Hi Wavytone,
Thank you for the info, much appreciated.
So many things to think about and work out what to get.
M11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavytone
Another Alt-Az mount which IMHO is quite underrated here is the Skywatcher All-View (I have one). You can buy one direct from BHPhoto for under $600 which is much better than the local pricing.
It is considerably bigger than the Vixen Porta II and the rotatable arm means you can swing a refractor on it to the zenith without hitting the base. Stated payload is 4.5 kg but it can handle up to a 100mm f/5 refractor or a C5.
The beauty of this is that it can do a 1-star alignment and tracks fine for visual observing, it has a SYNSCAN handset, GOTO and in addition it has dual-encoders which means that once aligned, you can unclamp the axes and manually push it around the sky and it will figure out how to track without needing another alignment.
The handset means it can be interfaced via WiFi to Sky Safari on an iPad/iPhone as well.
And thats before mentioning what it can do for photographers as a panorama head.
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