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SKY WATCHER S20520 REVIEW.

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One of the very first equipment I built as a teen with an interest in astrophotography was a portable tracking mount.

I was fascinated by the trailed images published in the space magazines and was desperate to get my hands on one of them so that I too can take such beautiful photographs but they were very expensive and not easily available which made me build my own.

However, my homebuilt version took several iterations to even get close and the constant frustration I suffered at having failed yet again each of those times was horrendous.

However, the times are very different now and in today’s market, consumer scope manufacturers have literally flooded the market with compact and precise tracking mounts that could be used to capture those breathtaking shots.

The ones available on the market today are generally focused on accommodating DSLRs and wide focal length lenses.

And although there are many brands today that manufacture such equipment with relative authority, the one that stands out for me is one named Skywatcher.

They have been long known to produce mounts that are larger and sturdier than their competition with extra focus on timelapse motion control as well as tracking.

Today we will be looking at a very popular product of theirs’ called the Skywatchers Sky Adventurer S2052.

Sky Watcher – Basic Overview.

Video by Peter Zelinka Peter Zelinka

In the box.

While the Star Adventurer can be purchased as a standalone, people generally opt in to buy the whole package that includes a latitude base, a counterweight, an equatorial head, polar scope illuminator, ballhead adapter and of course, the Star Adventurer.

Setting up.

The latitude adjuster gives a strong base to the Star Adventurer and has compelling fine modifications for both the height and azimuth of the polar axis. It likewise covers the full range from 0 to 90 degrees, which makes it speedy and simple to change to flat or vertical panning modes for timelapse.

The Star Adventurer unit alone weighs 1.2kg in addition to another 0.5kg for the latitude base.

The most effortless methodology for mounting the camera is to utilize the included ballhead connector, which attaches into the Vixen style dovetail on the Star Adventurer.

You’ll have to give your own ballhead that is sturdy. The locking screws connect into a recessed dimple on the dovetail bar.

The huge screw would be anything but difficult to work with even with gloves on and there will never be any worry that the ballhead connector could slide out regardless of whether it wasn’t tightened appropriately.

The Star Adventurer additionally incorporates an Equatorial Head and Counterweight for a progressively adjusted approach.

The declinition head isn’t mechanized yet includes a knob for object centering even at longer focal lengths.

The polar scope illuminator has all the earmarks of being something of an after-thought and is lamentably not worked in to the unit.

While it doesn’t provide even light, unlike most illuminators, the luminosity can be dimmed to very low levels, a quality which sets it apart.

The standard method to control the unit is with 4 AA batteries (it does takes a smidgen of work to expel them from the compartment). Indeed, even with some old rechargeable batteries I was getting a few evenings’ worth of use out of them.

With new batteries, it is expected to run quite a while longer or you plug in a 5V battery with a mini USB connector.

Performance.

The Star Adventurer is designed specifically to cater to wide-field photography. They work great and with wide lenses, you can get decent long exposures that are limited by only your accuracy of polar alignment.

Autoguiding.

One fairly astounding element of the Star Adventurer is the capacity to auto-control the unit, by means of a standard autoguider port. Managing is just in RA (right-ascension) as there is no engine on the DEC (declination) axis.

I can’t imagine many circumstances where I would utilize this since the additional weight of a polar scope and guide camera would make for a quite hefty load.

However, for certain individuals with a specific setup or imaging objective maybe this element will discover some utilization.

The timelapse function.

It’s a positive sign that there has just been a firmware update to improve the timelapse execution of this mount.

The guidance manual alludes to the first setup, wherein anything quicker than sidereal rate, the unit would waver 60 degrees forward and backward (to counteract links catching) however would begin from the center of that range so the principal skillet would be just 30 degrees left or right.

This would have been very prohibitive for daytime timelapse pans. Rationale has immediately won and the firmware currently moves 180 degrees before turning around heading, making it extremely fast and simple to setup a speedy flat or vertical pan for daytime or night timelapse.

At sidereal and 0.5x rate, the unit will continue moving one way continuously.

On the off chance that your sole premium was timelapse movement control, there are different items available that give a more prominent level of programming control.

However the Star Adventurer is right up there for a moderate price and simple setup procedure. In the event that you like having the option to do timelapse just as utilizing this for following astrophotography then the Star Adventurer speaks to incredible worth.

Since the scope base effectively covers the full range from 0-90 degrees (for both flat and vertical pans) the Star Adventurer is a winner when it comes to timelapse capturing.

Additional equipment for your Star Adventurer.

90 degrees polar viewfinder.

If you are not observing the skies from the equator, the celestial pole is very high up in the sky. In fact, the more distance between you and the equator, the more the Star Adventurer has to adjust to align itself to the celestial pole.

As you can imagine, the aligning process therefore can be stressful and uncomfortable.

This is where the 90 degree polar viewfinder comes in handy.

They usually also have 1X and 2X magnification for perfect polar alignment. There are plenty of brands that make these viewfinders and they are available not only for the Star Adventurer but also other popular mounts.

A compass.

The Star Adventurer needs to point either north or south and to determine direction, you must have a compass with you at all times.

There are several options for you to choose from including digital compasses and complicated GPS systems but I prefer using a classic compass that is not dependent on a power source to work properly. We recommend this compass on Amazon. Find the latest price here.

A good quality tripod.

The Star Adventurer can be mounted on a tripod given that it is sturdy, stable and well built.

The tripod should ideally have two section legs and a relatively high load capacity to support the Star Adventurer and additional equipment that would be mounted on top. It is preferable to get one that can dump vibrations fast.

The brand Skywatcher was not the first to have come out with such portable tracking mounts but they have done a wonderful job with the Star Adventurer.

It is a complete package that any astrophotography enthusiast on a budget must get their hands on. It is heavy but also allows substantially more payload than its competitors and comfortably houses full frame cameras with lenses without straining itself.

The combination of flexible tracking rates, quality built-in polar scope and latitude base plus the suitability for timelapse should make this quite an attractive option. We have written a article on tripods called – Best Budget Tripods Under $150 you can find it here.

Sky Watcher S20520 Review.