The kit costs over 200 bucks. I've been very causally considering whether to get into astrophotography, so don't yet know anything about it but I'm curious: what makes this so expensive? A printed frame is cheap, and the other major component is a way for it to automatically move. Are the motors the expensive part then, because they have to be so precise?
- Equatorial: follows star in one direction. Works best on lower stars since the move E-to-W mostly. Cheapest models start at $200 USD (MSM)
- Altazimuth (azimuth+altitude): follows the star in two directions. Can be used for stars higher in the sky. Models start at $400+
- Computer guided and GOTO: Use a secondary telescope to lock onto stars and counter small integration errors. GOTO means you can type a star by name into a computer and the mount will move to its location in the sky (based on a database of where the star is at that moment). These start at $1000+ and can easily be a lot more.
These systems are so expensive because they need to swing a typically very heavy telescope with a lot of precision. My mount (on the smaller end) is rated for 11lbs. Being off by 1 arcsecond (1/3600 degrees) at the distance of Alpha Centauri is an error of 200,000,000 km.
If this tracker can provide all these features + precision at $200, that’s a steal.