Which equatorial mount ?

[oberresford]

Hi Guys I am looking at which Equatorial mount to go with as my first.



Initially I am just going to mount my DSLR camera on the mount to become familiar with the concepts before I move onto a telescope. I am looking at a couple of mounts in my price range. Either the SkyWatcher EQM 35, Saxon HEQ5 and the Celestron Advanced VX.


Any thoughts on these or people who have had both, ease of use, issues etc ??

[Merlin66]

Ollie,
I’ve been using the HEQ5 for many years.
I recommend it as a safe option for future growth.

[oberresford]

Thanks for the info, this mount comes up a lot seems like an industry standard. I notice there is the Saxon and the Sky Watcher version, is there much difference here ??

[Outcast]

Nope, the Saxon HEQ5 Pro is just a rebranded Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro, both made by Synta

[Merlin66]

I can’t answer that...
The HEQ5 I use is an older SW - it works well for me.

[oberresford]

Great that's what it seemed to look like. Cheers for the info, I think I've settled on the HEQ5 saxon.

[Harpage]

As the others said, go for the HEQ5. While it is the most expensive of those three options, it is objectively the best and you won't regret it in the long run.

[astro744]

Both Saxon and Sky-Watcher may come out of the same factory but I’m not sure they are identical. A brief glimpse online from a local vendor shows a $300 difference and for that you get 5 year warranty instead of 3 and a dual saddle. (This for Skywatcher). Not sure if one is built to tighter specs or has better quality control. Perhaps ask the vendor you intend on buying from to explain the differences in detail and go to each manufacturers web site and look at the specs.

Of course advice from users is invaluable both pro and con and hopefully you will get enough responses to make a valid argument for one over the other or something different altogether.

[Outcast]

Current model Saxon has dual saddle now according to Saxon website

[oberresford]

Thanks going to go with this option.