AstroTrac TT320X-AG Tracking Mount for Digital SLR
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AstroTrac (NEW) TT320X-AG Tracking Mount with Auto-Guiding Port for Digital DSLR Cameras, Includes Asto Trac Illuminated Polar Scope, 12 Volt Car Battery Adapter & 8xAA Battery Holder

SKU: ATTT320X

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Questions & Answers

John S : I'm seriously thinking about purchasing an AstroTrac and I'm trying to figure out the best travel tripod that will work well with the AstroTrac. Does anyone have a recommendation besides the AstroTrac pier?DICK L : i use an old heavy Bogen 30-50. I don't use a ball head because of weight and stability.. Use a manoffroto head that I can mic pro adjust 3 ways. Model 410. ll mounting is arca Swisscom DickDIANE M : When I had my AT I used my large Gitzo with a weight hung from the center hook. You'll also want the Wedge Head between the AT and the tripod -- I found it indispensable, although a ball head can work for lightweight bodies and lenses.CHARLES C : I used a Manfrotto tripod with mine. I am not sure the model of my tripod but I own two of these and I paid between $120-200 for the tripod. They are super sturdy and I feel like the best tripods you can buy until you can afford those carbon fiber ones.DON M : I love mine. I have it on a older, mid sized, Monfrotto. Sorry I don't remember the model #.JULIUS G : Good day. I don't have the astrotrac pier but I do have a heavy duty Gitzo 5 series metal tripod. I think if you plan to travel with it, you definitely need something with weight and stability. Smaller and lighter might not be the best for bigger camera setups and the astrotrac since any slight wind throws off any tracking even on a heavy tripod with longer focal lengths. But find one that can attach a sandbag underneath. Shoot at lowest length of tripod and you'll have a great start there. Don't extend tripod if you don't need to. It will help with stabilizing the shot better. Best of luckJAMEEL H : You need a sturdy tripod esp if there is any wind. I have used RRS 3 series. It also helps to hang a weight if the tripod has a hook. Make sure the weight doesn't swing though.MARK Z : Choose an Aluminum tripod. You need the weight for stability. I use a Manfrotto aluminum tripod and a AcraTech ballhead on the Astrotrac itself. Additionally, you need a second head in order to point the Astrotrac to the north star for alignment.
Shopper : Does it come with the polar scope?LLOYD L : Yes, mine didSEONGHUI K : Yes the polar scope to align polar axis is included.DAVID H : Yes.YUNG T : Mine did. It's held on by a magnet.ANGIE M : Yes, it includes the polar scope.JAMEEL H : Yes it does as the description saysROY S : yes, it comes with a polar scope, but I had mixed results, not being an astronomer. I ended up using a compass, and the bubble level in a geared head to do polar alignment. It's a little hit and miss either way.DIANE M : It does, but the scope is of very poor quality (and with poor quality control) and will need very careful collimation, which it won't hold. I had a machinist make an adapter for mine to use a better scope. Check the Astrotrac Yahoo e-group for good information.ED M : Yes, the polar scope is included.
DALTON L : Will this hold my 300mm f4 Nikon af lens with my D810? Pretty heavy setup. I'm new to step photography and want to get the best for the money while still being able to use my heavier lens. Thank you in advance for you help!Daniel S : Apologize for the delay in responding. In regards to the Astrotrac, it is an impressive piece of workman ship and per the specifications will support up to 33 pounds. More than enough for your 810 and 300 f4.0 which at most will top out at six pounds. You will also need to factor in a tripod head between the Astrotrac and the camera. I use a old Bogen Model 168 head that comes in at 2 pounds. To use this you will need two tripod heads. One to mount the Astrotrac to and the other to mount on the Astrotrac to mount your camera to. Of more concern for weight capacity than the Astrotrac will be the mount between the Astrotrac and your tripod. You need a tripod head that will allow you to easily perform a polar alignment of the mount. The two that I recommend are the Manfrotto 400 geared head which has a capacity of 22 pounds and the 410 Junior which has a capacity of 11 pounds. The quick release plate for this head has an option for either 3/8" tripod screw or 1/4 " tripod screw. I have two plates, one with each so I don't need to make the change. When used with the Astrotrac, you need a 3/8" mounting screw to mount the Astrotrac to your tripod head and the Astrotrac has a 3/8" screw for mounting your camera tripod head. Adding up the weight of the Astrotrac (2.4 pounds), the lens (3.2 pounds), the D810 (2 pounds), and the ball head (2 pounds) you will find the 410 junior is well within the load capacity. You will also need to have a solid tripod that can support the weight of all of the equipment. I use mine for wide field photography with a manual focus lens in the range of 20 to 35 mm. Be careful to remember to turn off your light for the polar scope, carry extra batteries for it. I also put a short length of pipe insulation material on it to ensure I don't accidentally knock the polar scope off the mount. If you buy it, you will understand what I am saying when you use it. Looking forward to using my Astrotrac at Bryce Canyon next month.DAVE B : Yes, but recognize that the AstroTrac itself isn't the weakest link in the chain. This is hard to understand if you've never seen the complete rig, so I suggest searching Google images for "astrotrack setup". You'll notice that all of the pictures show a stack of 5 pieces of hardware (starting at the ground and moving up): tripod, geared tip/tilt mount, astrotrac, ballhead, camera. If you're going to use this body and lens combo, you'll need a decent geared mount and ballhead, as these are the two pieces that will prevent the camera from slipping. And, of course, a tripod that is rated for the weight of the entire rig.JONATHAN M : In my opinion, yes. I've only used a 300mm f/2.8 with a 2x extender attached to a D5100 (and possibly with my D800 also). I also use a very heavy tripod to mount the Astrotrac to, and use a large ball head (RRS) on the Astrotrac to mount the lens and camera to...KEN E : Yes. I have the D810 and astrotrac and have used it with 24-70 2.8. 12-24 f2.8 and my new 300mm f4 Fresnel lens which is lighter then your older 300 but should work fine. The tracker has the 12 inch arm and a worm drive so it really geared down. The biggest problem will be a sturdy tripod to take the setup. I got the heaviest and cheapest steal tripod, not what I'd normally use but perfect for stars Ken EisSTUART R : Dalton, Your gear is a little heavy for some lens orientations to the mount, like being tangent to the frame, but carefully balanced, it should work fine. Remember that weight bearing in the ball head to the two tangential arms, must also be considered when balancing the load. Never exceed length or total weight of the gear support or tripod. It's more about common sense with expensive photo gear, and how it behaves as on a tripod, versus brute force. Think balance as a goal.Alin T : well, depends what you have the camera on. if the ballhead and tripod hold it, yes, it'll hold itCHARLIE S : Ure, it will hold your setup with ease. I sometimes use my 500mm and Canon 1d Mk IV on mine. The key is great polar alignment.JAMEEL H : Yes this setup should be no problem for the astrotrac. There are examples of heavier setup than this in use.

Reviews about this item

Review Summary

2017-08-01T11:02:45

Rated 5 out of 5

Best Compact/Portable Astro Tracker in Market

I received the unit and automatically fell in love with the materials and built. I knew that this unit would take a beating from traveling to location setup/breakdown. I have taken it with me out of state and traveled on airlines with no issues. The tracking is superb. Nothing beats it. Though online has mentioned so units needing some collimating on the polar scope, mine has been perfect for the most part. I could do more collimating but to be honest I don't have the time to fiddle with it. I've used my 350mm lenses on it = 560mm focal length on Canon T6I body and gotten the time indicated on it without an external auto guider. (3 mins at times) It is costly and the most expensive for portrable trackers out in market. But I'm happy with its intended use. To TRAVEL and go on location with minutes or setup time.

Julius G.

2017-03-07T09:38:34

Rated 5 out of 5

Gold standard for tracking devices

As they say you get what you pay for. Astrotrac is the gold standard for trackers outside of full fledged equatorial mounts.

Jameel H.

2015-05-16T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Wonderful device!

I have used AT for years, taking it to high mountain sites when I travel, and to desert star parties. I use the T-3100 wedge; it is super-accurate and convenient for polar aligning, and nicely machined. I have a portfolio of fabulous star clouds with this AT. To test accuracy, I used a 300mm telephoto with a CCD camera/5 min exposures in Sagittarius (with the TH3010 mount/head + counterweight)and no guiding. Pin-point stars! As with any equatorial set-up, take the time to calibrate & polar-align. It is a snap, once you get the hang of it. It is also fun for the hobbyist to do some add-ons and improvements (e.g., a quick release plate, mounting hardware, etc.) The AT forum is excellent. The tips it gave are now second nature for me in using this device reliably.

Douglas

2014-02-24T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Very good and well engineered

I wish Adorama had carried the wedge made by Astrotrac. I had to order this from a telescope company in California. If you buy the Astrotrac the wedge is a necessary piece of equipment. The wedge makes alignment much easier.

Dick

2013-01-14T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Overly pleased....

The Polar Alignment Scope MUST be properly aligned before using. It is not preset. It is not difficult to do, just time consuming. The PAS also falls out of the holder. This, too, can be remedied with a gasket. For the price of the Astrotrac, these 2 items should be standard. Now the good stuff...I use a Canon T3i and have no problem getting 3 to 4 minute exposures with a 180mm Nikon AI ED lens. Setup is a breeze. I use a Manfrotto 701 head and a 496 Ball Head for the camera on top of a Bogen 3001 Tripod. I have even used a Sirui Travel tripod (~3#)on windless nights with spectacular results. This is not only a great travel setup, I have been using this in the driveway instead of dragging out and setting up the EQ mount.

AstroTom

2012-06-09T21:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Excellent concept but poor support

The concept behind AstroTrac is quite good, but the implementation is weak. It it very portable and has a great potential, however the documentation is out of date and does not correspond with the polar scope reticle, making it difficult to figure out how to properly fine tune the alignment. There appears to be no support for the unit since emails to the support site remain unanswered. A great idea and very portable, but overpriced given the outdated and inadequate documentation and non-existent support by the manufacturer. Expect a fair amount of frustration if you plan on any long-duration exposures and need to perform accurate polar alignment.

Ken

2011-09-03T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Good tracking for astronomy

After purchase, my heavy duty tripod, DSLR digital camera, and the Astrotrac became good friends. I have dealt with heavy and cumbersome tracking mounts taking 20 minutes to an hour on setup. This setup requires less than 10 minutes from attaching to the tripod and having a camera ready for astrophotography. For the price, its well constructed, lite, and very easy to use, and comes with very adequate instructions on setup. It's worth the investment.

STUART R.

2010-07-22T21:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Superb instrument

This motor drive for astronomy is superb for travel. I used it on Easter Island for the July 2010 solar eclipse. It is lightweight and VERY accurate.

David S.

2009-09-20T21:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Astrotrac

The astrotrac works as advertised. The add on package Adorama put together is poorly thought out. The only way I could get the 12v cord to reach the astrotrac was to being the astrtrac up to the car window. It's 4 ft long; needs to be about 15 ft at a *minimum*

fyngyrz

About AstroTrac TT320X-AG

FEATURED REVIEWS

Superb instrument

By David S.

This motor drive for astronomy is superb for travel. I used it on Easter Island for the July 2010 solar eclipse. It is lightweight and VERY accurate.

Best Compact/Portable Astro Tracker in Market

By Julius G.

I received the unit and automatically fell in love with the materials and built. I knew that this unit would take a beating from traveling to location setup/breakdown. I have taken it with me out of state and traveled on airlines with no issues. The tracking is superb. Nothing beats it. Though online has mentioned so units needing some collimating on the polar scope, mine has been perfect for the most part. I could do more collimating but to be honest I don't have the time to fiddle with...

View full Review

The AstroTrac opens up a whole new area of photography. Now your camera can reveal the heavens in a way which isn't possible with the naked eye.

What does it do?
Most objects in the night sky are very dim, so photographing them requires long exposures, normally between 1 and 5 minutes. Standing on Earth, it appears that we are stationary and the sky is rotating.

During an exposure of several minutes, this movement will show up as star trails in photographs. The AstroTrac follows the movement of the sky with great accuracy eliminating star trails and ensuring sharp images with pinpoint' stars.

How does it work?
Using an AstroTrac couldn't be easier. Setup takes just a few minutes using standard photo kit. Point your camera at the target in the sky, make sure it is properly focused and start the exposure. A few minutes later, end the exposure and enjoy the fantastic images on the back of your camera!

Portability
Less than 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) in weight and less than 44 cm (17.5") long,the TT320x is extremely portable and can easily be carried with other equipment. The TT320x can be easily carried in airline hand luggage under the new luggage size and weight restrictions.

Worldwide
Not only is the TT320x extremely portable, but its patent pending drive mechanismalso makes it useable anywhere in the northern or southern hemispheres without the need to press buttons, flick switches or reprogram.

In the northern hemisphere, simply unstow the TT320x anticlockwise and you are ready for 2 hours precision tracking. In the southern hemisphere, unstow the TT320x in the clockwise direction instead.

Polar alignment
The TT320x has a built in polar arm into which a polar scope locates to make polar alignment quick and easy. For transportation and storage the polar arm tucks away neatly between the drivearms. The polar arm rotates and clicks every 15 degrees, allowing the polar scope to be positioned with a unobstructed view of the Celestial Pole clear of cameras ortelescopes.

Polar alignment is quick and easy. Simply insert the polar scope through the hole in the polar arm. Powerful magnets in the polar arm will ensure the polar scope remains flush with the polar arm. Rotate the polar scope until the reticleis correctly aligned. Then make fine adjustments to correctly align on the celestial pole.

Power
The long drive arms of the TT320x allow a small motor to drive a relatively largeload. This reduces the power requirement such that the unit only pulls around 0.2 Amps maximum at 12 V.

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What's in the box:

  • AstroTrac Illuminated Polar Scope for the AstroTrac TT320X-AG
  • 12 Volt Car Battery Adapter
  • AstroTrac 8xAA Battery Holder.

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