My camera mount finally gave out during a meteor shower

I was out in the desert near Flagstaff last week trying to catch the Perseids. My old barn door tracker started slipping around 2am and ruined about 40 minutes of exposures. I ended up just sitting there watching the sky with my naked eye instead. Guess I need to upgrade to a motorized mount now. Has anyone here built a homemade tracker that actually held up for long exposures?

2 comments

2 Comments

stella_baker10d agoProlific Poster

Blame the cheap ones, they always let you down when you need them most. It's like buying a budget tent that leaks the first time it rains. I've seen this pattern with people trying to save money on gear, they end up spending double later on something decent. A motorized mount is worth the cash if you're serious about astrophotography. Better to do it right once than fight with a janky setup for years.

laura_black3110d ago

About 47 minutes into my last attempt with a homemade tracker I built from a telescope mount and a wooden cutting board, it started doing a slow wobble that made every 90-second exposure look like a drunken starfish. I sat there watching my camera shake and just laughed because my DIY budget was three dollars and a dream. You know you're in trouble when you're lying on the ground in the desert at 2am trying to hold the tripod still with your hand. I ended up just staring at the sky too, which honestly was better than fighting with my janky wooden contraption. My next build might involve a washing machine motor if I can figure out how to attach a camera to it.