That $300 telescope mount taught me a tough lesson

I dropped $300 on a lightweight star tracker mount last year thinking it would save me setup time at dark sites. Turns out, it wobbles like crazy even in a light breeze at places like Joshua Tree. My 2 minute exposures came out all streaky and useless. Anyone else get burned by a mount that promised portability over stability?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyw122d ago

Chill out a bit man, it's not like the mount exploded or caught fire. Yeah it's annoying you got some streaky shots at Joshua Tree but that's just the nature of budget star trackers in wind. You bought a lightweight portable mount, not a permanent observatory pier. Two minute exposures are pushing it for any sub-$500 tracker anyway. I'd say use it on calm nights or just dial your subs down to 60 seconds and stack more. It's still way better than nothing and way lighter to haul around.

sarahsullivan2d ago

Promised portability over stability" should have been my first clue I was buying a glorified camera tripod with extra steps. Learned the same hard way with mine, now it's a very expensive paperweight.