Sky Watcher EQM-35 – Fully Computerized GoTo German Equatorial Telescope Mount – Belt-driven, Astrophotography ready, Computerized Hand Controller with 42,900+ Celestial Object Database,White

I normally don't leave reviews anymore these days but figured I would leave one today because I am jazzed on Astrophotography and this mount! Why the EQM35? Well, it’s a good budget mount at $725, it can also handle up to 22 pounds of weight so if I ever outgrow the RedCat Telescope I can upgrade to a larger APO. Also, this mount offers a GOTO system so you can plug in the coordinates into the SynScan hand control unit and find 49,000 objects in the sky. Out of the box, it can track 30-60 seconds in the stars. I have been averaging about 30-40 seconds without guiding. Overall this is a great setup however there are some drawbacks. First, the setup requires power so you need a dedicated power supply for the EQM-3. Either you need a power cell that supports a 12V cigarette lighter or a dedicated power supply. Since I don’t plan on leaving my Bortles Class 4 backyard for the current time being, I purchased the Celestron AC Adapter – 5 Amp Continuous power, Black (18780) which was recommended by the Sky-Watcher customer service team whom I can say is darn right amazing! Next, it’s more complex so when you set this up not only do you need to polar align the mount you also need to configure either 1, 2, or 3-star alignment so you can easily move around the sky. So far the single star alignment was been working great for me! Finally, it’s bulkier than say an iOptron Sky-Guider Pro so it’s not as easy to just pick up and move, so if you do move it during a session you need polar align and star align again. Even with the few drawbacks, it’s a fantastic mount and so stable! I have been really pleased with the setup, instructions, and overall solid build quality even though it’s an entry mount. Also, solid customer service is a big plus! As long as I don’t keep going down the rabbit hole of buying more astrophotography equipment this setup should last me for multiple years. I also included an image of M11 the Wild Duck Cluster as well. -------- Issues / Solutions I have had with the mount #1 When star aligning the mount I could do a fine adjustment with the arrow pad after pointing to VEGA. I wasn't sure but suspected I needed to update the firmware which can be done with a USB Printer cable and software from the main SkyWatcher.com website. First, plug in the mount and USB cable to the SysScan hand unit and check in the device manager on Windows under ports. Mine was COM3. Next, turn off the mount and unplug the USB printer cable then while holding down 0 and 8 on the SysScan hand unit turn on the power. It will then boot into the boot loader mode, plug in the USB cable, and run the software to upgrade. The current version is 4.39.15 as of 5.10.2020. Once the process updates shut down the system and unplug the USB cable. #2 The SysScan holder unit slides around a lot and I dropped the handheld unit multiple times as the holder was sliding around when I grabbed the SysScan. I put two rubber bands on the leg in between the holder unit and it works great now without moving any more. I have a picture of it attached to the post.

Tl;dr: This is a fantastic, solid, stable, highly capable, mount. The tripod alone is almost worth the price, it makes most tripods for mounts in this category look like they were made out of fly-fishing poles. The 'modular' design is a bit weird, but the mount controller has a usb-b port, making computer control straightforward - if you have a phd in computer science (luckily, I do - nothing is 'straightforward' in astrophotography!). It is heavy though, probably not one for a camping trip or frequent 'dark site' trips unless you are much younger than me (78). Now for the rant: This mount has bushings, rather than ball or roller bearings, on both RA and DEC axis. (Minor peeve - 'bushings' ARE 'bearings'. They aren't ball or roller bearings, but beware of any online advice saying this mount doesn't have 'bearings'. The writer has already revealed how little s/he knows.) The bushings often come from the factory extremely tight and stiff. Perhaps the factory assumes they will loosen as they 'work in'. In any case, this can result in poor, erratic (jerky) tracking. Ok for visual use, maybe, horrible for astrophotography. There are simple fixes for this. See esp 'Sky-Watcher EQM-35 - making it work properly (BELOW 1" RMS GUIDING) in 3 simple steps!' by Kamil Pekala on YT. 'Simple' - well, maybe. I bought mine from Amazon resale for a nice discount. Perfect condition, except the previous buyer obviously attempted an overhaul similar to what Kamil describes, and failed. The DEC locking collar was extremely stiff, and the previous owner was unable to loosen it, creating minor damage in the process. Luckily, nothing I couldn't work around. So. Do I recommend this mount: ABSOLUTELY, if you are comfortable around mechanicals and parts that can bind and be a bear to get to release. HOWEVER, If you just want something plug-and-play, and have never played with engines, axles, grease, and that sort of stuff, well, maybe this isn't the mount for you.

It should probably have a 5 star review because I do have a limited view of the sky so a 3 star alignment is a bit tricky. With that being said, the polar scope and alignment is pretty easy and when doing a 2 or 3 star alignment it tells you how far off axis you are. When aligned properly the tracking is excellent. I have been able to take 2 minute exposures with very little or no drift. The tripod is solid and well built. The only issue that I did have was the goto function. I got in touch with Skywatcher support and they are very good. Basically the bubble level on the head isn't always accurate. So I did what they said and leveled it using a different bubble level and that increase the accuracy quite a bit. It still isn't perfect, but it is pretty good.

Excelente calidad del producto, muy precisa en su funcionamiento, realmente estoy contento en haber adquirido esta marca de montura ecuatorial, altamente recomendable para visual, fotografía de campo amplio, planetario y cielo profundo, únicamente cambiando las características de los telescopios y uso de la cámara DRLS.

Items delivered in good time from US with all custom clearance sorted by Amazon hassle free. The tripods are strong and sturdy with no wobbles. Once learnt to set up, very easy to use. Even with 1 star alignment after pilot scope polar alignment with Polaris, it goes to target accurately and tracks well. Use with a Sony A7 mirrorless camera and a Alkar AClL 200mm lens, balanced with just one counter weight, 5 mins exposed picture show round and sharp stars. Without guiding scope, the target object stays at the centre of the frame after 2 hrs of shooting. Very happy for my equipment setting.

Works well with a DSLR or a Celestron 8SE M CASS telescope. Excellent performance. Arrived from supplier in NJ in record time.

Comme plusieurs autres clients je n'ai reçu qu'une seule boîte, le trépied et les contrepoids sont manquants, heureusement que le livreur d'Intelcom a laissé une photo lors de la livraison, celà prouve que je n'ai pas tout reçu.

La montura es realmente robusta , fue fácil el ensamblarla , venia muy bien empacada y protegida, trae dos manuales uno de ellos para la Guía automática, estoy muy satisfecho con la compra .