Hi-Tech GO-TO Star Trackers Are Here!

just an ignorant astro plebs opinion: wouldnt you level the tripod after you ve attached the camera? it looked really job-undone leveling and then wiggle the mount around as you attached the camera to the Benro

Hi Niko can I use my Nikon P1000 125zoom 3000mm on either one of these.

What adapter did you use to con ect your camera?

Great video Nico :) I decided to buy the Benro Polaris Astro edition, simply because it’s more portable that a normal Astro tracker. I have tried it out properly, only aligned it to one star and the GoTo feature works really well. I had trouble formatting a SD card in that I kept getting a “format failed” error. I eventually went into disk manager on Windows11, deleted the partition on the SD card and then formatted to FAT32 (file explorer kept asking if I wanted to format, but you just ignore that). This time the SD did format and you can then update the firmware. NB you need to connect the 3rd axis (via the supplied cable) for the Polaris Astro firmware to update (otherwise it updates the 2-axis firmware). I too had problems with a canon M6 MkII, when connected to the mount. On turning on the screen on the camera goes blank after a few seconds. I originally thought the battery was low, but unplugging the lead, the screen stays on. Like you, I have a wired intervalometer and power the camera and mount with a typical dual USB output power bank. BTW I am going to use a Samyang 135mm F2 lens with an EF to M camera adapter to the Canon M6 MkII. I am in the process of printing out a Bahtinov mask on the 3D printer (definitely worth getting a 3D if you are an Astrophotographer btw). Hopefully, I can get some decent images from Tenerife which has a latitude of 28deg compared to my South Coast of England 52deg latitude :) . I don’t expect to see any new targets but the Orion, Seagull etc, should all be a lot higher in the sky???

Hey, I don’t often leave comments on videos, but I’d just like to say thanks, your videos are always very informative, big thumbs up Nico…

Any chance of a review of the iOptron SkyHunter? Seems very similar, but I cannot find any head-to-head comparisons.

Will they hold the 200-600 with an A74 though?

Bro looks like Jesus really!

Show us some pictures or results with this setup.

Skywatcher wins undisputed

I'm curious if they would handle a Canonr6 with a 400mm f5.6 lens!

What about 200-600mm lens without long exposure but just stacking +100 shots? Would it work for the Benro mount?

Thank you for the review. Great information.
How did you do star alignment in Benro Polaris without the camera attached to the app? I thought the only way to do star alignment with Benro Polaris is by fine tuning the star in the center. How do you know the star you are pointing is in center without having the camera connected!

I finally bought the GTi ! Just one question: does it require the polar finder to be calibrated as the Sky Watcher 2i?

If the benro ever gets under 900€, imma buy it. I think it has 2 star alignment now and a lot of features were added to it via updates. But 1200€ is just to steep for me.

I started out with the Benro Polaris as I am here in North Dakota and have a chance to use it for some amazing extremely widefield astrophotography. Admittedly, it is not the best tracker, with maximum exposure lengths of about two to three minutes even with a 22mm lens on an APS-C sensor. The best I was able to do was 32mm (50mm) on an APS-C sensor at three minutes, but when pixel-peeping I could see oblong stars in the corners, so I would say nothing over 50mm (either full frame or 35mm equivalent) for those who want to at least get a couple minutes out of it. However, for everything else, it is immensely fun, and it is a great experimental tool for other types of photography. It can turn many beginner DSLRs such as a Canon Rebel T7 with limited capabilities into a more fully capable camera. I am looking forward to using mine for more cloudscapes, panoramas, and timelapses. The app is a little grainy when in live view, (at least for a Canon Rebel T7 and a Canon M200), so I can attest to that too, but rest assured it is focused if you leave it after focusing your lenses.

I decided to get the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi after much consideration and deliberation. I had been using the iOptron SkyGuider Pro for deep sky astrophotography, usually reserving it for the winters when I am less busy as a federal government soil scientist, but it can get bitterly cold here in North Dakota and I was really pushing it staying outside the vehicle trying to find and frame targets. It may be a little bigger with wires galore for autoguiding and connecting to a laptop, but the time saved will hopefully be worth it!

Thank you, Nico, for continuing to make awesome reviews!

I have the Benro and love it, my only issue is the star catalog is sparse, which means having to star hop to get to most object I want to photograph. Had a few problems at first but once I got the hang of it I’m getting good images with my canon r and 500mm IS L lens. I had a EF 400mm IS L and a doublers that I liked better, but after dropping it and having it repaired once, lousy repair broke on its own a second time, I invested in the 500 Rf. This lens is difficult to manually focus and wastes so much time, and no doubler yet. With the Benro I found that if you recenter a few times before you starting the shoot it stays centered much better than if you don’t.

A little off topic, but if you'll indulge me, I'd like to know the setup/hardware you use to mount the DSLR... I generally do deep sky but would like to take a stab at some Milky Way shots. I'm thinking a my dovetail place with the appropriate length 1/4-20 isn't the way to go, but I don't know what is (or the right search term for B&H or like store). I appreciate any assistance.

Has the Benro updated the connect to include more catalogues?

I do not get it. Where is the second camera for guiding? How does the star adventurer GTI or the Benro Polaris guide without a second camera? I am really confused - help XD?

Hi Nico, this is a very good review for both devices, is there any newer revision on the Benro Polaris Astro Edition, have there been any upgrades to both the device and the app that you know? Thanks!

I know this is probably a little "Heath Robinson" for serious astrophotography but have you done anything with the Nexstar Alt-Az mount at all? I have 3d printed a bracket to allow my DSLR to fit the mount from my 8SE and am just waiting for some clear sky (I'm based in SW England so it is a rare treat) in order to see how it works...

I can’t understand why Sky Watcher does not implement Dithering in the SynScan App!! They have it for the SA 2i and Mini in the SA Console App… but NOT here… WHY????? Dithering is state of the art, and in most situations it can safe you time because of skipping taking Darks - especially for uncooled DSLM with their very bad Darks they deliver.
In the end, you need a ZWO ASIair with Guidecam and -scope for Dithering! Although the ASIair is awesome, this adds a hole in your bank account, and adds lots of cables and technical stuff (12v Power supply………)
For simple use, it would be great, if SkyWatcher would add Dithering in the App

Smart phone apps are not reliable, do they have dedicated device for operation?

Wirestock: is this selling just JPEG's?

Can you align the benro manually? My concern is if you need the app to do it and don't have a signal or wifi available

Hi Nico, or anyone, Can I use the Benro POlaris 3 axis version with a 500mm telescope?

Also, what would be the maximum exposure time with the Benro Polaris?

The Polaris looks really neat and really high tech, but I was used to Sky-Watcher AZ GTi, so I just bought a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi as a grab and go equatorial mount a few days ago.

Thank you for this review of the GTi, especially.
What is the alignment that Southern Hemisphere a/photographers align to, as compared to Polaris?

Thanks for the vidoe. I ultimately went with the GTI. I've taken it out four times now and I've been very happy with it.

Amazon cost down to $999 as of 2024

The Polaris can dither now

I always have problems identifying the stars, anyway to do some plate solving

thank you for the review. i have q quistion. i only do milkyway shoots . after you do polar alignment how you can turn the camera to to milkyway ? is this by hand or goto . of it is goto what is the name for it in the app.

Nice video, I just got the GTi a couple days ago and can't get it to track. It will "go to" correctly, at least close, but will not track. Do you have any ideas on what is wrong, probably user error, but frustrating none the less. Thanx for the info,

has anyone figured out what snap cable to buy to connect the SA GTi to Sony A7X cameras?

I just got the sky watcher one can’t wait for the tripod to come so I can use it with my Nikon p950!

What brand/size vixen plate do you recommend between gti & Canon R3 with 100-500mm lens?

Very nice thanks
The first statement for me is important… “you don’t need a telescope “

Excellent review and explanation, thankyou!

The biggest difference is that the Polaris works very poorly, it is a hoax

Can you use a phone? I just bought a fold 6 that has an astrophotography mode. Ive only turned it on and pointed at the sky. It shows me all the constellations, maybe more. Im not sure yet.

If I have to spend $640 to get pictures that bad I'm out of this hobby for good.

Perhaps there are lessons for Skywatcher around alignment? Eventually the ease of Benro's setup will appeal, especially since the polar scope can be hard to view as I get older

How good is the sigma fp as a deepsky camera compared to most other dslr/mirrorless cameras you've used?

Subscribed!

For $500 more, it better do a lot more, and it doesn't. I'll be getting a SkyWatcher.

Thanks for the advice.. the Polaris to me just looks a little too flimsy for a 180-600 and a Z9 .. So I’ll probably go with the GTI .. putting it on my 161 Manfrotto tripod which is a monster..

Just to add a perspective, for Sony cameras the live view still works fine with the camera connected to the Benro. With the camera connected there is a dithering option in the app. I've only had it a couple of days, but can confirm round stars at more than 200mm and over 30 seconds. Testing tonight at 400mm :)