Vixen porta II Vs Skywatcher AZ4 Mount

[GazofCorra]

I am thinking of buying a Alt -AZ mount for use with a <100mm refractor and want a solid mount that is a joy to use, i am keeping away from the equatorial mounts as it is only for visual observation and i do not want the hassle of setting it up, just something i can plonk into position mount my scope and off i go star hopping.

Hopefully someone has owned or used one or both of these mounts and can help we decide on which would be worth spending my money on.

At the moment the Vixen costs around £280 and the Stainless steel SW AZ4 costs £180, there is a big price difference but is vixen worth the extra £100?

Cheers Guys

[catburglar]

I use the Skywatcher AZ4 with a ZenithStar 80 at magnifications upto around 180x. It's very smooth and rock steady.

I've never used the Vixen mount, but can't say I've ever felt the need for the slow motion controls.

[nicnac]

a steady and controled hand is free, im with catburglar on this, no need for slo-mo

[John]

I've owned both and the steel legged AZ-4 is a lot steadier than the Porta Mount, IMHO. The Porta was it's it's limit with my F/6.5 102mm refractor which only weighs about 3.5kg. I've had a 10kg optical tube on the AZ-4 and it was useable up to 150x (although I would not recommend this other than for a quick session).

[Darren B]

The problem with the Vixen Portamount is the tripod. It is absolute rubbish. Put a decent tripod on it and it is a dream to use. Highest I have used is x276, but that is more money you are going to spend.

With the standard tripod it vibrated so badly, at x100 it was unuseable. Vibration surpession pads were a godsend (more money again)

[GazofCorra]

Thanks guys for your info and it definitely seems that the AZ4 is the better of the two, unless as Darren say's you use the vixen porta II head on a better tripod but that again bumps the price up and not what i was after.

I want a solid easy to use mount/tripod for quick viewing sessions and it seems the steel legged AZ4 ticks all the boxes and not having any idea what it is like to use slow motion controls i cannot say i will or will not miss them, but you guys seem not to miss having slo-mo so that is good enough for me.

Thanks very much you have been a great help as usual.

I have just posted a new thread on choosing a suitable refractor, if any of you have any thoughts on this you can read it here.

Cheers

[Donald Maxton]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I recently purchases an Orion Starmax 90 Maksutov (tabletop with tripod) and I'm disappointed in this setup. After a lot of searching, I'm trying to decide between the Skywatcher AZ 4 and the Vixen Porta Mini. They're about the same price here in the U.S. Would the Skywatcher be "overkill" for this little telescope?

[John]

... After a lot of searching, I'm trying to decide between the Skywatcher AZ 4 and the Vixen Porta Mini. They're about the same price here in the U.S. Would the Skywatcher be "overkill" for this little telescope?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Mount "overkill" is not usually a bad thing as a rock steady scope is a pleasure to use. That said, I think the regular Porta would do fine with a 90mm mak but I'm not sure about the Porta mini as I've not used one

[RikM]

I use either a Skymax 127 or Explorer 150P on my AZ4 (more usually the latter). I am very impressed with this mount, it's a joy to set up and use.

You can't overmount a telescope!!!

[GazK]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I recently purchases an Orion Starmax 90 Maksutov (tabletop with tripod) and I'm disappointed in this setup. After a lot of searching, I'm trying to decide between the Skywatcher AZ 4 and the Vixen Porta Mini. They're about the same price here in the U.S. Would the Skywatcher be "overkill" for this little telescope?

Get the AZ4 on the ally tripod. More than,good enough for a short tube.

Sent from my HTC Legend using Tapatalk

[Donald Maxton]

Thank you for for the tips, I think the AZ4 is the way to go. Adorama and BH Photo in New York are offering it at $199 (with the steel tripod), which seems like a good deal. I may try to find one with the aluminum tripod at a lower price, since it would be easier to carry around. I'll let you all know how it works out. Hopefully the skies around here will stay clear for a while. Thanks again.