Is a $300 tracking mount worth it for deep sky or just a gimmick?

I spent $300 on a star tracker mount for my DSLR last year and it got me sharp nebula shots, but a friend used a $100 barn door tracker and got similar results. Did the extra cost pay off for anyone else or did it just burn my wallet?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron8803d ago

The real question isn't the price tag, it's how much clear sky time you actually get in a year. A $300 tracker sitting in a closet for six months of clouds is a way worse deal than a cheap barn door you can whip out on short notice. I've got a buddy who built his barn door from scrap wood and a threaded rod, and he's gotten more use out of it in two years than my fancy mount has seen. The money only pays off if you're dragging it out every chance you get, not just on perfect weekends.

thea6023d ago

Gotta be honest, my barn door tracker is currently gathering dust in the same closet as my good intentions to finally collimate my telescope. At this point, I'm pretty sure my local clouds have a dedicated stalker profile on me.

walker.julia3d ago

So are you saying the barn door tracker just sits there because the clouds are THAT bad, or is it more about not being able to collimate the telescope to actually use it?