Sky Watcher AZ GTI newbie questions

Yes you need counterweight in eq mode. I do PA with asiair so I cant really help you with synscan, but you will need some kind of alignment. 3 star alignment might not be to precise, but with short focal lenghts should be enough. If you have a laptop, you can connect your mount via wifi or eqmod cable and pa with nina. Also keep in mind you shoud not go any heavier than 50% of your mount max weight limit. Askar 70 with camera will be way to heavy.

My setup up is about 4Kg with 60mm refractor, 0.8 reducer and ZWO ASI 585MC AIR with the recommended counter weight and the guiding works fine, so mount works well on my setup. Also i’ve recently noticed that Synscan Pro has an extra option under Alginment, AutoAlign which uses the camera to plate solve the image, so you could polar align using this option which should be better than a 3 star alignment without polar aligning first.

Ian Frost · Jun 1, 2026, 06:42 AM

Many thanks both

The Askar 70f and camera would weigh in at just over 3k and I’ve a positive review if someone with just that rid. But of course if you add the counterweight you’re over the 5k limit. More thought and thought needed.

But thanks for the prompt replies

Yeah looks like askar 70f is around 2.6kg, so it should be fine. For some reason when I checked earlier google showed 3.6kg. Also counterweights do not count towards the maximum payload capacity.

My setup is around 3kg and I can get roughly up to 1:30min exposures without guiding. Im using redcat51 (250mm focal lenght) with asi585mc pro.

Many thanks. I’ve just ordered a Askar 60f, which was quite cheap on Aliexpress. I’ve actually a Juwei 14 on order, and was thinking of using that as my main mount, and the AZ whrn traveling. But the choice of software is putting me off. I quite fancied stellavita, but my Z5ii is not on the supported list

Ian Frost · Jun 1, 2026, 03:59 PM

Many thanks. I’ve just ordered a Askar 60f, which was quite cheap on Aliexpress. I’ve actually a Juwei 14 on order, and was thinking of using that as my main mount, and the AZ whrn traveling. But the choice of software is putting me off. I quite fancied stellavita, but my Z5ii is not on the supported list

NINA did the trick for me, even before I had a computer to connect to the camera and mount. I don’t know if your Nikon can be controlled via NINA but it’s worth checking. It might be natively supported or maybe there’s a plugin that takes care of it.

<unsolicited personal experience dump> I used to shoot with a Star Adventurer (non-GTi) and a Sony mirrorless camera, 100% manual. Just for fun, I installed NINA on my desktop PC and then realized I could use the 3-point polar alignment tool just by manually moving the RA axis on the mount and, read closely, take the camera’s SD card back and forth from the camera to the PC. That got me hooked. The next step was to get a Windows mini PC (there are great options in AliExpress for around $100 with great specs) and control it via RDP from a laptop. Then I bought a cheap guide-scope/guide-camera combo and I was controlling the camera from NINA and guiding on RA. It was a great learning experience and I continue to use NINA now with a full-proper astrophoto rig. I added an old WiFi router to my travel equipment and now I don’t even need to have internet to operate. Adding Tailscale to the equation also allows me to control my rig from anywhere and even from my Android phone. </unsolicited personal experience dump>

<unsolicited advice>If you consider yourself a tinkerer, if you enjoy building your own rig more than the prospect of buying an off-the-shelf whole solution, if you like making the most out of your gear before considering an upgrade, NINA on a Windows mini-PC is unbeatable.</unsolicited advice>

Regarding your two other questions:
. 3-star alignment from the mount does not polar align it.
. Counterweight is mandatory for anything above a single camera with a small objective. Balancing is critical on any GEM, on both axis.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that basic approach, it’s simple and it will teach you a lot. Astrophotography is a journey of learning. You’ll learn much with the gear you have so, I would try to resist the siren song of more stuff and just learn how to get the most out of the gear you have. The things that teaches you will point you in the right direction for upgrades and you’ll understand the reasons for it all.

Ian Frost · Jun 2, 2026, 04:18 PM

Tony, thanks

I actually loaded up NINA on my office PC last night and managed to get the AZ GTI recognised after faffing about with Ascom drivers for a bout an hour. Just now I sort of got my Z5ii recognised, though all sorts of error messages were thrown up.

It does remind me of the efforts required to get music sequencing software working in the early nighties. I guess in reality there aren’t manage Astro folk out there and with the advent of the new Dwarf type things more and more will get automated.

Then again I can see the attraction of things like the ASI Air and Stellarvita to avoid the pain of something like NINA, however well intentioned it is.

But having been around PCs since the very early days I do like a challenge, and with weeks of cloud ahead here in London, at least I’ll have the time.

Roll on a linux version of NINA, with a app sitting in front of it

Remember Cakewalk?

Tony Gondola · Jun 2, 2026, 06:39 PM

Remember Cakewalk?

My first ever “DAW”, came bundled with a “Quickshot MIDI Composer” 🥹

Franco Grimoldi · Jun 2, 2026 at 08:45 PM

Ian Frost · Jun 2, 2026, 03:34 PM

One thing that does puzzle me though, is about filters. In my mind I’ll be taking RAW images then using something like photoshop to adjust things. Why the need for other filters and where do I put them

Regarding filters, I'd recommend not trying to fix a problem you don't have… yet

If you shoot under half-decent skies, say Bortle 5-6-ish, you could start shooting right away. From urban areas you're going to be in trouble, light pollution is a real deal breaker.

If your only option is to shoot from the city, you'll need to explore the possibility of using a dual-narrowband filter. I don't know about the 60f, it might allow you to install it directly in the tube (I see a 2” filter thread mentioned in the manual). Then you'll learn that the Nikon blocks by default most of the Hydrogen Alpha spectrum and you'll start to think about getting a dedicated astro-camera (the difference is abismal).

My advice here: one step at a time. There are hundreds of difficulties waiting in line to hit you, your best chance could be fighting them as they show up. The astrophoto hurdles are like The Hydra: you beat one, two more show up from nowhere.

Regarding the RAWs from your camera: Siril is a free piece of software that can take you to the finishing line. There are lots of great references and free add-ons online, it's a great learning tool.

Hi Ian,

The light pollution from a big city affects the whole visible light spectrum. Long exposure astrophotography is not possible with a bare “naked” sensor, it takes a few seconds to get a full white rectangle. Faint objects get completely washed out.

One of the best counter measures are the dual-narrowband filters. They block all the spectrum but two very specific bands tuned for the emission lines of Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) and Oxygen iii (Oiii), enabling the possibility of shooting those nebulæ from the City. That's how most of the urban astrophotography gets done.

Unfortunately, even with such filter, regular consumer cameras struggle to get most of the Ha signal due to an embedded filter they all have in front of the sensor that blocks part of the deep reds. It's not impossible by any means but it takes a lot more effort compared with a dedicated astro-camera.

Here's one shot with my Sony camera and a Ha/Oiii filter:

📷 1000374551.pngAs I said on the previous post, all this is a lot to digest. It takes a lot of time, failures, frustration… and then it pays off. You need to enjoy the challenge and the journey.

Regarding the installation of the filter, it definitely needs to sit between the telescope and the camera. I'd recommend reaching out to other 71f users to see if you need a filter drawer or it can be directly attached to the back of the scope. I still recommend doing a step at a time to learn how all the pieces fit together.