Are slow-mo controls worth it?

[spacegalaxy]

Yes, I know it is a stupid title, but mainly I wanted to ask that I am getting a new mount and I looked at Mount which has no slow-motion controls, but then I saw a telescope (Which has same specs as my first scope) has a EQ wedge and slow-mo controls into it, so are the slow-mo controls worths spending 120$?

[Stu]

I can’t watch.

Still having counselling after the last slow motion debacle! 🤪🤪

[Knighty2112]

 No controversy here; in my eyes yes as it is easier to control better  at high magnifications than doing a push or pull on the telescope.

[RobertI]

Some advantages for slo mo:

- You don’t have to remember to lock the clutches when changing eyepieces.

- You don’t have to rebalance the scope so much

- Finer control at very high powers 

- Less chance of accidentally knocking off the target

To be honest I think you get used to whatever you have. The most annoying thing when pushing is if your mount suffers front ‘stiction’, only my smallest mount suffers from this, my other larger Synta mounts are fine. 
 

As an experiment I recently used my Skytee without the slo mos and it was fine, although I didn’t like having to touch the focuser to move it. 

It’s probably better to have slo mo and not need it I guess!

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by RobertI

[Sunshine]

Having used a Vixen GP for years now with slow motion controls I would certainly miss them if you took them away. Having said that, I also have a new (to me) alt az push to mount which is great but at higher powers I am 

really missing slow motion controls.

[Stu]

Just to add from my side, I’ve mainly used mounts without them such as the Giro-WR, Giro and Ercole and always managed fine by moving the scope manually. They can be a bit finnickity with balance, and the comments above about the benefits of slo motion controls are all perfectly correct. A lot depends on the design of the controls themselves and the control cables used.  Nice long and flexible cables help, and it’s best if the controls are pointing in your direction and follow round with the mount as it rotates, otherwise it ends up being a stretch to get to them and that’s when I lose patience with them. The SkyTee2 is a great mount but the slo mos are fixed so if you move to a different part of the sky, the controls can end up on the wrong side so you have to swap the cable over.

The mounts I’ve got currently are the Scopetech Zero and Rowan AZ100 and both of these have very convenient slo mo setups so I use them most of the time.

It’s a personal preference so a lot just comes from experience as to what you prefer.

[RobertI]

3 hours ago, Stu said:

The SkyTee2 is a great mount but the slo mos are fixed so if you move to a different part of the sky, the controls can end up on the wrong side so you have to swap the cable over.

Totally agree with this, it’s a pain with the Skytee. These days I actually pick up the whole thing (scope, mount and tripod) when pointing to a different part of the sky so that I keep the azimuth cable pointing towards me - a bit extreme I know! 

[jjohnson3803]

I've had both slo-mo and non-slo-mo / friction mounts.  I much prefer slo-mo for many of the reasons listed above.  Also, I could never get my friction mounts adjusted to "glide like butter" when following (alt-az) a target.  Maybe they weren't high enough quality, I don't know.  I wanted to love them, but it just didn't work out.

I use knobs on my AZ5, so it's not necessary to move the tripod to reach any cables.  FWIW.

[banjaxed]

When I had an AZ4 Mount fine movement was a bit of a pain, but since I sold it and bought an AZ5 Mount it is much easier even without the slomo cables because the knobs are in easy to reach positions, providing you are not using a long tube refractor. 😀

Edited March 1, 2022 by banjaxed

[chiltonstar]

Yes! (title).

Chris

[F15Rules]

Yes, no question.

I wouldn't buy any mount (unless it had electric drives) without slow motions. Period.

Dave

[Stu]

Thinking about this, my preferences change depending on what I’m observing. If doing planetary or lunar observing at high power, then either a driven EQ mount or an AltAz with slow motion controls (or tracking motors…) is my preference. If star hopping for deep sky targets at low and mid powers, then I’m quite happy with a manual Alt Az with no slow mos, things don’t move very fast so tracking is very easy.

[jock1958]

I persevered for ages with a nudge along Giro Ercole but struggled with high power viewing & balance so it’s Slo Mo all the way for me especially ones with nice long bendy cables 😜

[Stephenstargazer]

Flexibles or knobs seem to be a personal preference and maybe mount depenedent ? Not a deal breaker, as they can be swapped.

I do find good slow motions very helpful when - star hopping, searching for a new object (especially comets), and following planets (higher magnification). Less bothered when using a widefield view of familiar objects. So my view is they are worth having, even if you dont use them all the time. Having said that I do recommend getting the best quality mount you can afford. Better a mount with smooth push around than jerky slow motions.