Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Dec Bracket

this is so much better than the original declination bracket for the iOptron SkyTracker. i modified the SkyTracker pro, changed out the 3/8 bolt, added a few washers and gaskets to accommodate this declination bracket. still waiting for the counter weight kit to arrive.

This provides additional flexibility for the Star adventurer series in that it provides a solid declination axis. It has a good clutch so it makes a solid camera mount.

I bought this for use with my Sky Watcher Mini. It is a useful addition. However, the clutch based mount at the top for mounting a camera is too limiting for where I want to point my camera. That means I needed to remove that part and add a light weight ball mount. This was not a problem, but it does mean that arguably the most complicated part is not being used. This bracket does allow the polar scope to be left mounted which is why I bought it. So far I have not found a way to mount the illuminator to the polar scope without removing this bracket.

This 90 angled bracket is designed to allow for very fine adjustment in positioning your optics. This is extremely invaluable when using an Optical Tube Assembly as it allows you to make fine movements to your telescope tube without the need for a ball head. If using a camera body you will need a ball head attached to this bracket to adjust alignment of your camera lens. I would recommend one of the mini geared ball heads so you have more control, though this will add weight and expense to your kit. There are a few options to using this bracket. You could use a telescope on the 90 bracket and a camera body on a ballhead at the opposite end of the bracket. You could use two ballheads, though you had best practice the setup before field use as I found the camera to droop when a ballhead is attached to the 90 bracket. You could also remove the 90 bracket and mount two cameras in tandem on separate ball heads. If you go with option three and remove the bracket you will discover that it is poorly machined and may not re-assemble as tight as you would like. This was the case with two of my brackets, so now I just leave the bracket on and put my lightweight camera system on the 90 adjustable bracket.

It is very solid and high quality product. The rotator knob moves softly and precisely. The screw is locked by an ergonomic knob that is very safe and easy to use. I can rely on this product when using with my expensive equipment.

Sturdy bracket. I got this to use with the EQ-35 Pro and Adventurer 2i. Works well and easy to mount your camera or lens. You can attach a ball head and run two camera system at the same time if you want.

The web site does not describe this as essential because it is only essential if using a telescope, aka Optical Tube Assembly (OTA). You could use a ballhead between the mount and your OTA, though you will wish you had this. If you do buy this for an OTA you will need the counter weight to balance your load. You do not need this to operate a single camera on your Star Adventurer mount, but you do want this item if you intend to operate two cameras simultaneously. I remove the declination adjustment and use it to mount two camera bodies on separate ballheads. It acts as an extra long ballhead adapter, allowing me to run two camera systems in tandem. Very handy for that solar eclipse you want to record but cannot decide between video or HDR bracketing. My advice, buy this bracket and do both, because finally we have a portable mount in the form of the Star Adventurer that can handle two camera bodies at once. An advantage to this method is that one may not need the counter weight depending on balance of your two bodies. Two mirrorless cameras on 300mm lenses with 2x teleconverters and you have yourself a very compact eclipse photography rig indeed! Why is the equatorial wedge an accessory? There are other solutions. You could use a ballhead, if you like being frustrated. In my case I use an Acratech two axis mount for large telephoto lenses. It is expensive, but I bought it before the Star Adventurer was released for my Polarie. The Acratech is rock solid, and is quite rigid as it is limited to movement in two axes. The Star Adventurer Equatorial wedge is very well built and if I did not already have a solid solution I would buy the Skywatcher model today. I enjoyed using a friend's model and felt comfortable using it with my two DSLR tandem rig, as described above. I took off one star as the model I had was poorly machined and had to be sent back. One of the threads was boogered badly. Was useable in the short run, but unreliable for multiple removals of the declination adjustment.