Wasted $200 on a star tracker that couldn't handle my lens setup

Bought a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i thinking it would handle my 135mm lens fine, but after three nights of blurry 30-second exposures in Joshua Tree I realized the payload limit says one thing and real-world performance says another - anyone else run into this with longer glass?

2 comments

2 Comments

nora73512d ago

Good grief, it's just a tracker, not a life-or-death situation.

riley59512d ago

Oh man, that stinks. I had a similar issue with the same tracker but with a 200mm lens and what finally fixed it for me wasn't even the payload weight - it was the way I balanced the setup. Everyone talks about weight limits but they never mention how bad the declination bracket flexes under even a little bit of imbalance. Try balancing it with the clutch a tiny bit loose so the motor doesn't fight so hard. Also check if your ballhead (if you're using one) has any play in it when locked down, that ruined more of my shots than the tracker itself. Joshua Tree is a beautiful spot though, hope you at least got some Milky Way shots with a shorter lens while you were there.