-c said:

You're comparing apples to oranges...

The Star Adventure is a photographic platform.  The HEQ5 is a telescope mount.  The Star Adventure is designed to be highly portable, mainly for use with DSLR cameras and something like a 50-200mm telephoto or a 38mm wide angle lens, totalling no more than 5kg.  The HEQ5 can handle large scopes and equipment up to twice that.  And as mentioned the HEQ5 is fully goto .  But the HEQ5 is heavy and not really something you could really consider "grab and go".

Is the HEQ5 worth the extra - depends on what you want to do now or in the future.  If you see yourself typically bolting on a DSLR or a small MAK and taking it to a dark site in the back of the car, and want no more then no as the Star Adventurer would suit your needs.  If on the other hand you want to image from the comfort of your back garden then yes, the HEQ5 is well worth 3x the expense.   The HEQ5 also offers full goto, which can also lead to a fully computer controlled set up, and whilst it can accept DSLR cameras, it can take large scopes up to 200m f5 reflector or large refractors, along with guide scopes etc if your went down that road later.

The HEQ5 probably also has a better resale value should your circumstances change and you need to upgrade or sell it as they are very much sought after.

Thanks for the advice. Everyone has been really helpful. I think I might go for the Star Adventurer for now so I can take it to some dark skies and get more skilled with astrophotography. Once I feel more confident I will then look at either the HEQ5 or NEQ6.

Thank you everyone for all the advice and suggestions! 

[qisback]

8 hours ago, Steve143 said:

Thanks for the advice. Everyone has been really helpful. I think I might go for the Star Adventurer for now so I can take it to some dark skies and get more skilled with astrophotography. Once I feel more confident I will then look at either the HEQ5 or NEQ6.

Thank you everyone for all the advice and suggestions! 

No problems, and if you're happy to find the objects/widefield astro, it's a good place to start; there are all the bits and bobs to help polar align in the Star Adventurer and it has plenty of weight limit for starting out.

See

 as an example of the type of kit it can support.

[Concordia000]

I am going to throw a wrench into the arena here: the AZ-GTi + wedge, the Rainbow Astro RST-135 and the Hobym Crux 140 Traveller.

Those mounts are lightweight, compact, fully GOTO, and very versatile; they can be used in both Alt-az and EQ configurations. In fact, all of them have similar weight compared to each other when fullly equipped.

AZ-GTi + wedge costs about as much as the SWSA. The AZ-GTi + wedge will probably cover most of your needs. It can handle a DSLR + wide angle lens easily, but it can also handle a small refractor, like a William Optics RedCat 51, a Takahashi FS-60CB or any other 60-80mm refractor if your setup is under 4kg. With autoguiding and counterweights you can do a fair amount of astrophotography. For travelling and wide field it will not be as easy to use as a SWSA because the lack of a polar scope and the need for external power banks, but it is a GOTO mount which makes pointing at stuff and automation that much easier. It can also be used as an Alt-az mount for visual observation.

RST-135 and the Crux 140 cost 10 times as much, but they have similar concepts. Those mounts have ridiculous payload capacity (about 3 times as much for the Crux and about 5 times as much for RST) and can sling a C11 SCT (12kg by itself!!) around with counterweighting. Most people will never get big enough scopes to overgrow those two mounts, but then again, most people will not drop that much money on a telescope mount.

You will eventually outgrow the AZ-GTi but it will remain a nice grab-to-go setup to accompany your heavier, stay at home setup. I wish I knew the AZ-GTi existed before I bought my Fornax Lightrack, which while an excellent startracker, isn't a substitute for a real mount. Even as I am preparing to buy the RST-135, there's still a part of me that wants to buy the AZ-GTi --- it would be a very good "outreach" mount along with my old C5, since both of them cost and weigh next to nothing.

[Steve143]

On 08/10/2021 at 00:49, Concordia000 said:

I am going to throw a wrench into the arena here: the AZ-GTi + wedge, the Rainbow Astro RST-135 and the Hobym Crux 140 Traveller.

Those mounts are lightweight, compact, fully GOTO, and very versatile; they can be used in both Alt-az and EQ configurations. In fact, all of them have similar weight compared to each other when fullly equipped.

AZ-GTi + wedge costs about as much as the SWSA. The AZ-GTi + wedge will probably cover most of your needs. It can handle a DSLR + wide angle lens easily, but it can also handle a small refractor, like a William Optics RedCat 51, a Takahashi FS-60CB or any other 60-80mm refractor if your setup is under 4kg. With autoguiding and counterweights you can do a fair amount of astrophotography. For travelling and wide field it will not be as easy to use as a SWSA because the lack of a polar scope and the need for external power banks, but it is a GOTO mount which makes pointing at stuff and automation that much easier. It can also be used as an Alt-az mount for visual observation.

RST-135 and the Crux 140 cost 10 times as much, but they have similar concepts. Those mounts have ridiculous payload capacity (about 3 times as much for the Crux and about 5 times as much for RST) and can sling a C11 SCT (12kg by itself!!) around with counterweighting. Most people will never get big enough scopes to overgrow those two mounts, but then again, most people will not drop that much money on a telescope mount.

You will eventually outgrow the AZ-GTi but it will remain a nice grab-to-go setup to accompany your heavier, stay at home setup. I wish I knew the AZ-GTi existed before I bought my Fornax Lightrack, which while an excellent startracker, isn't a substitute for a real mount. Even as I am preparing to buy the RST-135, there's still a part of me that wants to buy the AZ-GTi --- it would be a very good "outreach" mount along with my old C5, since both of them cost and weigh next to nothing.

Thanks. You've just given me something else to think about with the AZ-GTi.