Finally saw what all the fuss was about with those star trackers

I've been shooting astro on a tripod for 3 years and always thought star trackers were just expensive toys for people with too much money. Borrowed a buddy's Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i last weekend out near Yosemite and got a 4 minute exposure of Andromeda that actually showed the dust lanes. Guess I'm saving up $400 now. Anyone else eat their words after trying a tracker for the first time?

3 comments

3 Comments

bettys512mo ago

Wait, you lasted 3 years without trying one? I fought it for 2 years and finally caved last winter. That first tracked shot of Orion where the stars were pin sharp and the nebula popped was just unreal, I felt like a total dork for waiting so long. What mount are you thinking about getting?

jamesf262mo ago

@bettys51 yeah I was dead set against tracking for SO long but you totally flipped my thinking with that Orion shot. Star Adventurer GTi is what I'm looking at.

the_morgan1mo ago

The "felt like a total dork for waiting so long" line hits HARD. Man I was the same way. I fought tracking for YEARS because I figured my tripod and short exposures were good enough. Then a buddy let me borrow his Sky-Watcher for a weekend and I couldn't believe what I'd been missing. Suddenly I was getting detail in the Orion Nebula that I'd only seen in other people's shots. Totally feel your pain on that one.