Short Skywatcher AZ4 report.

[GazOC]

I had this out for the first time last night and am pretty impressed. The mount takes my ED120 with Ethos quite comfortably, I suspect a 150mm f5 refractor would be fine on it too. The 1.75" steel tripod legs are certainly a welcome improvement over the smaller sizes.

An unexpected bonus is that the alt/az scales are deadly accurate, I was hoping for them to be reasonably close but these are bang on. I had my PDA out with Astromist software and was flying though the objects.

In short, recommended for anyone in the market for a grab'n'go setup with a bit more clout.

[John]

Nice mounts arn't they Gaz

Usually my 4" F/6.5 Vixen refractor rides on mine but I do put the 6" mak-newt on it too for short sessions and it handles it pretty well.

I reckon Skywatcher could make a bit more fuss about the AZ-4 - it's nearly £100 cheaper than the Porta II and perhaps a wee bit more robust, especially on the steel tripod.

[GazOC]

Yep, very nice John. The pictures on the dealers websites don't really do them justice, I was expecting my ED120 to maybe be a bit shaky but the whole rig is rock solid.

I picked mine up for £60 secondhand and its got to be one of my better astro purchases.

[russ]

Can't recommend them highly enough. It's the basis of our most used setups. Either the Orion Optics 150 f5 newt or one of the refractors. Takes them all with ease. No probs with the Celestron C100ED either.

Only downside to the Orion USA VersaGo version is it lacks the alt\az scales.

We also picked up ours cheap from UK Astro Buy'n'sell for £45 delivered. Which is silly as that is lower than most AZ3 sell for and it's far superior.

[kris h]

Sounds like a very good mount for £180

[Timbo]

hi,

I hear nothing but good news about this mount. Tiny tiny niggles admittedly but this is the mount for me also. I wont ask questions as I've read all I want to know - 10 times over!

I'm holding out over this summer for a 2nd hand steel legged AZ4; so fingers crossed.

Thanks all for your reviews, including lw24 and his ST120!

Tim

[GazK]

Funnily enough I've just taken delivery of an AZ4 for the 5" Mak I picked up from Richard Winter. This will be my grab'n'go summer lunar / planetary scope for when the big dob is too much of a faff.

I haven't had a chance to use it on a night target yet, but tracking of terrestrial stuff seems really smooth - e.g. an Army helicopter flying off Bratton hill at considerably more than sidereal rate!

The only changes I think it needs are:

- the bolts on the short Mak dovetail protrude and the rear one is preventing me placing it at the balance point. I will countersink the dovetail plate and fit flush bolts to fix this

- the mount needs to be levelled to work properly - I need to add a bubble

- the mount could do with a handle off the main ally casting to allow the whole thing to be lifted with one hand. I hate dismantling!

[lw24]

It really is an underrated mount. I have no idea why you'd choose a Porta II over it...

I possess the aluminium legged version, and have had no problems so far

[spaceboy]

I picked mine up for £60 secondhand and its got to be one of my better astro purchases.

Where was that from? I've been keeping an eye out for one of these but I'm obviously looking in the wrong places

[david o]

Yep. Great little mount

But don't make too much fuss over it ...

... the retailers may catch on and put the price up

[rwilkey]

I opted for the Porta II, and have to say I am very pleased with it, it looked more flexible and I liked the slomo controls as I am used to slomo on my 200P. The AZ4 certainly looks the biz, but I am happy with my choice, I wish I could have tried out both to do a real comparison. But I had to make a choice and am quite happy with the few nights usage I have had, any further comments welcome

[rwilkey]

Here's a couple pics of my favoured slomo controls:

[Timbo]

Thanks GazK.....

.....For taking the time to upload your photos, not forgetting you too rwilkey. That AZ4 looks like a well made set-up and ideal for what I'm after. You also answered my unvoiced thoughts about whether or not the Mak 127 would be a suitable partner for the AZ4!

I guessed you would chip in too lw24! Are you still enjoying your ST120? I hope so, as your choice of 'scope and mount was pivotal to my final decision (no pressure then, to keep hold of it and continue posting, haha.)

Here is my choice:

AZ4, +

mak 127 (for its typical planetary views etc), +

ST120 (for its wide-field and bright DSO abilities), +

EPs etc & bits 'n bobs.

Thanks all, along the way, (oh and I apologise if this post is considered a 'hijacking':icon_confused:)

tim

[lw24]

Timbo,

That's a great choice of scopes to begin with. If I had a bit more money, I would have also bought a Mak127 for lunar/double star/planetary observations.

Unfortunately, I haven't used the ST120 for about a month now, thanks to the light nights, exams and the bad weather. Looking forward to getting out again though, roll on August!

Clear Skies