Last year, I wanted to focus on some wide field imaging with my DSLR. After a little research, I settled on the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i. Given my experience with equatorial mounts, this was relatively easy to set up and get going. It has a built-in polar alignment scope, which you use to align to the North Star (or Polaris) and then you're pretty much good to go. The mount takes batteries, but you can utilize a field power pack for longer exposure time. There are various settings on the mount for tracking at different rates, but so far I have only utilized the basic star configuration for Sidereal tracking. There is also connectivity via an app, but I have yet to try that out. I purchased a matching tripod separately, which came with a handy accessory tray upon which I plonk my power supply. You can also attach your own additional tripod ball head mounts (as I have done in the image above) to get just the right angle and framing for your camera. These rigs can be used with lightweight telescopes, and seem to have guiding capability as well, which would make them ideal for easy transport of some serious imaging setups. However, I'm happy to use this just with my Nikon for now.
I've used it to shoot various objects but the image above is my favorite. It's the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex, containing the supergiant star, Antares. the mount gave me excellent tracking for two-minute exposures! Image details below:
- Image Details:
- Nikon D750
- Nikon 24-105mm lens (Set to 85mm)
- Skywatcher Adventurer 2i Mount
- ISO3200,
- 30x 2 minute exposures
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