I just bought one from a dealer and he recommended this for my needs. I purchased and now wait for the order to arrive and start using it. This unit looks awesome, designed and built well and multiples of features too.. very solid review and opinions here, thank you :)
*** What a brilliant and accomplished review! *** And a brilliantly conceived and engineered product to boot. When so many poor and disappointing products reach the market, to be overhyped by manufacturer and retailer alike, it is a genuine pleasure to encounter quality products such as this and to have them demonstrated and reviewed with such professionalism and sincerity. Well done to Sky-Watcher and many thanks to you Robert for all your excellent advice and guidance (no pun intended...) ;) ~ Louis C.
If you take your time polar aligning and balancing your telescope you can pull crazy long exposures with this thing. I have been able to capture unguided 2 min exposures at 430mm with an Astro tech 72ed and my Sony a7 with about 60% of the shots having flawless tracking which really is impressive for how small this thing is.
Quad Bot, I just got the Star Adventurer. The manual doesn't really cover the clutch use. Do you loosen the clutch ring just to balance and then snug it up for shooting and tracking? I don't want to bind the gears so I'm trying to be sure and understand; thanks.
Man, Great work. To start, Great green screen method, great light, Great sound. I understand the effort. -Thank you for taking the time to explain everything. You make this work more amazing. Thank you. By the way, I will buy this, hope to post photos soon .
Just seen this and now got the latest 2020 2i version in white, And I own the the ioptron sky tracker so the sky watcher 2i is definitely and upgrade to me, I don't agree with your opinion on a retaining screw on the battery cover, personally I like the way it works easily to change batteries when I need to, They have now added wifi to the 2i and it is pretty good. I would highly recommend the sky watcher 2i it is incredibly portable and works incredibly well as you would expect it too. I use a canon 100-400mm lens on mine and sometimes add the 1.4 converter as well and get great results.
Seriously impressed by your presentation, Robert! Great skill to be able to ramble on for 20 minutes, without a script and to keep it light, tight, entertaining and informative. I think I'll buy one.
Great review, would you recommend this for a complete beginner (me), I have the Nikon P1000, and I'd like to track and shoot the sun, moon and planets. Thankyou in advance.
I'm somewhat a beginner too. I went ahead and bought this and i have no regrets. I've learned how to polar align and have done some shooting of orion. It's 100% worth it since, even as you advance, it will still be very useful to you.
@@hairlesschimp479 I just got this unit. Do you loosen the clutch only to balance? Do you then snug it up to photograph? I don't want to bind the gears so I want to be sure before I do it. Thanks.
Great video thanks so much for posting it. Keep the videos coming. I think you have the very best informational and enjoyable Astronomy videos on the net. Thank you so much for your hard work with your videos.
Presume this would be fine with a Manfrotto 190CXPro3 carbon fibre tripod? Currently looking at getting a small 2nd telescope for travel but think this'd be a great option, especially as I could use my camera as well as a small telescope.
Hi there - yes that's right, the mount will take correction signals from an ST-4 type auto-guider but, as you say, it will only correct in RA not DEC. Best Wishes A&NTV
Excellent reivew. I am planning to buy one locally and have query if I can load up 5kg would that be good to go ? say I have canon 7d with 500mm f/4 lens would this track for long in accuracy? Your guidance would be much appreciated and help me decide to buy.
This is a beautiful video. Thanks for the wonderful presentation. I have a few questions: 1) Is this from the Celstron brand? If not, which brand this belongs to? 2) May I know if there is an upgraded one now since this was in 2014? If so, could you please share a link where I can purchase this one or an upgraded one? Thanks
late reply too, but the brand is Sky Watcher. www.skywatcherusa.com/collections/star-adventurer?grid_list=list-view The color has changed, but I doubt much else. It's a simple mount, no go-to features so there's not much to add/improve on.
Hi David, the B&S head was supplied by UK company Kood International. They have a wide range of heads - the one shown is one of their largest. Regards A&NTV
So basically you buy the product and then find you need to also buy the "accessories" to actually do something useful with it. Seriously, though, it does seem like a nice piece of equipment.
You need to make a video to show how to do the Orientation of Polaris ans described in the manual. Contrary to your commentary, the manual is terrible.
Much better! The Star Adventurer has a beautiful polar scope (and free phone app), fine adjustments in RA and declination to centre the object and a guided port. I can do guided exposures with my heavy 300mm f4 Nikon lens up to 4 minutes. No rejection of subs. I am dreaming of a bigger Star Adventurer with tracking in declination....but maybe that is called a telescope mount ;-)
It's impressive piece of kit apart from the battery cover which is shocking! It falls off too easy and I had problem with battery not going in . Skywatcher should have improved that battery cover! So many peaple has complained about this!
Only talks about how good it is. Problem i face with this mount is once you load camera, there is no way you can go back to verify polar alignment whic gets somewhat messed up once you load stuff.
Great review. I just got the Star Adventurer Photo with all of the accessories and I like the build quality and all but I have a question about the Left and Right Arrow Buttons on the unit, are they supposed to do anything? I can't see any movement at all.
I use them to center the object when I do the framing. When pressed, they will move the RA axis at 12x speed forward or backward. Very useful especially when using a longer focal length lens.
+Mayur Pahuja Hi there. No, motorised altazimuth mounts need both axes motorised to properly compensate for the Earth's rotation. It's quite normal for an equatorial mount to only motorise one axis (the RA axis) to achieve the same result. KR A&NC TV
Hi there, it's a First Horizon 8115 with the pan & tilt head removed. The tripod is distributed in Great Britain by Optical Vision Ltd (who also distribute the Star Adventurer BTW) and is widely available from any of their dealers. See the dealer page on thier website. We hope this helps. KR A&NTV Team
Astronomy and Nature TV Thank you so much ! ... Today I have bought used F1rst Horizon 8900 and new carbon SLIK PRO 824 CF, both of them sholud be stable. I have SW Star Adventurer + canon 6d + 70-200 f/2.8. I will let you know.
I am thinking the 2.8 would be a little heavy. I just bought one June 11 2019, and will be using with a 7D mkii and 300mm. I may post results, when I get a chance to try it.
Joe Shmoe did you get a chance to test that setup yet? I am thinking about getting a tracker myself - one setup would be d850 + tamron 15-30 2.8 / the other would be with a 200-500 5.6 + 2x tc
I want to buy a power cable for external power supply of the star adventurer. I'm confused among the usb connectors as this micro usb connector is not the same what we use for simple micro usb for mobile phones. Could you please send me any link through which I can shop the external usb cable for the mount?
Dylan Walton Hi there and thanks for posting. I you look again from about 7:20 you'll wee the telescope mounting system - it provides a declination axis for the mount and has a 1/4" Whitworth standard mounting screw - that allows a wide range of smaller instruments that are furnished with standard tripod mounting point to be directly attached. This would include virtually all Sky Watcher telescopes that employ standard dovetail mounting bars as these usually have threaded tripod mounting holes on them. Of course, just because the instrument has such a mounting point, it does not follow that it can be fitted to the Star Adventurer - the user must still be mindful the payload restriction. I hope this helps. KR RJD A&NTV
Astronomy and Nature TV thanks that clears things up for me! I was looking between getting this or the eq2-3 pro upgrade for my eq3 mount, but I want to Keane the sky aswel rather than have the mount do it all for me, but I want decent, sturdy tracking so I might go with this! Thanks a lot!
I just bought one from a dealer and he recommended this for my needs. I purchased and now wait for the order to arrive and start using it. This unit looks awesome, designed and built well and multiples of features too.. very solid review and opinions here, thank you :)
Nice review
I'd be really grateful if you put a video how to do the alignment and calibration.
*** What a brilliant and accomplished review! *** And a brilliantly conceived and engineered product to boot. When so many poor and disappointing products reach the market, to be overhyped by manufacturer and retailer alike, it is a genuine pleasure to encounter quality products such as this and to have them demonstrated and reviewed with such professionalism and sincerity. Well done to Sky-Watcher and many thanks to you Robert for all your excellent advice and guidance (no pun intended...) ;) ~ Louis C.
Nice piece of kit, I agree about the battery cover, I noticed it had a mind of it's own when you had pointed it out. Great review
If you take your time polar aligning and balancing your telescope you can pull crazy long exposures with this thing.
I have been able to capture unguided 2 min exposures at 430mm with an Astro tech 72ed and my Sony a7 with about 60% of the shots having flawless tracking which really is impressive for how small this thing is.
Quad Bot, I just got the Star Adventurer. The manual doesn't really cover the clutch use. Do you loosen the clutch ring just to balance and then snug it up for shooting and tracking? I don't want to bind the gears so I'm trying to be sure and understand; thanks.
Man, Great work.
To start, Great green screen method, great light, Great sound. I understand the effort.
-Thank you for taking the time to explain everything.
You make this work more amazing.
Thank you.
By the way, I will buy this, hope to post photos soon .
Just seen this and now got the latest 2020 2i version in white, And I own the the ioptron sky tracker so the sky watcher 2i is definitely and upgrade to me, I don't agree with your opinion on a retaining screw on the battery cover, personally I like the way it works easily to change batteries when I need to, They have now added wifi to the 2i and it is pretty good. I would highly recommend the sky watcher 2i it is incredibly portable and works incredibly well as you would expect it too. I use a canon 100-400mm lens on mine and sometimes add the 1.4 converter as well and get great results.
Seriously impressed by your presentation, Robert! Great skill to be able to ramble on for 20 minutes, without a script and to keep it light, tight, entertaining and informative. I think I'll buy one.
another excellent presentation. Thanks for all the time you take to put these together
Well done...Love this gadget. You've shown this item well. Can't wait to see more of this.
Superb, love your enthusiasm and delivery!
Great review, would you recommend this for a complete beginner (me), I have the Nikon P1000, and I'd like to track and shoot the sun, moon and planets. Thankyou in advance.
I'm somewhat a beginner too. I went ahead and bought this and i have no regrets. I've learned how to polar align and have done some shooting of orion. It's 100% worth it since, even as you advance, it will still be very useful to you.
@@hairlesschimp479 I just got this unit. Do you loosen the clutch only to balance? Do you then snug it up to photograph? I don't want to bind the gears so I want to be sure before I do it. Thanks.
Great video thanks so much for posting it. Keep the videos coming. I think you have the very best informational and enjoyable Astronomy videos on the net. Thank you so much for your hard work with your videos.
The side RJ 45 jack is for a ST4 style autoguider
looks amazing i hope other companies follow these designs
Please let me know when and where I can buy this? I have been waiting for this for several months. Thanks.
the wedge looks great and may be a much cheaper alternative than say the wedge for using another motor drive unit such as the astotrac
Presume this would be fine with a Manfrotto 190CXPro3 carbon fibre tripod? Currently looking at getting a small 2nd telescope for travel but think this'd be a great option, especially as I could use my camera as well as a small telescope.
Another great video! So I take it that polar viewer is pretty useless in the southern hemisphere right?
The RJ socket is for an autoguider I believe.
Nice introduction and review to the mount, are you not allowed to say the cost/price of it, or is that up to individual dealers?
can you recommend a telescope for this. It carries only 5kg. How can 2 cameras be used on this if it takes only 5kg. As far as i undrstood.
Great review! I've heard that the port is a ST-4 providing single axis guiding. Is this correct?
Hi there - yes that's right, the mount will take correction signals from an ST-4 type auto-guider but, as you say, it will only correct in RA not DEC. Best Wishes A&NTV
Great! Thanks for the confirmation. What a fantastic bit of kit.
Excellent reivew. I am planning to buy one locally and have query if I can load up 5kg would that be good to go ? say I have canon 7d with 500mm f/4 lens would this track for long in accuracy? Your guidance would be much appreciated and help me decide to buy.
Very much pushing it, unguided at 500mm, both in terms of weight and focal length.
I think this looks like a good product but do you have any plans on doing a video on the newer 'SAM with WiFi' version?
Finally, been looking for one of these for ages. Glad I subscribed to you now :)
Can you recommend a tripod for it also an explanation on how to use the dial for the polar scope would be very helpful
Nice review, compliments! is coming in Italy! Clear skies
14:48 Which ball socket model you used in this example?
Cheers for the video mate
Great review! Can we have a glimpse on how much could it cost?
This is a beautiful video. Thanks for the wonderful presentation. I have a few questions:
1) Is this from the Celstron brand? If not, which brand this belongs to?
2) May I know if there is an upgraded one now since this was in 2014? If so, could you please share a link where I can purchase this one or an upgraded one?
Thanks
late reply too, but the brand is Sky Watcher. www.skywatcherusa.com/collections/star-adventurer?grid_list=list-view The color has changed, but I doubt much else. It's a simple mount, no go-to features so there's not much to add/improve on.
Can I use a geared head like the Manfrotto 410jr instead of the EQ wedge? I have a sturdy 190XB tripod as well.
How much would you pay for a second-hand 1?
What is the ball and socket mount you are using? Thanks.
Hi David, the B&S head was supplied by UK company Kood International. They have a wide range of heads - the one shown is one of their largest. Regards A&NTV
So basically you buy the product and then find you need to also buy the "accessories" to actually do something useful with it. Seriously, though, it does seem like a nice piece of equipment.
You need to make a video to show how to do the Orientation of Polaris ans described in the manual. Contrary to your commentary, the manual is terrible.
Steven Thomasson I agree - the manual is lacking in many areas. Especially for Southern Hemisphere.
seems sturdy
Nice info, thanks
How would you compare this to the polarie vixen star tracker?
Much better! The Star Adventurer has a beautiful polar scope (and free phone app), fine adjustments in RA and declination to centre the object and a guided port. I can do guided exposures with my heavy 300mm f4 Nikon lens up to 4 minutes. No rejection of subs. I am dreaming of a bigger Star Adventurer with tracking in declination....but maybe that is called a telescope mount ;-)
It's impressive piece of kit apart from the battery cover which is shocking! It falls off too easy and I had problem with battery not going in . Skywatcher should have improved that battery cover! So many peaple has complained about this!
Only talks about how good it is. Problem i face with this mount is once you load camera, there is no way you can go back to verify polar alignment whic gets somewhat messed up once you load stuff.
If you use the large dovetail bar and the dec bracket, you can still use the polar scope and I always do so every half hour or so.
Great review. I just got the Star Adventurer Photo with all of the accessories and I like the build quality and all but I have a question about the Left and Right Arrow Buttons on the unit, are they supposed to do anything? I can't see any movement at all.
I use them to center the object when I do the framing. When pressed, they will move the RA axis at 12x speed forward or backward. Very useful especially when using a longer focal length lens.
so its an altzimuth to it will move 1 axis at a time unlike eq both axis simultaneously
+Mayur Pahuja Hi there. No, motorised altazimuth mounts need both axes motorised to properly compensate for the Earth's rotation. It's quite normal for an equatorial mount to only motorise one axis (the RA axis) to achieve the same result. KR A&NC TV
good stuff
what tripod is in that movie ? manufacturer and model name ?
Hi there, it's a First Horizon 8115 with the pan & tilt head removed. The tripod is distributed in Great Britain by Optical Vision Ltd (who also distribute the Star Adventurer BTW) and is widely available from any of their dealers. See the dealer page on thier website. We hope this helps. KR A&NTV Team
Astronomy and Nature TV Thank you so much ! ... Today I have bought used F1rst Horizon 8900 and new carbon SLIK PRO 824 CF, both of them sholud be stable. I have SW Star Adventurer + canon 6d + 70-200 f/2.8. I will let you know.
How about a 300mm f2.8 lens?
I am thinking the 2.8 would be a little heavy. I just bought one June 11 2019, and will be using with a 7D mkii and 300mm.
I may post results, when I get a chance to try it.
Joe Shmoe did you get a chance to test that setup yet? I am thinking about getting a tracker myself - one setup would be d850 + tamron 15-30 2.8 / the other would be with a 200-500 5.6 + 2x tc
I want to buy a power cable for external power supply of the star adventurer. I'm confused among the usb connectors as this micro usb connector is not the same what we use for simple micro usb for mobile phones.
Could you please send me any link through which I can shop the external usb cable for the mount?
The mount uses the old mini USB style, micro is noticably smaller.
Anyone know where I can get a hard case for one of these? Thank you
Laura Forkes - I know this is late, but you can get a cheap aluminium case from Amazon, with adjustable foam padding.
Hi, this mount is a GoTo mount or it will only track the sky? because i don't see any remote control with it
RA drive only.
i cant see how the telescope attaches to that thing?
Dylan Walton Hi there and thanks for posting. I you look again from about 7:20 you'll wee the telescope mounting system - it provides a declination axis for the mount and has a 1/4" Whitworth standard mounting screw - that allows a wide range of smaller instruments that are furnished with standard tripod mounting point to be directly attached. This would include virtually all Sky Watcher telescopes that employ standard dovetail mounting bars as these usually have threaded tripod mounting holes on them. Of course, just because the instrument has such a mounting point, it does not follow that it can be fitted to the Star Adventurer - the user must still be mindful the payload restriction. I hope this helps. KR RJD A&NTV
Astronomy and Nature TV thanks that clears things up for me! I was looking between getting this or the eq2-3 pro upgrade for my eq3 mount, but I want to Keane the sky aswel rather than have the mount do it all for me, but I want decent, sturdy tracking so I might go with this! Thanks a lot!