Tracking Mount for Astrophotography

[Randomguy (Jedd)]

Hey All, Merry Christmas
I received a Canon 1300D with a 18-55mm lens kit and a basic tripod to use for astrophotography. I'm just wandering how to go about tracking mounts as it is something I haven't really looked into and don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on.
Thanks

[Wavytone]

Vixen Polarie, Astrotrac, Skywatcher Star Adventurer, many more to choose from. Basically these are all simplified equatorial mounts. The main challenge in the Southern Hemisphere is polar alignment as we don’t have a pole star and the stars around the pole are fairly dim.

The weakest point with most of these is the tripod - if you are relying on a bog-standard camera tripod these are hopelessly flimsy compared to the tripods with cheap astro mounts. As for manfrotto and the like - forget it - what you want is a Berlebach tripod.

You could try placing a wanted ad, or simply wait as these do come up from time to time in the IIS classified ads.

[doppler (Rick)]

Basically you can use any eq mount with a RA motor drive, with a wide field set up such as your 1300d. With astro photography the equation is the more you spend = the easier it gets. There are a few tracking mounts made for camera's without a scope, these are around $500 new. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/sk...-bundle-black/
Rick

[Randomguy (Jedd)]

Thanks, I'll look into them

[pixelsaurus (Mike)]

Santa just brought me an Ioptron SkyGuider. I haven't had a chance to use it yet due to rain. The unit seems to be well made and I have been figuring out how to configure it. If you do get one, make sure you download the full manual. The Start Guide, which comes in the box, is next to useless.
https://www.ioptron.com/product-p/3550.htm