I don't know if you've found out yet, to switch from eq to AZ, turn the mount off. Hold the center circle button and flip the switch to on while still holding the button. Release when the lights flash and if no lights are on it's in az mode. Do the same to switch to EQ but 1 light will be on and set it to 1x for sidereal tracking. It's in the manual
I had a SKYHUnter and I could not get it to guide at all with ASIAIR plus. It would just give up and not guide at all. I get better use with the AZ-GTI which I still use. I have a Pro and a Plus. Wish I saw your review beforehand. It must be weak at guiding.
Good info, I when with the new skywatcher GTI , I think they are very close to each other, the asi air pro did work with the GTI for me only pro I could see.
I just bought the mount after your fantastic review. I have SkySafari 7 Plus on iOS 18 and it hung after I pressed "Check Connection". Nothing happened. However, I was able to connect to the mount wirelessly by clicking "Continue" and completing all four steps.
Great video. I have been looking into a EQ mount that us portable. I have the Ipolar Ioptron SkyGuider pro and I find the way polar to be a pain at times. When is does work and polar aline is works great I can do 1 minute to 90 second at 300 to 400 mm on my Sigma 150 - 600. I'm thinking have a EQ mount would make things faster and easy to get a good night of deep Sky Astro This new system look interesting. Great to see another follow Canadian on RUclips.
Since I want to do astrophotography with a system camera, would you recommend the SkyHunter or the SkyGuider Pro? I find the SkyHunter interesting because you can target the objects directly in SkySafari. And which version of SkySafari do you use?
Hi, Can you please recommend between Az-gti and Skywatcher 2i star tracker. Both have same prices here in India and have led to a lot of confusion about which one to buy.
I break it down in my “I’d start here” video. But it comes out to about $3000 USD. $1000 is the camera, $1000 for the telescope, $300 for guiding, $300 for an ASIair, $500 for the mount.
Hello! I Have the same setup..... What values do you use in the guide menu in Asiair? Let me explain.... How did you set calibration step, max RA and Dec duration? Thank you! Clear skies!
If we ignore the blue halo typical for short achromats, how does the Celestron Omni 102 compare in image quality and resolution to the 61 mm ED or a bigger 70 - 80 mm FPL-51 ED ? Unfortunately there are very few videos on RUclips directly comparing achromats to APOs. Thank you!
That’s because you’re comparing two completely different hobbies. Low aperture APOs are generally exclusive to astrophotography. You can calculate resolution, that calculation is detailed in several videos.
Hi! Thanks! No I won’t review that reflector, the HSL is a toy, not worth reviewing as it is not really designed well enough to use. It would be very frustrating.
Good evening, first of all, thank you very much for the videos, they are very useful. I want to buy the Skyhunter mount since I have a 72ed telescope and the Canon DSRL. The question is if for astrophotography I can use the goto with the ioptron commander to reach the objects (I also have skysafary plus on my mobile phone) I ask this until I can buy the asiair mini plus a dedicated camera. Thank you very much and greetings from Argentina, Carlos
Nice review and pictures! Can you get that mount polar aligned without a line of sight to Polaris? I have a nice piece of sky from my balcony, but Polaris sadly is not visible..
Hi, I came across your channel recently, amazing content. I’m just wondering do have any recommendations for absolute beginners wanting to jump straight into deep space? I’d need something possibly with an app to help too 😅 (sorry I’m not asking for much) 🥴
I really wanted to like this mount. It was supposed to be an upgrade to my AZ GTi. The guiding is not good (the AZ GTi guides way better!) I was hoping that I just had a defective unit, and that it could be fixed, but it appears that this is a common complaint with the Skyhunter. I doubt I will be purchasing an iOptron product again.
Yes, it doesn't guide nearly as well as the AZ GTi, but I haven't noticed any star trailing either. I'm planning to travel a stargazing event next month, and I think I'll take the Skyhunter instead of the AZ-GTI, simply because it's smaller, and 3x lighter.
Excellent video. 6:25 - the blue halo around Jupiter appears because of the achromat design and it’s short focal length or because of the iPhone which took the picture? Does that blue halo also appear when observing though the eyepiece (without the iPhone) ?
Nice video! congratulations for the photos taken with the skyhunter! From the video I can't understand how you managed to balance the mount, did you have to unscrew the RA knob? I'm asking because in my mount I can't unscrew and balance the RA axis in any way
To unlock the axis, apparently you’re supposed to crank on the counterweight bar like a lever and it should pop loose. I actually forgot to rebalance it between telescopes, the axis popped on its own, and the counterweight bar struck me in the face (I almost needed stitches). Needless to say I’m not a fan of that design aspect.
Is guidance required to make the images you show? I want to take a kit to the Smoky Mountains and keep the process simple. Please advise the needed pieces for that application - thanks PS: Great video!
May I please ask what method/software you have used for polar alignment? I have the mount version without the iPolar and hate the software options. I am used to a polar scope method and in error assumed there was an option to go that route. Apparently skyhunter does not offer a polar scope option which is a little frustrating. May I also please ask if your version of the skuhunter mount had the replaced/corrected control board? Those I believe were being shipped to earlier mount version adopters from about before Sept 2022. I wan curios if the tracking results you had were with the old board or the new one which is supposed to correct a lot of the erratic tracking early users had experienced according to the feedback on cloudynights. Thanks.
Hi! I have no idea about the control board. I did not get the iPolar. I only use ASIair for alignment since I cannot see the pole from my backyard (the ASIair mini is $200 USD). My tracking became pretty good the more I used the mount, averaging 1.2 arcseconds.
Hi, John - I'm wondering how you got a good polar alignment with that peephole sight. You centered Polaris. What did you do to then offset Polaris the 2/3rds of a degree and in the proper direction - without a polar scope? Or did you just let your guidescope make the necessary adjustments? As for getting into AZ mode, I'm guessing that you'll have to pick a different mount than the 120/28 you picked - both of which are EQ mounts. There's probably an iOptron AZ mount in that list that will let you use AZ mode.
I only used the peephole for visual observations. For astrophotography, I used the precise polar alignment function in the ASIair, which does not require a polar scope. This mount is marketed as an AZ/EQ Mount. There should be an AZ function, I just can't find it.
Nice review. I received my SkyHunter a couple of days ago and it's been a challenge. Did you figure out how to change modes? Page 4 in the quick guide kind of hints on it, but doesn't really explain how to switch. My Commander lite app on my Android phone has different screens. Are you running Apple OS?
Yup, I’m running Apple OS. I actually got sub arcsecond guiding this morning. The other issue I’m having is releasing the RA clutch. Apparently you have to crank the mount itself to release it. I forgot to rebalance the counterweight after a scope switch, and the axis released on its own while I was carry the rig back into the house. The scope moved on its own, counterweight bar caught me in the face. There was a lot of blood. Note to self, remember to balance the telescope!
@@LearnToStargaze Yikes. I'm not too thrilled about how the RA clutch works myself, so far no blood here. :) I'm trying to get Sky Safarri working on it, reading all the docs I can. I sent IOptron a message about changes I'd like to see, such as slewing limits. Had to power it down once as the CW was about to crash into the mount. I do like the concept of this mount, so I'm trying to work through my issues. Thanks for your videos, I find them pretty helpful as my journey to the stars continues. :)
Need advice on choosing a telescope tripod and mount. My wife recently gifted me an explore scientific ED 80 telescope. I am new to telescope astronomy and astrophotography. ED 80 is pretty intermediate telescope ( not the best for beginner and it didn't even with an eye piece) I have had a good experience with DSLR photography including capturing night time lapse. But with astronomy I want to first learn visual astronomy and slowly and gradually transition to astro photography.
Congrats on the ED 80! That’s a great wide field astrophotography scope. A Sky adventurer star tracker should be able to hold it. There’s also the iOptron SkyHunter, or the modified AZ-GTi. With a full suite of Astrophotography gear, you’ll be pushing the weight limits of these mounts, but I think with good autoguiding, they should be able to handle it. When you get started in astrophotography, I’d recommend the ASIair mini to control everything, so you’re not messing with any computers or cables.
@@LearnToStargaze Thank you so much for the reply! I did a Google search multiple results came out for each product you mentioned. Would you please share links if it is possible for you? It would be of great help for a beginner like me
I know this is a longshot. I purchased this mount for my son and we are having no lock at all getting it setup. We are in Ottawa. We sight Polaris as you describe in your video and Ski Safari 7 Pro is then nowhere near Either Vega or Jupiter or whatever else you send it to.
I don’t recall the interface, but sometimes if you’re doing the alignment, the first and second stars can be quite far. You just need to manually find them, and then the scope eventually learns where it is.
Thanks for this! I'm going to have my first guiding evening with the Skyhunter and Asiair Plus as soon as the weather clears up. This is my first astrophotography setup, and as I don't drive, I needed something where I could fit everything into a hiking backpack so I can jump on the bus to a darker part of my city! I'll be using both a Skywatcher 72ed 420mm scope, which I know will be pushing the limits, as well as an Askar FMA180 which should be much more forgiving. Not too worried about the FMA180, but hopefully the guiding will be good enough to give me some good images of things like the Orion Nebula with the 72ed! Maybe one day I'll have a car and an HEQ5 to bring things to the next level, but for now I'm going to need to make the best of this mount.
Let me know how it does with the 72! I’m planning to test it with an 82 next week, which will probably put it at the weight limit. I might also fly with it later this month, so we’ll see how well it travels too!
@@LearnToStargaze Will do! I had to buy a second counterweight to support the 72ed/guidescope/field flattener/DSLR. Funny that it was the guidescope that just pushed it over the edge.
altho I live in central europe . and not anywhere near the us . . . . I still enjoy it even tough a lot of this is irrelevant for me . . it's allways been like that because america just makes way more astronomy videos than europe . . . so a lot of the quides and sutch just end up being american
Hi there. Great video. I also have the omni 102az from costco. I'm wondering if the tripod that came with the 102az would be good to use with Skyhunter. Thanks for all of the great videos you post.😊
Yeah, this is really a question of budget, and weight. The Skyhunter is only 2.9 lbs and is only about $450 in the USA. The skywatcher mounts are about 3 times heavier (for the same load capacity) and (I believe) more expensive. The skyhunter took great photos, but the guiding was not as good. I was getting between 1.5 and 2.5 arcseconds of guiding with the SkyHunter. My AZ-Gti gets between 0.5 arcseconds and 1 arcsecond.
I was going to pull the trigger on this one, but I heard so many problems that now I am not so sure =( its sad as seems perfect for a travel setup as I do travel a lot overseas.
I’ve been using this mount about 5 times per week, and I really like it despite it’s quirks. I basically leave the clutches locked (one time the counter weight was in the wrong position, and clutch slipped and the counter weight bar struck me in the eye, but that was (mostly) my fault). It’s nice that it’s small enough to carry around, and I never have to take it apart. It can stand up fully assembled in the back seat of the truck, so there’s no setup required at all on location.
@@LearnToStargaze Nice to hear, are you having any problems with guiding? As this is the thing that most concerns me on one topic in cloudnights almost everyone had problems with guiding.
@@raikou1989 In my experience, there are quite a few problems with driving using AA+ especially in RA. The error never goes below 2" as can be heard in the video. Mysteriously, however, the stars remain punctiform even at 180 seconds using a short focal length at 200mm
I don't know if you've found out yet, to switch from eq to AZ, turn the mount off. Hold the center circle button and flip the switch to on while still holding the button. Release when the lights flash and if no lights are on it's in az mode. Do the same to switch to EQ but 1 light will be on and set it to 1x for sidereal tracking. It's in the manual
Thanks! I had to send this mount back, but I’ve pinned your comment to the top so it will be helpful to others.
It's always a pleasure to see Mrs. Stargaze involved, seeing her succeed gives me more confidence.
The iPolar version comes with "optical scope" for star align?
Yes, I believe that is an additional $200 or there about if I recall.
i would like to do astro photography but i don't really want another hobby where i have to do tech support! haha.
I had a SKYHUnter and I could not get it to guide at all with ASIAIR plus. It would just give up and not guide at all. I get better use with the AZ-GTI which I still use. I have a Pro and a Plus. Wish I saw your review beforehand. It must be weak at guiding.
8:31 “two months later”. Yes this has been my experience with so many ioptron mounts.. I will just pass :/
Good info, I when with the new skywatcher GTI , I think they are very close to each other, the asi air pro did work with the GTI for me only pro I could see.
I just bought the mount after your fantastic review. I have SkySafari 7 Plus on iOS 18 and it hung after I pressed "Check Connection". Nothing happened. However, I was able to connect to the mount wirelessly by clicking "Continue" and completing all four steps.
Glad it worked!
Really appreciatable work.....always helpfull video.....thanks.....
Awesome video images are amazing thank you
Great video.
I have been looking into a EQ mount that us portable.
I have the Ipolar Ioptron SkyGuider pro and I find the way polar to be a pain at times. When is does work and polar aline is works great I can do 1 minute to 90 second at 300 to 400 mm on my Sigma 150 - 600.
I'm thinking have a EQ mount would make things faster and easy to get a good night of deep Sky Astro
This new system look interesting.
Great to see another follow Canadian on RUclips.
Thanks!
Since I want to do astrophotography with a system camera, would you recommend the SkyHunter or the SkyGuider Pro? I find the SkyHunter interesting because you can target the objects directly in SkySafari. And which version of SkySafari do you use?
I think I have the latest version of sky safari. I’m not familiar with “system camera” or the SkyGuider.
Hi, Can you please recommend between Az-gti and Skywatcher 2i star tracker. Both have same prices here in India and have led to a lot of confusion about which one to buy.
The az-gti is for telescopes. Star trackers are for cameras.
Trying to decide between this and the skywatcher adventure GTi.
The GTi. I don’t think it existed when I made this video.
Can i Use 750/150 mm OTA on This Mount
Is it under 11lbs?
@@LearnToStargaze yes 10 lbs
@@PGASTRONOMY as long as you don’t try to attach any sort of camera you should be fine.
@@LearnToStargaze okayy Thanks ❤
Where is the app ? Can't find it for Android phone.
I’ve never used an Android, this may be a question for a cloudy nights forum.
Yup. I said it before: You are answering every question I have in my mind so far. It’s getting to be scary.
How it's cost if we count all telescope, camera, mount...
I break it down in my “I’d start here” video. But it comes out to about $3000 USD.
$1000 is the camera, $1000 for the telescope, $300 for guiding, $300 for an ASIair, $500 for the mount.
Ok thank you for the help sir......
Thank you for the sky safari tutorial; I spent way too long trying to make that work and in 30 seconds you made it so easy !
You’re welcome!
Which SkySafari Pro do you use, 6 and 7 appear in the app store, will both be compatible with SkyHunter? Greetings.
@@jorgerojas7294 I have 7. But I’m guessing 6 would work as well, 70% sure anyway.
Hello! I Have the same setup..... What values do you use in the guide menu in Asiair? Let me explain.... How did you set calibration step, max RA and Dec duration? Thank you! Clear skies!
Hi! I’m pretty sure I haven’t changed the default settings, and it works great.
If we ignore the blue halo typical for short achromats, how does the Celestron Omni 102 compare in image quality and resolution to the 61 mm ED or a bigger 70 - 80 mm FPL-51 ED ? Unfortunately there are very few videos on RUclips directly comparing achromats to APOs. Thank you!
That’s because you’re comparing two completely different hobbies. Low aperture APOs are generally exclusive to astrophotography. You can calculate resolution, that calculation is detailed in several videos.
Wow Incredible. OH and you should probably next review the HSL Reflector 114mm 76700 Amazon telescope
Hi! Thanks! No I won’t review that reflector, the HSL is a toy, not worth reviewing as it is not really designed well enough to use. It would be very frustrating.
Good evening, first of all, thank you very much for the videos, they are very useful. I want to buy the Skyhunter mount since I have a 72ed telescope and the Canon DSRL. The question is if for astrophotography I can use the goto with the ioptron commander to reach the objects (I also have skysafary plus on my mobile phone) I ask this until I can buy the asiair mini plus a dedicated camera. Thank you very much and greetings from Argentina, Carlos
Hi! Yes it will goto objects and integrate with sky safary.
Nice review and pictures!
Can you get that mount polar aligned without a line of sight to Polaris? I have a nice piece of sky from my balcony, but Polaris sadly is not visible..
With an ASIair, you do not need to see Polaris to polar align. That’s how I’ve always done it.
Hi, I came across your channel recently, amazing content. I’m just wondering do have any recommendations for absolute beginners wanting to jump straight into deep space? I’d need something possibly with an app to help too 😅 (sorry I’m not asking for much) 🥴
Hi! That would be the StarSense 8 inch dobsonian for visual observations (astrophotography would be different) Clear skies!
I really wanted to like this mount. It was supposed to be an upgrade to my AZ GTi. The guiding is not good (the AZ GTi guides way better!) I was hoping that I just had a defective unit, and that it could be fixed, but it appears that this is a common complaint with the Skyhunter. I doubt I will be purchasing an iOptron product again.
Yes, it doesn't guide nearly as well as the AZ GTi, but I haven't noticed any star trailing either. I'm planning to travel a stargazing event next month, and I think I'll take the Skyhunter instead of the AZ-GTI, simply because it's smaller, and 3x lighter.
Excellent video. 6:25 - the blue halo around Jupiter appears because of the achromat design and it’s short focal length or because of the iPhone which took the picture? Does that blue halo also appear when observing though the eyepiece (without the iPhone) ?
That depends largely on the eyepiece.
Nice video! congratulations for the photos taken with the skyhunter! From the video I can't understand how you managed to balance the mount, did you have to unscrew the RA knob? I'm asking because in my mount I can't unscrew and balance the RA axis in any way
To unlock the axis, apparently you’re supposed to crank on the counterweight bar like a lever and it should pop loose. I actually forgot to rebalance it between telescopes, the axis popped on its own, and the counterweight bar struck me in the face (I almost needed stitches). Needless to say I’m not a fan of that design aspect.
Is guidance required to make the images you show? I want to take a kit to the Smoky Mountains and keep the process simple. Please advise the needed pieces for that application - thanks
PS: Great video!
Realistically yes. Guiding is trivially simple with an ASIair. Not guiding and you’re typically asking for a world of pain.
May I please ask what method/software you have used for polar alignment? I have the mount version without the iPolar and hate the software options. I am used to a polar scope method and in error assumed there was an option to go that route. Apparently skyhunter does not offer a polar scope option which is a little frustrating. May I also please ask if your version of the skuhunter mount had the replaced/corrected control board? Those I believe were being shipped to earlier mount version adopters from about before Sept 2022. I wan curios if the tracking results you had were with the old board or the new one which is supposed to correct a lot of the erratic tracking early users had experienced according to the feedback on cloudynights. Thanks.
Hi! I have no idea about the control board. I did not get the iPolar. I only use ASIair for alignment since I cannot see the pole from my backyard (the ASIair mini is $200 USD). My tracking became pretty good the more I used the mount, averaging 1.2 arcseconds.
can you please do a detailed comparison of SkyHunter vs Skyguider pro ?
The sky guider is not a telescope mount, it’s a single axis star tracker.
Can it handle a redcat71, DSLR, guidescope and asiair plus?
I used it on the Skywatcher Evolux 82 and it worked great. That’s a much larger and longer system then the Redcat.
hello, 5 kg load what is the maximum shutter speed the mount can handle?
I never shoot more than 3 minutes, but that’s really a personal preference. The mount is not at all the limiting factor there.
How good is it to buy in 2023. Or will there be any new updated or advance one's coming this year by ioptron or any other company
It’s as good as was shown in the video. I’m not aware of any updates.
Oh, and one more thing, what telescope did your wife buy in 2012?
12 inch Dobsonian
Hello!!! which SkySafari pro is 7 or 6, regards from Chile
7 :-)
necesito una de esas, saludos desde chile
Hi, John - I'm wondering how you got a good polar alignment with that peephole sight. You centered Polaris. What did you do to then offset Polaris the 2/3rds of a degree and in the proper direction - without a polar scope? Or did you just let your guidescope make the necessary adjustments?
As for getting into AZ mode, I'm guessing that you'll have to pick a different mount than the 120/28 you picked - both of which are EQ mounts. There's probably an iOptron AZ mount in that list that will let you use AZ mode.
I only used the peephole for visual observations. For astrophotography, I used the precise polar alignment function in the ASIair, which does not require a polar scope. This mount is marketed as an AZ/EQ Mount. There should be an AZ function, I just can't find it.
@@LearnToStargaze Got it; thanks.
Is it still valid to buy this mount in 2023. Or should wait for some new releases
this mount is new, how many years are you willing to wait?
Nice review. I received my SkyHunter a couple of days ago and it's been a challenge. Did you figure out how to change modes? Page 4 in the quick guide kind of hints on it, but doesn't really explain how to switch. My Commander lite app on my Android phone has different screens. Are you running Apple OS?
Yup, I’m running Apple OS. I actually got sub arcsecond guiding this morning. The other issue I’m having is releasing the RA clutch. Apparently you have to crank the mount itself to release it. I forgot to rebalance the counterweight after a scope switch, and the axis released on its own while I was carry the rig back into the house. The scope moved on its own, counterweight bar caught me in the face. There was a lot of blood. Note to self, remember to balance the telescope!
@@LearnToStargaze Yikes. I'm not too thrilled about how the RA clutch works myself, so far no blood here. :) I'm trying to get Sky Safarri working on it, reading all the docs I can. I sent IOptron a message about changes I'd like to see, such as slewing limits. Had to power it down once as the CW was about to crash into the mount. I do like the concept of this mount, so I'm trying to work through my issues. Thanks for your videos, I find them pretty helpful as my journey to the stars continues. :)
Hi do you remember when you went to George p vanier junior high
Ohhhh you mean to do an astronomy talk. Yes! Absolutely!
Hey John, what is a sky hunter telescope?
That’s just the mount
Need advice on choosing a telescope tripod and mount. My wife recently gifted me an explore scientific ED 80 telescope. I am new to telescope astronomy and astrophotography. ED 80 is pretty intermediate telescope ( not the best for beginner and it didn't even with an eye piece) I have had a good experience with DSLR photography including capturing night time lapse. But with astronomy I want to first learn visual astronomy and slowly and gradually transition to astro photography.
Congrats on the ED 80! That’s a great wide field astrophotography scope. A Sky adventurer star tracker should be able to hold it. There’s also the iOptron SkyHunter, or the modified AZ-GTi. With a full suite of Astrophotography gear, you’ll be pushing the weight limits of these mounts, but I think with good autoguiding, they should be able to handle it. When you get started in astrophotography, I’d recommend the ASIair mini to control everything, so you’re not messing with any computers or cables.
@@LearnToStargaze Thank you so much for the reply! I did a Google search multiple results came out for each product you mentioned. Would you please share links if it is possible for you? It would be of great help for a beginner like me
I know this is a longshot. I purchased this mount for my son and we are having no lock at all getting it setup. We are in Ottawa. We sight Polaris as you describe in your video and Ski Safari 7 Pro is then nowhere near Either Vega or Jupiter or whatever else you send it to.
I don’t recall the interface, but sometimes if you’re doing the alignment, the first and second stars can be quite far. You just need to manually find them, and then the scope eventually learns where it is.
@@LearnToStargaze thanks, appreciate the info. A shade frustrating for a go-to mount but hey.
And your last video was uploaded 2 weeks ago...
Looking forward for more amazing videos
Yeah, we have 4 videos in production, but grad school is slowing me down.
Great 👍
hello ! Can you tell us the guiding error please ?
After about a month of use it probably averaged around 1.5 arc seconds.
Thanks for this! I'm going to have my first guiding evening with the Skyhunter and Asiair Plus as soon as the weather clears up. This is my first astrophotography setup, and as I don't drive, I needed something where I could fit everything into a hiking backpack so I can jump on the bus to a darker part of my city!
I'll be using both a Skywatcher 72ed 420mm scope, which I know will be pushing the limits, as well as an Askar FMA180 which should be much more forgiving. Not too worried about the FMA180, but hopefully the guiding will be good enough to give me some good images of things like the Orion Nebula with the 72ed! Maybe one day I'll have a car and an HEQ5 to bring things to the next level, but for now I'm going to need to make the best of this mount.
Let me know how it does with the 72! I’m planning to test it with an 82 next week, which will probably put it at the weight limit. I might also fly with it later this month, so we’ll see how well it travels too!
@@LearnToStargaze Will do! I had to buy a second counterweight to support the 72ed/guidescope/field flattener/DSLR. Funny that it was the guidescope that just pushed it over the edge.
altho I live in central europe . and not anywhere near the us . . . . I still enjoy it
even tough a lot of this is irrelevant for me . . it's allways been like that because america just makes way more astronomy videos than europe . . . so a lot of the quides and sutch just end up being american
I’m not in America :-) fortunately in astronomy, only latitude matters.
@@awd4630 Don't tell the Americans that.
AZ GTI Master race
What model it’s is mount name ?
SkyHunter
Have you gotten a chance to view the new comet (c/2022 e3 ztf)
I haven’t event seen the sky in a week. Too much rain!
Same
Hi there. Great video. I also have the omni 102az from costco. I'm wondering if the tripod that came with the 102az would be good to use with Skyhunter. Thanks for all of the great videos you post.😊
I’m not sure the mount arm can be removed from the tripod on the 102AZ. You’ll have to let me know.
I didn't know either. It does, quite easily. Tried to send a pic. I'm not sure how to do that.😵💫
@@trent3416 The tripod that comes with the skyhunter is probably sturdier.
Okay. Thanks.🙂
which telescope is that?
Sharpstar 61 is the imaging scope. Omni 102AZ from Costco is the visual one.
I'm torn between this and the star adventurer gti.. any advice
SA GTI for sure. And if your on a budget go for AZ GTI.
Yeah, this is really a question of budget, and weight. The Skyhunter is only 2.9 lbs and is only about $450 in the USA. The skywatcher mounts are about 3 times heavier (for the same load capacity) and (I believe) more expensive. The skyhunter took great photos, but the guiding was not as good. I was getting between 1.5 and 2.5 arcseconds of guiding with the SkyHunter. My AZ-Gti gets between 0.5 arcseconds and 1 arcsecond.
@@LearnToStargaze and you're lucky, mine doesn't even pass the RA calibration...
I was going to pull the trigger on this one, but I heard so many problems that now I am not so sure =(
its sad as seems perfect for a travel setup as I do travel a lot overseas.
I’ve been using this mount about 5 times per week, and I really like it despite it’s quirks. I basically leave the clutches locked (one time the counter weight was in the wrong position, and clutch slipped and the counter weight bar struck me in the eye, but that was (mostly) my fault). It’s nice that it’s small enough to carry around, and I never have to take it apart. It can stand up fully assembled in the back seat of the truck, so there’s no setup required at all on location.
@@LearnToStargaze Nice to hear, are you having any problems with guiding? As this is the thing that most concerns me
on one topic in cloudnights almost everyone had problems with guiding.
@@raikou1989 no star trails. Guiding averages 1.5 arc seconds, sometimes it bounces around, but so far never enough to affect the image.
@@raikou1989 In my experience, there are quite a few problems with driving using AA+ especially in RA. The error never goes below 2" as can be heard in the video. Mysteriously, however, the stars remain punctiform even at 180 seconds using a short focal length at 200mm
Whats the price
Currently $428 in the USA.