Astrotrac tt320

It is certainly a nice piece of kit, very sturdy with no short cuts taken in its design or manufacturer, BUT I do think competition will bring its price down soon enough, it's quite abit of money for what it basically a motor and worm gear.

Frank im a big guy ya can use me as a wind breaker for a price!

I've been playing the waiting game with this as well. The results are supposed to be stellar (pun intended!) compared to using a cheaper driven gem without guiding.

The only other ultraportable mount I saw in this area was Hutech's Kenko Sky Memo but that was way more expensive in Europe than the Astrotrac the last time I checked. You can use two cameras though

www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/kenko/skymemo/index.htm

T

I have been reading this thread before as I am also interested in widefield astrophotography. To those of you that have mount, I have to echo a question already asked but not (to me) properly answered.

Must I get this "Manfrotto" tripod head to adapt the Astrotrac onto my current camera tripod? Or is it a case of buying the Astrotrac first, then finding out it doesn't suit my tripod head and buying the Manfrotto?

Any other feedback since the last post of this thread is appreciated. I know Frank has got it since. How do you find it Frank?

Cheers,

Seanie.

Seanie.
I spent the better part of half a day in a camera store in Limerick
trying out every combo you can think of to mount the AT.
I would suggest if you are going to buy one to try it out
on your setup first and then if needs be buy the other gear.
However.
At this stage unless you own a Manfrotto 055XDB or better
you will need a new tripod.
I would recommend the Manfrotto 055XDB.
Also for mounting the AT onto the tripod you can 'get away'
with something like the Giottos MH5001 3-Way head
(a cheaper and better alternative to the equivalent Manfrotto 3-way head)
BUT
It will make Polar aligning more frustrating
and to be honest if you are going to buy an AT then
you really need to go the whole hog and buy the
Manfrotto 410 Geared Head also.
Don't forget about a good Ball head as well.
There is no point spending a grand or more on the
rest if the ball head is cheap.
It could possibly be the most important bit of kit
to get right.
Again, Manfrotto do a good basic one with a
'quick release' system.

Oh and a 'Seagull' viewfinder comes in hella handy too.

Thanks for the detailed reply Frank, much appreciated. I think I need to read up on it more. When I viewed the 5 minute video on the Astrotrac's website, it made it look like the balljoint the camera sits on is part of the set up. You however make it sound like it is an extra accessory. Which is it?

Seanie.