Which mount should I use (for amateurs) ?

Date: 04/02/2010

There are so many mounts out there for amateur astronomers that it can be pretty confusing which ones to get. So here's a little table I whipped up that will help you see some of the pertinent differences. If you do notice any errors that should be corrected, please do let me know and contribute to making this information useful !

The various mounts are grouped by category, from lightweight to heavy duty. Prices are in US$, and does NOT include shipping to Singapore. To get the Astro Bargains price, please send us an email for a quote.

Hope this helps !!

Joo Beng

 

Alt-Az Mounts	Celestron	Vixen	Orion	Meade	Others	Weight	Load limit	OTA range visual	Misc
Single head			Orion VersaGo Precision Altaz Mount $170.00			12.1 lbs	15 lbs	6" reflector or Cass.
			Orion VersaGo II Altazimuth Mount $194.95			13.0 lbs	15 lbs	6" reflector or Cass.
			Orion VersaGo II HD Altazimuth Mount $249.95			18.5 lbs	15 lbs	6" reflector or Cass.
			Orion TeleTrack Altazimuth Tracking Mount $249.95			9 lbs	9 lbs	90mm Mak, 80mm Refractors.
			Vixen Porta II Altazimuth Mount $299.00			13.75 lbs	20 lbs	6" SCTs
			Vixen Porta II Altazimuth Mount $319.00			12 lbs	20 lbs	6" SCTs
Dual head			Orion SkyView AZ Mount $379.95			19.5 lbs	25 lbs x 2	8" - 9.25" SCT	NA
Goto			Orion TeleTrack GoTo Altazimuth Mount $299.95			9 lbs	10 lbs	90mm Mak, 80mm Refractors.
					iOptron SmartStar-G Cube AltAz Mount $360	9.5 lbs	11 lbs
					iOptron CubePro Mount $480	11 lbs	12 lbs
					iOptron MiniTower Mount $799	13 lbs	25 lbs + 8 lbs
EQ Mounts	Celestron	Vixen	Orion	Meade	Losmandy	Weight	Load limit	OTA range visual	OTA range astrophoto
Min-EQ			Min-EQ $54.95			14” 10lbs 5 oz.
EQ1			EQ1 $109.95			11.9 lbs
EQ2			EQ2 $179.95			18 lbs
EQ3			Astroview EQ $239.95			27.5 lbs		5” refractor
			GP EQ			26 lbs	16 lbs
	CG4		Skyview Pro $379.95 -$819.95				20 lbs
		GP -> GP2					20 lbs
		Sphinx SXW				26 lbs	22 lbs	8” SCT
EQ4/EQ5	CG5 $749.00			LXD55/ LXD75 $599			30 lbs	11” SCT	8” SCT
					GM8	36 lbs	30 lbs
EQ6			Sirius EQ-G $849.95 - $1199.95			32 lbs	30 lbs
		GP-D2					30 lbs
			Atlas EQ-G $1199.95 - $1499.95			54 lbs	40 lbs
		Sphinx SXD					50 lbs
					G11	71 lbs	60 lbs
	CGE $3000					114 lbs	65 lbs
					HGM Titan	141 lbs	100 lbs
Alt Az Mounts	Celestron	Vixen	Orion	Meade	Losmandy	Weight	Load limit	OTA range visual	OTA range astrophoto
			Teletrack			8.8 lbs 15”