Looking for the Swiss Army Knife of mounts? The AZ-EQ5 altazimuth/equatorial mount from Sky-Watcher should cover virtually every situation you can throw at it . . . optical tube weight dependent of course.
A couple of questions about your current mount.
Is it a German Equatorial? Is it an Alt-Azimuth? Can it do both?
Well, the Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 answers "yes" to all of the above questions. Not only can the Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 support a 30 pound payload in its Equatorial mode, it can also support 30 pounds PER SIDE in its Alt-Azimuth mode, and comes with two Vixen-style dovetails so you can mount two scopes immediately. The dual scope feature is particularly nice for the astronomer with multiple optical tubes and is very handy for outreach events where you have many people looking to learn about the night sky.
The Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 gives you optimal stability and pointing accuracy for a wide variety of professional photo and video equipment. It is a hybrid mount with alt-azimuth capability for general use, equatorial capability for astrophotography use, and dual-OTA mode perfect for outreach.
Stable, accurate, versatile and very portable - weighing only 33 pounds - the Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 is the perfect field mount. Supplied with a SynScan computer hand control with dual AZ/EQ firmware, it can automatically find and track 42,900+ celestial objects from its database with 5 arc minute accuracy.
Some basic AZ-EQ5 features:
- German equatorial/Alt-Az/dual OTA mode.
- +/- 5 arc seconds native periodic error. Permanent periodic error correction (PPEC) available to further reduce the periodic error for astrophotography. The PPEC can be trained using an autoguider or PC.
- Belt drive – Super smooth PE curve. Low backlash, silent slewing.
- Dual shutter release control for batch exposures of astrophotography.
- Motor controller with high torque and accuracy.
- Includes two V-style saddles for mounting dual OTAs
- Secure-fit power supply connections.
- Polar alignment with optional polar scope.
- Dual encoders track the mount's position. Users can push the mount to any part of the sky at any time without worrying about losing the mount's alignment.
- Counterweight extension bar included.
- Retractable counterweight bar.
- Includes two 7.5 pound counterweights.
