Pro Pack camera tracking mount
A highly portable tracking mount, which benefits from easy-to-use Wi-Fi control
Star tracking mounts that are light and portable – which are suitable for cameras and small telescopes – have become popular in recent years. One of these is Sky-Watcher’s Star Adventurer tracking mount, which we reviewed in October 2014. The latest incarnation has just been released, the Star Adventurer 2i Wi-fi Pro Pack, and we took it for a test on the few clear nights we had at our disposal.
The Star Adventurer 2i looks fresh and new in its white livery, which helps to make it more visible at night than the original metallic red version. The design is faithful to the original model and the ‘Pro pack’ consists of the Wi-Fi-enabled mount, ball head adaptor, illuminated polarscope, dovetail L-bracket, equatorial wedge and counterweight shaft with a 1kg counterweight. Power is provided by four AA batteries or an external 5V DC power supply. If you intend to use the camera ‘Snap’ feature check the electronic shutter release cable required for your camera before you buy; the OVL website (opticalvision.co.uk) lists many camera makes with available cables. For wide-field imaging with, say, 16mm through to ~100mm lenses, the ball head adaptor allows you to use a tripod ball head (sold separately) to attach the camera to the mount. You’ll also need to purchase a separately sold tripod, which is recommended as this will provide a good solid support for your setup. For longer, heavier lenses or for small, short-focus scopes the dovetail L-bracket and counterweight is indispensable – Sky-Watcher recommends a maximum load of 5kg. For our review we used lenses that ranged from 18mm to 400mm with our Canon 50D and modified 300D DSLRs, and then swapped to our Equinox 80ED refractor with the same DSLRs.
Polar alignment
When you use the supplied round (and vivid green) Vixen-style mounting adaptor to attach the ball head and camera to the mount, you’ll find that the adaptor covers the polar axis, which means that you’ll have trouble with polar alignment as the view will be blocked. The way round this is to polar align first and then put the adaptor, ball head and camera on
afterwards ready for imaging. If you are using the dovetail L-bracket and counterweight, then there is a slot allowing you to polar align with all the equipment still attached, which is handy as the extra weight could slightly alter your polar alignment.
Control options
Rotating the control knob, you can select a range of presets, which include the usual ‘Lunar’, ‘Solar’ or ‘Sidereal’ options, but there is now an interesting ‘App’ addition. This is the setting to use when you’re controlling the mount via the Wi-Fi and the free Star Adventurer Console app for Android and iOS platforms. We found the app had lots of functions and was very easy to use; its primary function is to set the tracking rate and length, and number of exposures, all of which can be stored, which is handy for repeated use.
Once polar-aligned, we programmed a range of timings using the app with the Canon 50D and its 18–55mm lens set at 18mm. We took a 30–minute exposure of the constellations of Cassiopeia down to Perseus with only slight star trailing. Although light pollution and a slightly hazy atmosphere did not help, a 20-minute exposure revealed pin sharp stars.
Satisfied that the mount functions well with a wide-field lens, we replaced the ball head with the dovetail L-bracket and counterweight to try it with our 100–400mm lens. With the lens set at 100mm we observed Orion’s heart and achieved five-minute exposures with no trailing. Next, we set it at 400mm and tried the Pleiades, achieving two–minute exposures. We stacked nine of the Pleiades exposures for an image and if conditions had allowed, we would have been able to leave it running for more with a great result. Finally, on the night before Jupiter and Saturn’s Great Conjunction we tested the mount and our Equinox 80ED refractor, using both a DSLR and ASI 224 colour camera, to capture the close encounter.
Overall, the addition of Wi-Fi to the Star Adventurer 2i Pro Pack gives a new string to its bow and makes it a stunning piece of kit for any astrophotographer.