iOptron SkyTracker Pro Camera Mount Review
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- Опубликовано: 27 окт 2017
- The iOptron SkyTracker Pro camera mount is a portable solution for astrophotography on the go.
Because the SkyTracker is so small, it's an excellent choice when travelling to a dark sky location.
Full Review: astrobackyard.com/ioptron-sky...
Night sky photographers using a DSLR camera and a wide-angle lens will benefit most from this mount.
In this review, I’ll share some example images using the SkyTracker in the backyard, and from a dark sky site.
This camera mount was sent to me from Ontario Telescope & Accessories for Review: www.ontariotelescope.com/
Music:
AK - Icicle
/ aljoshakonstanty
Vexaic - Afar, We Stand
/ vexaic
Affiliate Links:
Some of the links in my video descriptions are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you click them and make a qualifying purchase. 
Хобби
I have this mount and have been blown away on how well it tracks. I am able to get over 5 minute exposures at 200mm without star trails. Nice review!
+loose600se Great to hear man.. wow 5 min. Subs at 200mm! - Impressive
So can we capture galaxies in such exposures? Any other galaxy apart from Andromeda? Like the Pinwheel?
Using a 200mm lens
Shahruq Sarfaraz you could but the pinwheel galaxy would be pretty small in that frame. 200mm is perfect for larger targets like m31, m42, m45 and the core of the Milky Way.
loose600se thank you for the reply!
I bought this mount back in the spring and love it. Super portable but limited to milky way shooting or wide field objects.
I was thinking about getting this, and just asked for comments and reviews on it an a Astronomy FB group. Thanks for the review, Trevor!
Thanks for this review Trevor. It gives me a much better idea of the SkyTracker capability in real world situation and the way it works.
Thank you for showing me this Sky Tracker Pro, I'm new to astro photography and I see how this is a must have tool. Subscribed!
congratulations on 10k! you earned it!
+Gabe Sewell Thanks buddy
Just found your channel. Been binge watching all your videos this weekend. As a beginner astrophotographer in the NYC suburbs (red zone) your tips have been immensely helpful. Keep them coming Trevor!
+Jeff Kuderna Thanks Jeff!
Very well explained, calm, objective and above all a fantastic post-production work with amazing music. Keep the good work and Clear Skies !!!
Thank you very much!
Amazing video and walk-through
Awesome video It really helped me with a lot of questions I’ve been having with mounts and stuff thanks so much
+Andrew Proctor My pleasure
Another superb video. I'm still managing to keep away from astrophography, but your videos make it tempting! Its a great way to spend 10 minutes .
Great review, thanks for sharing it and your effort in producing the video. I'm always looking forward for the next one. Have a great time under dark skies, cheers buddy!
You have a great web site and consider you "my mentor" !!! I'll be buying a Sky Tracker Pro soon! Thanks!
i'm falling in love with this channel....thanks a lot man!
How is in comparison with the Vixen Polarie?
you deserve more and more subscribers! Thanks for the review I want to buy one of this soon :)
Thank you Antonio!
Nice shot across the lake! I used to take alot of my camera shots of sunrises and sunsets across ponds and lakes. Always wanted to try planets 🤓. Nice video Trevor!
Thanks for the great video, Trevor. I am about to buy one of these trackers - but what is the difference between this one and the earlier Sky Guider Pro you reviewed in July? I am getting a new camera and two of the lenses are heavy (over a kilogram each), so I would like to get a tracker capable of at least a 2.5kg load and "easy" alignment [ living in Tasmania means polar alignment is hard enough already - have still not polar aligned my AZ-EQ6 after one year of trying :( ]. Your videos are mandatory viewing for me.
you are the star man, thank you!!
Hi Trevor,
I received the SkyTracker Pro on Friday and weather does not permit me to try and photograph yet except for tonight. However, it's 10 degrees and I wanted to just try and polar align the mount without the camera attached and get used to the process. I understand how to try and do it but doing it was another thing. Primarily because after getting Polaris to match the Polar Finder app, you then have to lock everything down.....doing so moves it away from where it's supposed to be. My latitude is 37 deg and I continuously had to come off of that to even get close. When getting it positioned well, it's the latitude locking action that makes Polaris move way off from where it needs to be. Hopefully it well get easier.
Thanks for your honest reviews! Very helpful for beginners in astrophotography.
+Aether52 Thank you!
+AstroBackyard My Astrotech AT65EDQ just came in so I'm looking forward to getting the most out of it.
+Aether52 Great scope!
Excellent image of Orion, Horsehead, and the 🌲, I want to take similar one from Qatar 🇶🇦
Would you still recommend this today? I have a trip to hawaii coming up where I want to bring one, but the skyguider pro is out of stock on amazon (and I have a gift card balance I want to use). Idk if I should forgo bringing one on my trip and wait for the stock to come back on the sgp.. I'm running a d7200 stock, but I'd love to throw my 300mm on it.
Also, thanks for all the videos! Keep up the great work!!
Great imaging!
Great video Trevor, yeah your right on the money there, sometimes getting bigger mounts setup takes a little to much time and especially if you wake during the night.... and just decide to get out and shot...
+TheflickerofMotion Exactly
10K +1 now, nice vid!
Hey, Trevor! Great vid, again, as usual! Unfortunately, it isn't persuading my interest, as I just got my iOptron SkyGuider in this past Monday, after much hesitation following your SkyGuider review. YAY! So sad I havent gotten to use it, since CANADA has been sending all their clouds our way this week. :( Hoping the "partly cloudy" forecast for the weekend doesn't mean night time cloudiness... Hahaha
Anyways, loved the presentation on the skyguider, love the fact you can connect a camera up to it for autoguiding, unlike the SkyTracker. But I had a question on the tripod. I didn't get the iOptron tripod when I bought the mount, do you think this tripod you have on here could handle the weight of the SkyGuider? I am looking at using my stock Nikkon lenses, but also have a 1600-3200mm telephoto that i was planning on using on the mount, which is pretty hefty, as well. Do you think this tripod can handle that weight, or would you suggest the tripod sold by iOptron? Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Always great fun to watch your videos. I look forward to them. I sold my sky tracker pro to finance the sky guider pro. Oh well.
Hey I have a Sigma 50-500mm lens I'd like to let go of if you or anyone is interested. It's only been used once and comes with a real nice soft pack.
I don't need it because I got that Gran Turismo 71.
Hey Trevor! I wanted to ask you can you tell me what is the difference between the normal skytracker pro and the sky tracker pro full package?
Great channel. Thanks. A question I'm thinking of starting in Astro/deep sky, If you had to chose 1 mount under $500 which would you invest in?
Hey can you specify which carbon fibre tripod model you're using in this video?
Cool, thanks for the Review. Is this good enough for larger/heavier dslr's like D4, D5 ?
🤔 could I use a 75-300 on this too or is it mainly for wide angle lenses🤔
This may seem like an odd question, but will the tracker function if the USB charging cable is still plugged in? The reason I ask is that the older SkyTracker had an AC input, which was a nice supplement in case you weren't sure of your batteries' charge, or you were working a long night of shooting. I just wanted to see if that was an available option for this as well.
may i know that lens you are using|? can we used lens with greater than f4 aperture with this skytracker?
The thing I wonder with a skytracker is, when you've aligned it with the polar star and let's say you want to photograph M31 or Orion nebula. Can I just rotate the camera and tracker towards the location of the subject I want to shoot? Because that's seems kinda weird I just don't understand how I can photograph a deep sky object with a tracker when you've aligned it to something
Hey,
nice video. I am thinking about saving up for this star tracker. I have one question though: How do you attach a camera (in my case a Canon EOS 6D Mark 2) to the tracker?
Thank you in advance!
Just wondering about the camera tripod. You say you found on Amazon but no link was given
How dark is it where you live what is your bortle scale number?
Good morning Mr Trevor Jones, first of all I would like to congratulate you for your tutorials that I look at very often and are very exhaustive, my question is this: I own a canon eos 1100d fullspectrum and a canon lens 75/300, at the maximum opening, that is at 300mm this astroseguitor until you could chase without having stars moves? Thank you very much for the collaboration and good day, but above all clear skies
is able to carry a nikon z6 + nikkor z 20 f1.8 s (or even a z 14-24 f2.8 s) + sirui k 10 ball head? the whole weighs just over 1.5 kilos; I would like to understand if I can expose for 4-5 minutes without using the counterweight. Thank you
I'm new to the astrophotography world and I have a question. Any help would be amazing. How do you determine how many exposures to take for an image? I've seen some where they stack 15 and some where they stack 75. Is there a rule to this or just a guessing game that you get good at with practice?
If you are talking about stacking for noise reduction, around seven seems to work well for me.
Hi there, whic tripod are you using here ?
I'd like to get into astrophotography and deep astrophotography. I have a camera equipment I'd like to start out with, some long focal Nikon glass. I'd like to eventually get a telescope. Would something like this make sense or spend a bit more for an iOptron Smart EQ Pro or Sky-Watcher EQM-35 EQ make more sense? I'd rather spend more up front and be able to grow then have to buy something when I outgrow the Skytracker Pro. What are your thoughts? Your website has been a great help so far btw!
How do you define "long"? Getting into the game, I think this might be perfect to start with. Astrophotography has a steep learning curve and requires a fat wallet to get good results. In my opinion, I'd shoot short and fast at big targets like M31 or M42, like the poster has. If you use this thing, camera/lens weight seems to be the limiting factor. No matter what you decide to go with, I wouldn't use any lens (camera or telescope) longer than 600mm, and as fast as possible. You need shorter subs without guiding.
Could you make a video for budget astro-photography in 2021?
Given the weight limit for this. What lenses do you suggest that will work for this? I'm just starting and I just got a canon t5i and want to do this setup as a beginner. Thank you.
I've used my SkyTracker Pro with my Canon 6D and Rokinon 24mm F/1.4. I've found that amount of weight without the counterweight is too heavy. I can only get about 90 seconds at 24mm before I start seeing trailing. Everything is screwed on very tightly. I ordered the counterweight, and I suspect I'll be able to do 4-5 min exposures.
Have you managed to do 4-5 min exposures with the counterweight added? Would love to hear your thoughts on the difference between with and without counterweight.
Max weight that tracker can carry?
I would love an answer to this.. I have this exact mount. At 8:00 you have the camera setup exactly the way I need it to shoot the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere (camera points the same direction as the alignment-scope) The Milky Way sits about 30 degrees higher than Sigma Octantis, but if you wanted to point the camera nearly vertical, how would you go about doing it? Do you need another ball head?
Difference between skyguider pro & skytracker pro …???
I am not sure which to purchase . Beginner !
I love the 105mm Orion photo near the end of the video (10:30) . What was the exposure time for that image?
+David Vickers Thanks David! It's 1 hour total (30 x 2 minutes at ISO 800)
What ball head are you using?
🌟✨🌟 I really appreciate you taking the time to create this great video.
I thought that the main reason for a device like this is so that you can go longer in exposure time to gather more light vs cranking up the ISO to such noisy levels like you mentioned here. 6400.??
Is it true you don't have to pin point Polaris with wide angle lenses? just point it towards north star you're good to go?
Yes
come a long way for sure..
Hello my Friend, i come from Germany. Can you SkyTracker Pro Connect to Stellarium Software ?
Andreas Preuß b
Can you mount binoculars on the skytracker pro
But why???!
How would it work with a Canon 135 f 2 stable enough?
+Gary Myers Nice lens.. and comparable in weight to my 24-105 I believe. It works brilliantly with it
Yes it would be, I have had some limited success using one of these with a 500mm f8 lens. With careful polar alignment I have no doubt you will get at least 2 minutes exposures out of this if not better with ideal conditions.
Used my Rokinon 135mm f2 last summer on it with no problem at all. Got a great shot of M31. flic.kr/p/XXpZFY
Did you do this video because of me and the comment I left the other day on the Facebook page for the podcast? By the way this is Ryan Herron.
This seems like a really good option for someone who's a casual or just getting into astro and doesn't wanna spend a whole bunch of coin on something like this.
I have this mount. The alt adjustment is super sloppy, if you adjust and lock it down everything shifts around which makes polar alignment tricky. I also notice the alt base sags over time even when tightened down so I usually have to check my polar alignment every 20 minutes or so to make sure it has not sagged too far. Speaking of polar alignment, the easy to read scope is excellent, but the slot it fits into is not...there is a lot of play so when you insert it the 12 o'clock position could be at 11:45 or 1:15 or more so you have to be super careful to get it nice and lined up before tightening the plastic screw. Also in your video you did not have the polar scope screw in the right position, it should be in the hole on the right side of the scope, not under it which is the travel position. I also got the counterweight kit and it is very over priced and has very limited utility, mainly because the alt adjustment screw will block the counter weight from being at the top couple inches of the bar when the whole arrangement is straight up and down meaning you have to put a lot of weight on there to balance correctly and by the time you do the mount cant handle it. This should have come with a smaller counter weight. That said with the mount I have done 4 minutes light frames with my Sony A7R and Zeiss 55mm lens with good result, I sometimes use a 100 mm lens and have done ok with 2 minutes lights, but the best I have got with this is using a Samyang/Rokinon/Bower 500mm f8 lens and got many 2 minute lights for a great shot of Andromeda, but I have never been able to replicate that again and often have a some difficulties getting 2 minutes lights out of the 100mm lens. Overall the mount is a good but limited entry to astrophotography, but for the price (and I got mine on sale) it is still worth it as long as you understand its limitations.
Colin Jones I agree with everything you said. I also have trouble locking the az knobs, which shift the polar alignment when touched. So far my 1 min attempt on a 500mm tokina reflex and Nikon DX didn't fare well. And straight out of the box I had trouble detaching the mounting late from the tracker. It was completely stuck and I had to use a screwdriver to get it to come off. Overall the build quality is on the cheap side and I feel I should have invested more and gotten a vixen polarie
Anas Rida Indeed, build quality is on the pretty cheap side, but for the price it is not so bad. If I had to do it again I wish I didn't listen to a guy who told me this is all I needed and did more research, I would have gone with the ioptron smarteq as my entry level or a sky watcher with tracking port. Either of those are only a bit more than I spent on this and more capable without giving up much in portability.
same experience here, locking polar allignment is hell. I pretty much gave up on my unit.
I've had problems too with the thing, but I feel its just a matter of getting used to it, IDK. Seemed a breeze for Trevor, an "easy task". I did mount the base onto my Bogen 3047 3 way head and am now using it for the azimuth adjustment and using the tilt for the latitude adjustment......so I had better luck doing that.
I just ordered the ioptron today...
hi, can you share any astropictures taken with it?
Nice shots, these are making me jealous I am waking up at 2 am to do untracked shots and it is not working.
only 10k subscribers? you are on 370k today lol
Good video.. Thanks. It's very long since I shoot something with my telescope.. I gave up the hobby because it's so expensive. A shame.
pls can u make a discord group :D
only 10k subs with a channel like this? must be fairly new. i cant see why else your subs would be so low. i predict 100k+ in a year or possibly 2yrs but no later than that.
A wooden tripod might be better...
Good vid though, enjoyed it!
+Astro Nomad True!
i am new to this type of photography... i know i am super late to this video but why a wooden tripod?
On my K3-II , I shoot a 70-80sec shots with Astro-Tracer on B mode with 300mm lens on it . Results are amazing with Orion.. Also with Pentax lens are all weather sealed no fogging . See the results here .yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/photos/9548708/
Really wanted to watch this video but music is way too loud, and audio way too quiet and just makes it unwatchable for me.