The SXD is mechanically fine for AP as the worms and worm wheels are very accurate but the star book kills the package. The southern hemisphere issue was sorted in the last update so this is no longer a problem with the star book but the way it sends messages to the mount is. I replaced the motor board on mine with a NexSXD board, ditched the star book and ran it with a Celestron controller (it thinks it is a CGE pro). Magically all the glitches that used to drive me mad disappeared without touching anything else, it's quieter and tracks beautifully and auto guides without fuss. As the mount is only capable of carrying a 15kg load, for AP it would not be wise to exceed 10kg. Is it better then a skywatcher? In fit and finish yes and the worms are better but load capacity is limited and the star book is PITA. It is best compared with the EQ5pro not the EQ6 pro. It is very compact and light so makes a great grab and go. I have posted the last image I took with the mount to show that round stars are possible (now use a Tak EM200). You will have to forgive me for the colours as I was experimenting with Ha and losing
. It had a 10kg load and subs were 10 mins from memory.