Choosing the Right Telescope Mount: Alt-Azimuth vs. Equatorial

In this video I’m going over the differences between Alt-Azimuth and Equatorial telescope mounts.
Telescope mounts shown in this video (affl):
Skywatcher AZ-Pronto: www.astroshop....
Skywatcher AZ-GTi: www.astroshop....
Skywatcher AZ-GTi Mount Head: www.astroshop....
Skywatcher EQ3-2: www.astroshop....
Omegon EQ-500x: www.astroshop....
Review Skywatcher AZ-Pronto
• How to use an Equatori...
Equatorial Telescope Mounts: The Basics
astrobackyard....
Set up an EQ telescope mount:
• How to use an Equatori...
Thank you for your support!

[@mikesimpson7007]

I got my 102 skymax on a pronto last year thanks to your earlier recommendation. I think it's the perfect beginner telescope and great for grab and go. The mount is not complicated or heavy and it's easy to use. I then got a skywatcher star discovery az tracker mount. At this point there is a lot of temptation to do basic AP and I should really have gone for an eq3 pro. But, it's nice to be able to goto and track, and I get good photos of planets at least.

[@scottm599]

Helpful and lucid as always. Thank you!

[@ronm6585]

Thank you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. 🎅🏻🎅🏻🎄🎄

[@BogdanDamian]

@ronm6585 Thank you! Whish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year as well!

[@edf2953]

Very informative video Bogdan. Happy Holidays!

[@BogdanDamian]

@edf2953 Thanks! Happy Holidays to you as well!

[@AstroSam66]

Sky-Watcher released a Firmware Update for the AZ-GTi mount to act as an EQ-Mount.

[@BogdanDamian]

@johannesjung2711 That is very interesting! Do you know if it works well enough for longer exposure AP?

[@oninoyakamo]

Even if an Alt-Az Mount had perfect tracking, the object still rotates in the field of view, which can blur long exposure astrophotography

[@BogdanDamian]

@oninoyakamo That is correct! Thanks for mentioning this. Happy Holidays!

[@tuunaes]

While little more work, stacking shorter exposures can get around that.

[@RobertHopkinsArt]

Beginner question: I received my Apertura AD12 with a 30mm and 9mm lenses. The 30mm focuses for me just fine, but no matter what I do, I cannot focus the 9mm. The 9mm is a 1.25 eyepiece, so I am using the 2" to 1.25" - 35mm extension adapter that came with the scope. The planets are very large and blurred out with the center mirror in the middle. I have tried focusing retracted, and extended, with the focuser, and the best I can tell I cannot retract it far enough. This could make a good beginner video? Signed: Not-A-Klubber! 😏

[@BogdanDamian]

@roberthopkinsart Hi! My 12" ProDob came with the same 1.25" to 2" adapter and the 35mm extension ring. Have you tried removing the extension ring and only using the 1.25" to 2" adapter? This way you might be able to reach focus with the 9mm eyepiece.

[@RobertHopkinsArt]

Genius! I did not notice that! There are so many tightening screws that I missed removing the extension portion. Now the lens will be close enough to the middle mirror that it should now focus. Brilliant! Thanks, Bogdan!

[@JasonSmith-yz6nd]

Do you have, or would you be able to make, a video for upgrading the stock eyepiece that comes with the telescope? I have a 10 & 25 that came with the telescope and a lot of people say that the eyepiece should be the first thing to upgrade - but I don't really know who to believe about the direction I should be looking. thanks!

[@BogdanDamian]

@user-ge8em9pu4j Yes, I have a couple of videos on eyepieces. Depending on your budget and experience there are a couple of directions you could take. If you are just starting out, then getting a decent zoom eyepiece to replace the standard ones your telescope came with could be a good idea. Check out my videos on the Baader Hyperion Zoom Mark IV and or the Svbony 8-24mm Zoom. If you are more experienced and know what focal lengths you enjoy observing with, then look at Baader Hyperion series or 82° series from Explore Scientific. I have a video on both of these. If money is no issue, than look at the DeLite and Nagler series from Tele Vue. They are excellent. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need more details.

[@MountainFisher]

My first experience with an Equatorial (no names) was with a cheap one sold with a decent refractor too long and heavy for it. 15 lb capacity was-is nonsense. Most mounts' listed capacity is exaggerated by half. I have a heavier Twilight One AZ mount by Explore Scientific that is rated depending where you get from of 15 to 18 lbs. I have a 150mm f5 reflector on it I weighed at 11 lbs. and it is shaky, but I put a dual speed focuser on it and that stopped a lot of the shaking when focusing, still shakes a little bit though. edit; I took it apart and adjusted per a YT video on the Twilight One, it was a lot worse before I did what the assemblers should have done. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, but I'm looking for a EQ manual mount that won't be shaky at all and all that is available for my 11 lb. Newtonian is the Celestron CG-4. Now I put my 127mm Maksutov that weighs with my 50mm RACI finder scope and Dielectric Celestron diagonal on the AZ and is right at 11 lbs. but it doesn't shake, why? Because it is shorter and doesn't have all the weight stretched out. The vixen saddle is too short. So I'm putting a longer stiffer vixen plate on my 150mm and will get the CG-4 and hope it's not shaky as it's my only option for an EQ mount.

[@BogdanDamian]

@jimmontg Thanks for sharing your experience! In my own experience I found that the quality of the mounts greatly varies from manufacturer to manufacturer especially the entry level models. There are some that are good and can offer a great experience even on a budget, but a lot are garbage. As for a good EQ mount, did you try out the eq3-2 from Skywatcher? I found it to be pretty stable with a 4" F10 refractor. Happy Holidays!

[@tuunaes]

Longer OTAs indeed have longer moment arm to shake the mount, but wouldn't trust advertised specs with any type OTA. CG-4 is likely rebranded Skywatcher EQ3. (Synta owns Celestron) SkyWatcher EQ5 seems about as high rated as non-GoTos come with near double the rated load of EQ3.

[@MountainFisher]

@@tuunaes Whose selling it? edit; I should say who is selling it without electronics on it?

[@tuunaes]

@@MountainFisher SkyWatchers (=made by Synta) should be available quite commonly in most places. At least in Europe they're very common and sold also under other brands like Bresser. Also for example Astroshop ships globally. Would expect most places to have some availability at least under local "shop" brands. "Equatorial without GoTo" is the usual classification for manual mounts.

[@MountainFisher]

@@tuunaes All I get in the US have electronics or on eBay where they come from China with 2-3 months shipping times even if I trusted the sources.

[@robertsonsid]

Where did you get the Apollo rocket model on top of your lamp?

[@BogdanDamian]

@robertsonsid Hi, I got it on Etsy: www.etsy.com/de-en/listing/1594613796/apollo-11-saturn-v-lamp-rocket-launch

[@doomslayer6771]

Do all alt az mounts fit with any telescope it’s rated for or do you have to buy an adapter or something

[@BogdanDamian]

@doomslayer6771 Telescopes usually connect via a dovetail or vixen-style bar to the mount, no matter the type of the mount and telescope. If the telescope is light enough than it normally attaches directly via a dovetail bar to the mount. If the telescope is heavy, then it will feature two rings around the optical tube that are connected at the bottom by a dovetail bar, which then goes into the corresponding on the mount.