Spent $600 on a star tracker mount and it either saved my astro shots or wasted my cash

I dropped $600 on a Sky-Watcher star tracker mount last month for Milky Way photos. My first few tries were a mess - blurry stars and messed up alignment. But after watching some tutorials I got a 3 minute exposure that was crystal clear, way better than my old 30 second shots. On the flip side, a buddy of mine bought the same one and never got it working right, said it collected dust after two weeks. Is a star tracker worth the hassle or is it just another gadget that looks good on paper? Anyone else have mixed results with these things?

3 comments

3 Comments

josepha3228d ago

So did it actually save your shots or are you just trying to justify the $600? @matthewmartin I feel you on those cloudy nights, I swear my tracker jinxes the weather. Ive got about a 50/50 success rate with mine, one night I nailed a perfect 5 minute Orion shot, next night I spent an hour leveling it only to realize I left the lens cap on. Its like the thing has a personal vendetta against me.

matthewmartin1mo ago

Took me three cloudy nights of trial and error before my tracker finally clicked and delivered sharp stars.

bell.felix29d ago

Gotta love that feeling when everything finally lines up after it's been fighting you the whole time, @matthewmartin. It's the same with any hobby or job really once you push through the early struggles the results kind of just click into place and make all those failed attempts worth it.