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iOptron HAE29 Mount Experience and Review

iOptron HAE29 ZWO AM5 Equatorial Mount Buying Advice
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Kanak RT avatar
Kanak RT avatar
Hello, this is Kanak.

I am currently contemplating between the ZWO AM5 and the iOptron HAE29 mounts. I am particularly inclined towards the HAE29 due to its affordability in my region. If any if you own the HAE29 mount, I kindly request you to share your experiences, initial reviews, and long-term reviews. Your insights and feedback would greatly assist me in gaining a better understanding of the mount!
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Smoke_Rise_Observatory avatar
Smoke_Rise_Observatory avatar
I recently purchased a HAE29EC and have been very pleased with this mount. Despite the poor seeing here in the east coast US due to forest fire smoke from Canada, my guiding with my Edge 8 has been 1 arc second or better, some nights nearing 0.5. The lighter weight compared to my CGEM II is fantastic.
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Kanak RT avatar
Kanak RT avatar
I recently purchased a HAE29EC and have been very pleased with this mount. Despite the poor seeing here in the east coast US due to forest fire smoke from Canada, my guiding with my Edge 8 has been 1 arc second or better, some nights nearing 0.5. The lighter weight compared to my CGEM II is fantastic.

Thank you for the reply, @Smoke_Rise_Observatory ! The performance of the mount seems great. One of my friends also shared his experience and mentioned the same. He said the guiding performance is in the range of 0.5 to 0.8 arc seconds. I don't understand why iOptron didn't market this mount; it can compete head to head with the AM5. One thing I really like about this mount is the controller, which I can use for planetary imaging. Another advantage is its weight, as it only weighs 3.7 kilograms compared to the AM5, which weighs 5.5 kilos.
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Thierry Boufflet avatar
Thierry Boufflet avatar
I recently purchased a HAE29EC and have been very pleased with this mount. Despite the poor seeing here in the east coast US due to forest fire smoke from Canada, my guiding with my Edge 8 has been 1 arc second or better, some nights nearing 0.5. The lighter weight compared to my CGEM II is fantastic.

I'm interesting in getting this mount. You are talking about the guiding the mount, is it with any guiding software or does the mout guide on his own with this precision? it's not clear to me.
Smoke_Rise_Observatory avatar
Smoke_Rise_Observatory avatar
My primary focus is on imaging deep sky objects. I use an ASIAir, along with a off axis guider with a ASI mini guide camera. The ASIAir has customized guiding software based on PHD2. The mount itself has tracking capability, which is enhanced by the high precision RA axis encoder. Hope this answers your question. Close to six months have passed since my initial post, and I am still every bit as pleased with the HAE29EC performance.
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