Instrument class
Star tracker with a camera and lens
A small motorised wedge that cancels the Earth's rotation, with a camera and an ordinary lens on top. Not a telescope, and the right answer to 'how do I start astrophotography' more often than a telescope is.
| Aperture | 30–70 mm |
|---|---|
| Focal ratio | f/1.8–f/4 |
| Typical weight | 4 kg |
| Setup time | 15 minutes |
| Learning curve | 3 out of 5 |
| Price band | €300–900 |
| Useful magnification | 8× to 100× at 50 mm |
What it does well
- A fifth of the price of an imaging telescope setup, and it teaches the same skills
- Wide-field targets — the Milky Way, Orion whole, Andromeda in context — that no telescope can frame
- Short focal lengths forgive tracking error, so results come quickly
What it costs you
- Assumes you already own a camera
- Small targets stay small. Galaxies other than Andromeda are not really available
- Still needs polar alignment, and still needs dark skies for the faint stuff
Fit against each goal
First astrophotography · 5 out of 5
The standard recommendation, and the one most people wish they had taken before buying a mount.
Taking it with me · 4 out of 5
Packs into a camera bag.
Serious deep-sky imaging · 2 out of 5
A stepping stone. Serious deep-sky work needs a proper equatorial mount and guiding.
Models in this class
Indicative European street prices with the date they were observed. Ordered by price. Links marked paid link earn us a commission and cost you nothing extra.
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi
€520seen 2026-08-1750 mm · 200 mm focal length · f/4.0 · 4 kg
With a 10 mm eyepiece: 20×, 2.5 mm exit pupil.
Mount Portable equatorial tracker with GoTo, camera not included
Aperture and focal length above are a typical 200 mm camera lens, not part of the product. Add a tripod if you do not already own a sturdy one.
Where to buy
- Amazon.frships FR
- Astroshopships DE, FR, EU
- First Light Opticsships GB
- Optique Unterlindenships FR
- Pierro Astroships FR
- Teleskop-Expressships DE, EU
None of these links earn us anything.