equatorial or altzimuth mount?

[Jan Masu]

I am about to buy a telescope but unsure which mount to select.
What are the good points and bad points of each types?:help:

[CarlJoseph]

Hi Jan,

Welcome to the forums. :thumbsup: A lot depends on what you want to do with it. What sort of things are you interested in? Observing mostly? Photography?

In brief ...
Alt/Az mount

Moves vertically and horizontally (altitude/azimuth)
Can be motorised to go to an object in the sky
Straight forward to use and very easy to come to grips with


Equatorial mount

Moves the same way the stars do (i.e. rotates)
Can be motorised to go to and follow and object in the sky
Needed for longer exposure photography
Bit more complicated to come to grips with
More expensive


Cheers,
Af.

[Marke]

You forgot to mention biggest selling point for EQ imho you can easily swap or change scopes with the one mount.