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Hello. How much has it been an upgrade for you moving from a basic mount to a go-to mount? I own a sky-watcher star adventurer 2i. Your experience please. Thank you ashv |
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| Hey! My first mount was the 2i. I moved up to the Eq6r pro, which I now take all of my DSO with. I still use the 2i for wider landscape or milkyway and I will never get rid of it, it’s an amazing little portable tracker! The Eq6r is fab though. I recently did my first project with 10 minute subs, and out of 430 subs, I only had to get rid of 5 in the processing stage. I love it!! I know that I couldn’t get that kind of exposure time with the 2i (well, maybe but I very much doubt it) and I’d have to personally stay 200mm or under. I always say to people starting out, put the money in the mount, it’s a very important part and when you get one with a higher PL, it allows to you upgrade scopes in the future etc! Go-to is awesome too. I think I’d be too lazy to find certain targets myself now! CS, Hannah |
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Hi Ashv. I changed from the 2i to an iOptron CEM40 and seriously, since I have my goto I never used my 2i again. I operate it together with ZWO ASIAIR+ and it works like a charm. but now since I have my 8" Lacerta Newton. I wish I would have gone with the iOptron GEM45 ... but that's just details... CS, Sabine |
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That is a very good question ... The SW SA 2 is an excellent mount for the price, and unbeatable in weight and portability. I would inquire with Celestron in Torrance CA (they do SW support) to see if such an upgrade is possible. Keep us posted ! Sorry ... I misread your question ... You know there is now a goto version ? https://www.adorama.com/skws20590.html |
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| moved from 2i to CEM26 - that's perfect |
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Hello ashv I started with the Star Adventurer (v1... the old red one), costs 410CHF, payload capacity 5kg and now I use an iOptron GEM28, basic version with AccuAlign, costs 1250 CHF, payload capacity 12kg The GoTo ability was worth the price. It was really a pleasure enter the desired object in the hand controller and let the mount do the rest... and additional I can use bigger and heavier scopes/lenses on it. CS Karol |
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Hi ashv, I went from the 2i to the SA Gti about two months ago and the GoTo capability is well worth it. I simultaneously upgraded to my first cooled astrocamera, ASIAir+, and guiding too, so it's been a huge learning curve. But finding and centering an object is critical to this process. The wifi has worked fine - no issues - and it's pretty easy to use with the iPhone app. I'm only using my phone and don't have the hand controller, so I can't speak to that. All in all, it's been a pretty straightforward process moving to this GoTo. Hope this helps! ~Amy |
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Hi Ashv, from my point of view, it is not really an upgrade but rather an extention. I did it the other way around, i started with a HEQ-5 and an 8" Newton. Most of the time, that gear has been set up in the garden. Later i got the Star Adventurer, which most of the time is used with photographic gear and very often when travelling. Even hiking is possible. I have been using it with around 400 mm and shorter exposures, and in principle it should be possible to take longer ones since there is a slot for autoguiding. However, it is more suitable for wide angle, shorter exporsure stuff with larger apertures, where guiding and polar alignment isnt very critical. CS Horst |
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| I bought an EQ6 R Pro Mount 4 months ago and it's a big change for the better but I still use my Skywatcher star adventurer Pro most of the time along with my big mount as it is very portable and very easy to use |
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Hi there. It seems to me that you want enough tools in your toolbox, and to understand each of them well enough, that you will be able to use the right tool for each job, with an understanding of what makes it the right tool. When I first got into AP, my approach was to buy a bunch of equipment and then ask, "now what can I do with it all?" But more recently, I have figured out that I need to start by deciding what it is that I want to image, and then figuring out what kind of equipment I need to capture that kind of image. Also, my experience has been that every piece of equipment has its own learning curve, and there are no true shortcuts. In AP, as with most things, the journey is more important than the destination. Using Astrobin's Big Wall and seeing what kind of equipment people have used is a big help in that area. In some ways, all mounts provide the same basic function, but it really is apples to oranges. I would not say that one is better than the other, because each has a specific use case where they provide the most benefit. I'm actually coming at this from the opposite direction. I've used an AVX for years, and picked up a 2i more recently. So, if I want to image long duration, long focal length, narrowband images, then I'm going to opt for the AVX with both polar alignment and auto-guiding equipment. But if I want shorter duration, widefield, RGB, and possibly imaging at a remote dark sky site, where good enough tracking suffices, then I'll pull out the 2i. |
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| I went from the SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Pro using a DSLR (originally a D7500, now an A7s) to an EQ6-R Pro. The setup on the EQ6-R Pro is much heaver, a proper telescope, cooled cam, etc. etc. And the go-to (platesolving and faster slewing) is definitly a huge feature compared to the SWSA. I've had plenty of nights of fidling with the SWSA trying to frame a target and with a go-to mount it was as easy using NINA and clicking to slew to the target, amazing. Would definitly suggest it. The downside for me was the substantial weight of the EQ6-R Pro, I can't haul that thing around as easily to more remote locations like I would be and still do with the SWSA (that whole setup can basically fit in a backpack). |
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My SA sits in its box - where it has been since the day I came home with my CEM40. I keep telling myself I'm going to use it for portable wide field stuff... it's been about 2 years.  |
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| Haha! Living in the city in an apartment I've almost had the opposite experience, been using my SWSA more than the EQ6-R Pro... a little bit depressing honestly. |
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Jonny Bravo: haha, same here, same here... but seriously, I still want to do some widefield... so for now I keep my SA CA, Sabine |
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Hello. My main reason for wanting to upgrade to the Go-To system is to maximise on shooting time. Thanks everyone for your time and precious advice. I am a little careful now before buying any more astro gear because they do really cost a lot for me. I am from isla Mauricio. Also, I may end up keeping the SWSA too as advised by you, as a 2nd setup, or for its portability. ashv |
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Hello. My main reason for wanting to upgrade to the Go-To system is to maximise on shooting time. Thanks everyone for your time and precious advice. I am a little careful now before buying any more astro gear because they do really cost a lot for me. I am from isla Mauricio. Also, I may end up keeping the SWSA too as advised by you, as a 2nd setup, or for its portability. which telescope do you have? It is important to choose right mount for your scope. In any case GoTo is much more fun than 2i |
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I started with a Meade 8” SCT on a fork mount over 35 years ago, well before GoTo. It is big, heavy and a challenge to use anywhere but at home. Last year I bought a SA 2i with pro kit, and am really enjoying the simplicity and portability. I’m using a 80mm f7 545mm refractor and small autoguider and can manage up to 5min exposures with ease (albeit, with careful alignment, balance etc). I’m currently experimenting with an RPi 4 for control and astrophotography, so I can ditch my aged laptop and other paraphernalia. As others have said the mount is the single most important thing in astrophotography, but don’t get hung up on GoTo. Enjoy finding your way around the night sky. Star hoping is time consuming and difficult from the city, but with astrometry (plate-solving) it is so much easier. The SA is a great choice for a limited budget, and AP doesn’t need to cost the earth. I reckon with an RPi4 and second hand gear, I can do it all for leads than $1000. Have fun. |
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| I started with a 6" Newton on a Celestron Advanced GT "GoTo" mount. I grew out of it in a few years, and uppgraded to SW SA 2i and EQ6R Pro. I use the SA with DSLR lenses up to 300 mm, and EQ6R for focal lengths above that and for heavier gear. I like having both, it gives nice flexibility. Sometimes I shoot with both. |
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Hi Ashv, I have an AzEq5 and wanted a light setup for large fields AP. I bought a second hand SA2i and was quite happy with it. Then I moved a little step further (always for light, large field AP, setup) and took a second hand AZGTi that is not much heavier than the SA, it has goto functions that are of help, although not so much, can carry a little heavier setups, but most of all has the ability to track both in Dec and RA axis if you add an equatorial head, while the SA can track only in the RA axis. CS Francesco |
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Hello. How much has it been an upgrade for you moving from a basic mount to a go-to mount? I think they are different tools for different jobs, kind of like a macro lens vs a tele. It is not an upgrade, more like an expansion. The go-to mount makes it possible to image smaller targets with a telescope and a dedicated astrocam and guider and filters and stuff. But I still use the SA a lot for wide field with my DSLR. I also like that it is a million times more portable and takes 5 minutes max to setup. Cheers, Dimitris |
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Hello. How much has it been an upgrade for you moving from a basic mount to a go-to mount? If you have taken the hobby more seriously, I strongly recommend you to buy a bigger mount like the EQ6R pro (or equivalent based on weight limitation). In the future, you will want to upgrade again if you purchase a more mid-level mount like the EQ5 for example. If you can carry it easily to setup at your shooting site/backyard and have the cash for it of course, do it without a second thought. I have the Star Adventurer myself and went right to my EQ6R pro, which can handle my small refractor but my Big Newt with ease  Edit: I just saw you wanted our point of view/experience on the transition , sorry for the off topic! The difference was VERY big at least for me that I have to setup everything manually and reassemble it inside my apartment at the end of every session. With the SA you can just carry it with one hand, have it balanced already and all that it takes to start the session is polar alignment and framing the target manually. On the other hand with my EQ6R, that task at hand is much more different...First of all, the weight, I now have to carry 25kgs up to 45kg depending on the setup with the bigger mount and assemble all the cables from scratch, big pain that one! But, the VERY convenient part is that the mount is controlled via my laptop and polar alignment/ finding targets is very easy and pain free. Also, I had to learn a lot of new stuff, regarding the automations involved in a computerized mount, such as new software like N.I.N.A. Finally, there are other parameters, like backlash adjustments to get the most from your mount/guiding addition to my workflow-equipment. In general, if you are up to the task, the hobby blows up for you after the transition. Just as I have mentioned on my initial post, it was very worth the transition and my astro has gone up many levels-for my standards-with my new mount. So, instead of all the pain, if you really want to go to the next level, getting a bigger mount is a must. It is worth the steep learning curve |
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| I use my Star Adventurer when I'm traveling or as a second mount for shooting at 200mm focal length or less. Since I have a fair bit of sky experience goto is not real important to me, but it helps. I have used many mounts as my primary mount, but since I am trying to go lighter with everything as I age, my primary mount now is an Ioptron GEM28. It is a light-weight capable mount. It handles my 4" APO easily and my 8" SCT barely. |
