Advice on an upgrade path

Tony Gondola · Feb 1, 2026, 06:45 PM

I think the really weak point in your rig right now is the tripod. You might think about the tripod and pier extension that’s available for the GTI mount.

May I ask why the tripod?

I decided very early on that Astrophotography was going to need me to get the right lens (a telescope), and the right camera (an Astro camera) Or else I would quickly kill my DSLR. My Tamron 150-600mm wasn’t the right lens for deep space.

DSLR’s are designed for terrestrial pictures. They don’t normally have sensor cooling. And they tend to have finite shutter operations. Mine was at 86,xxx when I got interested in this. 150,000 was the twilight window.

Astro Cameras are designed for astro imaging.

I think Tony is pointing out you need a real mount. But I can’t tell what you do have there. But it does not appear to be a mount.

SonnyE · Feb 1, 2026, 07:14 PM

I decided very early on that Astrophotography was going to need me to get the right lens (a telescope), and the right camera (an Astro camera) Or else I would quickly kill my DSLR. My Tamron 150-600mm wasn’t the right lens for deep space.

DSLR’s are designed for terrestrial pictures. They don’t normally have sensor cooling. And they tend to have finite shutter operations. Mine was at 86,xxx when I got interested in this. 150,000 was the twilight window.

Astro Cameras are designed for astro imaging.

I think Tony is pointing out you need a real mount. But I can’t tell what you do have there. But it does not appear to be a mount.

Yeah that makes sense regarding DSLRs, shutter count is indeed in the back of my mind.

I’m fully portable as I cannot image at home, so it’s more gear to lug long to a remote shooting location as it needs to be powered. I think it’s going to be something to sort out sooner rather than later though.

It’s the star adventurer GTI, i’m not sure how this is not a mount

Always start with the mount! As you progress through your “arc” of this hobby, most of us have used various OTA’s (The telescope) during our journey as you most likely will. The AM5’s are popular, I prefer the traditional German design. A good mount will help and really is the best place to start with a rig upgrade. After that move to a dedicated astro camera then upgrade the OTA/lens last… The best camera on the best telescope using the best software on an undersized mounting will never give you the results you seek. While a good camera on a respectable telescope with a proper mounting will deliver…

CS, Tim

Hi, Jack.

I’ve only been at this for 4-5 years and really still learn most of what I need from forums such as this one, astronomy club members, and YouTube gurus (see some suggestions below), all of which have been invaluable. So a couple of personal experiences and what I learnt early on and since may help since I was where you are not that long ago. One word of warning…once you get going, you will find it an expensive habit (or addiction).

1) Mount: The mention of tripod and mount as being the most crucial components are excellent advice - this is repeated by many people beyond this forum. I started solid (EQ6R Pro) and never had a complaint - rock solid. That said, the EQ6 mount is very heavy (to carry, to set up and transport) and I now have an AM5N as well. I bought the matching TC40 tripod with the AM5N and although it is designed for it, the tripod still flexes enough to make long exposures (2-5minutes) frustrating, even with weights added for stability. So I now put the AM5N on the EQ6 tripod for deep space, and on the TC40 tripod for solar (because exposures are in milliseconds and it’s easy to throw in the car). Bottom line - spend your money on a good mount and tripod once. If you are sticking with the SkyTracker, then take Tony’s recommendation and get a rock solid tripod but once you really get into astrophotography, you will face the inevitable desire to get a better mount and tripod that can support heavier gear and track accurately for longer exposures. Spend once and spend wisely (or as some say, “buy once, cry once”).

2) Camera: I started with a Canon RP DSLR (albeit without a decent mount), got the bug and realised I wanted to go for a complete astro setup (thus the EQ6 mount mentioned above). I used my DSLR on my first scope, but leaving aside the choice of scope (see below), a dedicated astrophotography camera quickly becomes the next thing to consider. Then decide if you want to shoot RGB or Narrowband (NB). If you only do RGB, then a colour camera is fine, but you will find that you probably need skies without much light pollution for most things you will want to shoot. In order to provide the maximum choice, with no expectation of ever needing to upgrade, I went for a mono astro camera and a filter wheel which could hold all the LRGB and NB filters. To shoot nebulae for example, I shoot NB for the nebula gases and RGB for the stars and process them separately (that’s a whole other topic). A good astro camera is required for decent long exposure images. Note also that with mono, you get 4x resolution, since each pixel is its own mono point, whereas RGB uses 4 pixels for each point. That said, plenty of people do stunning work with a DSLR on a good tracking mount. So once again, the mount is key.

3) Scope: I never understood people asking me what sort of astro I wanted to do before providing suggestions on scopes. I thought astro was astro. But of course the requirements are different for Lunar, Planets, Solar, and Deep Sky (DSO), which can be further divided into Galaxies and Nebula. For example you need a shorter focal length for nebulae (generally) and longer for galaxies. I’ve ended up with a couple of scopes that suit different purposes. Decide what you want to image (at least initially) and find a scope that matches that need. There are so many scopes and levels of image quality they offer. Once bitten by the astro bug, you’ll likely have more than once scope.

4) Beyond: Other considerations will emerge, such as software to run the gear (I started with APT and settled on NINA), guiding (separate scope or OAG), power supply for traveling into the bush, image processing software etc. As I said, an expensive addiction, but a good one.

Some good YouTubers that have great advice on gear and on astro more broadly:

• Cuiv the Lazy Geek (https://www.youtube.com/@CuivTheLazyGeek)

• Dylan O’Donnell (https://www.youtube.com/@DylanODonnell)

• Ed Ting (https://www.youtube.com/@edting) - all about scopes, and he has many.

• AstroBackyard (https://www.youtube.com/@AstroBackyard)

I hope that helps a bit, Jack. Do lots of research (which you are clearly doing by posting on this forum). There is so much to learn and so many mistakes (aka learning opportunities) to be had along the way. Have fun!

Cheers.

Paul

Thanks everyone for your detailed insights. Truthfully I’m really surprised regarding the tripod as I’ve used it a few times now and it seems stable.

I bought this tripod from a camera store after seeking recommendations for one with the intent of putting a star tracker on it. They recommended this one which is what I have: https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Benro-Mach3-Aluminum-Tripod-TMA47AXL/dp/B00YEU9EM2

I’d like to really understand what the main difference is between the one I have and something like https://www.skywatcherusa.com/products/star-adventurer-tripod

I’m assuming the star adventurer tripod will handle vibrations from the star trackers movement better?

If this is the case then I think i’ll need to sell and swap

Just to quickly reply to a few people here:

Bob:
Amazing list, thank you. I’ve actually watched that video as part of my research, very useful.

Paul:
Very informative and I appreciate the time taken to write out a big reply with your personal journey.

Rainer:
Noted, although I think installing concrete pillars is a bit beyond my reach right now :)

Many thanks

jack_miller · Feb 1, 2026, 07:34 PM

SonnyE · Feb 1, 2026, 07:14 PM

I decided very early on that Astrophotography was going to need me to get the right lens (a telescope), and the right camera (an Astro camera) Or else I would quickly kill my DSLR. My Tamron 150-600mm wasn’t the right lens for deep space.

DSLR’s are designed for terrestrial pictures. They don’t normally have sensor cooling. And they tend to have finite shutter operations. Mine was at 86,xxx when I got interested in this. 150,000 was the twilight window.

Astro Cameras are designed for astro imaging.

I think Tony is pointing out you need a real mount. But I can’t tell what you do have there. But it does not appear to be a mount.

Yeah that makes sense regarding DSLRs, shutter count is indeed in the back of my mind.

I’m fully portable as I cannot image at home, so it’s more gear to lug long to a remote shooting location as it needs to be powered. I think it’s going to be something to sort out sooner rather than later though.

It’s the star adventurer GTI, i’m not sure how this is not a mount

OK, sorry, but I was looking at the picture and could not make out the mount. I went surfing and found it.

It is a mount. Bravo. And you should be able to use it for AP with a bit of practice. I managed to use my AVX for a while. I think what many are alluding to is better mounts work betterer. Just like AP cameras will work better for AP.

Lucky for many, there are several alternative’s now. Like the Harmonic drive mounts. They were with their learning curves, but I’m seeing more and more impressive images with them now. When I was beginning around 2013, there was expensive, and terribly expensive GEM mounts. Like your GTI, I jumped in with my AVX. My learning curve was not only rocky, I had many boulders rolling down at me. If I hadn’t been so determined I should have given up. When my AVX died for its third and last time in 3.5 years, I finally made my leap to my present mount. Not shall I ever want again.

But I didn’t give up. And as I corrected my mistakes, I made much better choices in leaps and bounds. My first Astronomy camera choices were shit. My latest camera suits me fine. An ASI 2600MC Pro. Kind of the DSLR of color astro cameras, IMHO. APS-C sized sensor and gives me great images as a rule. I use 2 different Light Pollution filters with it and get point-and-shoot images that are web ready after stacking and saved as a jpg. I mostly make web ready You Tube slide shows with them. Simple and real easy. I did the filter route for many years, and the mono camera. But going back to my old ways of a color camera is a joyous method. The Astro cameras have come of age if you choose the right ones.

But it took a lot of struggles to get where I am. And a lot of money in the long run. My mount is my “forever mount”. Not a lightweight by any means but stable as a rock in use. The intent is to help you avoid the mistake others of us made on our way.

At this point the only thing that gives me any grief at all is the occasional software glitches. And making sure I get all my ducks in a row when recovering from those software fiascoes that crop up in AP.

You can continue with the GTI, but if you ever go to a premium mount, you will be glad for the things they will eliminate.