So, you have decided you want to take your astrophotography to the next level… maybe you want to capture more detail in the Milky Way core, or perhaps dabble with deep space objects like Andromeda or Orion or maybe you came from my all in one astrophotography tutorial. Whatever it is, you know you are looking at buying a star tracker.

So what is a star tracker and how do you use them? Simply put, it is a device which rotates your camera with either the Earth, Moon, or Sun, thus allowing for longer exposure of celestial objects. Trackers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the main principles remain about the same in between each model. With that said, it may be hard to choose which one is best for you.

This guide will walk you through each model on the market today so you can make an educated decision on which will suit your needs best. This is not going to walk you through how to set up and use your tracker. That information can be found in my guide here.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any single one brand or product on this list. The tracker I own is a result of my own research which has led me to the tracker that fits my needs. Let’s jump right into it, there is a lot to cover.

The DIY Barn Door Tracker

Perhaps you are handy and on a tight budget. This is a build your own tracker! These work by combining a few pieces of wood and a motor. One piece of wood has a 3/8 female thread on it to secure it to your tripod, and the other piece has a 3/8 male to mount your ball head. The two pieces of wood are held together by the motor to allow it to spin, and the motor is set to move at the Earth’s sidereal rate (23 hours and 57 minutes per day). You can buy all components for about $20, and probably assemble the entire thing in an hour. The tracker gets its name as the pieces of wood effectively look like “barn doors.”

This low budget, hands on approach to tracking will certainly improve your widefield shots, and for deep space it is absolutely better than nothing. It is hard to beat the capabilities for the price, so long as you are willing to make it yourself. There is certainly going to be some periodic error when using these, so it may be best to limit your exposures to less than 1 minute depending on your focal length. I also would be cautious of how much weight you would want to put on a barn door tracker, I would keep it to smaller DSLR’s and mirrorless with lightweight lenses. Portability may be a slight issue here as well as these tend to be fragile. It would not be something I would want to bring on a hike.

Pros:

Very low budget
Relatively simple to use
Great way to dive into the world of tracking

Cons:

Have to build it yourself
Fragile
A bit bulky and odd
Only ideal for lightweight setups
Not expandable, no guider or remote capable
Sidereal tracking only, no options for the Moon or the Sun.

My take: this is a great way to step into the world of tracking on a tight budget while also offering a fun side project. This is ideal if you only shoot every now and then, but those wishing to be more frequent with astrophotography may find themselves outgrowing it quickly.

The NYX Tracker

The NYX tracker is basically a barn door tracker that comes with all of the parts you need to put it together. Maybe you still want to DIY a tracker, but don’t know where to start with cutting wood and buying motors, etc. This approach is a far easier way to build one yourself, albeit at a higher cost. Still, as trackers go it is very reasonable.

Pros:

Low budget
Relatively simple to use
Great way to dive into the world of tracking
Easier to put together than a barn door tracker as it comes with all components pre-cut.

Cons:

Still have to build it yourself
Fragile
A bit bulky and odd
Only ideal for lightweight setups
Not expandable, no guider or remote capable
Sidereal tracking only, no options for the Moon or the Sun.
As far as I can tell it is currently sold out online, and there is no word on when more will be made.

My take: Just like the barn door tracker, this is a fun little side project to take on and will get you much better results than standard untracked astrophotography.

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3

This little thing is awesome! It is a relatively light weight and portable mechanical tracker which is fairly capable of even some deep space objects depending on the setup. It features a full fledged polar scope and offers an alt-az wedge as an option to make polar aligning much easier. It is also relatively well made and is pretty well priced. The downside is that it is a mechanical tracker and will need to be reset after 60 minutes. The good thing about this though is it never requires battery power.

Pros

No assembly required, works right out of the box
Polar scope for polar alignment
Relatively small and lightweight
Great if you don’t want to DIY but still have a tight budget
No battery required
Reasonably capable of imaging bigger deep space targets with some lightweight gear
Well made

Cons

Only 60 minutes of tracking at a time
Limited load capacity, still not capable of big zoom lenses or a mosaic setup
Alt-az wedge is a separate, but pricey option
Polar scope is detachable, can be cumbersome
Sidereal tracking only, no options for the Moon or the Sun.

My take: Great for anyone expanding their hobby and are looking for something that will last them quite some time. Also solid for anyone looking to travel with their gear. But, if you want to use heavier gear or shoot panos, you may find yourself limited with this option.

Move Shoot Move

This is the first tracker on the list I would recommend for hikers. It is extremely compact and lightweight at only 1.1 lbs for the device only. It really is a hiker's dream. It has a built-in battery, but can also be powered externally for extended run times. There is no tracking limit unlike the models above, and it can be used as a makeshift timelapse rotator when mounted horizontally.

With great portability comes compromise. Like the other mounts above, this should only really be used to image widefield Milky Way and nightscapes. It is capable of some bigger deep space objects with a lightweight mirrorless setup, and you can add in tracked mosaics as well, but there is still a chance much of your exposures will have star trails if you load the mount with a heavy ball head and pano head.

The mount is typically optioned with a laser for polar alignment, but I find this a bit imprecise and some regions may even forbid this. I also feel that can be a bit distracting when using it around other people. For those reasons, I would recommend spending the extra $10 and getting the actual polar scope. This mount also does not come with an alt-az wedge which I would recommend for easy polar aligning, but that option brings its price up to the more capable iOptron Skytracker Pro which comes standard with that option. The tradeoff here is maximum portability with the MSM.

Pros:

Easily offers the most compact form factor for the price
Can be also used a Timelapse rotator
Very simple setup
Ideal for hiking
No tracking limit
Expandable power with USB port
Can be used with a lightweight pano setup

Cons:

Polar scope is not standard
Price is close to the more capable iOptron Skytracker pro when configured with alt-az wedge
5 hour battery life is relatively short
Not the most ideal for deep space objects

My take: this is the one to get if you plan on hiking a lot and only plan to shoot wide-mid range focal lengths. My recommendation would be to add in the alt-az wedge and polar scope to make polar alignment a breeze. While this puts it on par for price to the iOptron Skytracker Pro, it still has a huge lead in portability

iOptron Skytracker Pro

Now we are stepping up in size, price, and of course capability. The V1 of this tracker was the first star tracker I have ever owned, and it comes from a brand that has always made a great astrophotography mount. It is compact while being lightweight and easy to transport. It is something you can for sure take on a hike, just maybe not as compact as the MSM. Additionally, it has a load capacity suitable for larger deep space objects, and has an actual motor drive to allow for essentially “unlimited” tracking.

There is also a built in battery and it offers modes to track the Moon and Sun in addition to the stars. There is also a “1/2 mode” which sets the tracker at half speed so you can shoot a single exposure instead of doing a foreground. Honestly I would personally stay away from this feature as both your sky and foreground end up becoming blurred, so it is best to just shoot a tracked sky then an untracked foreground and blend each layer. There is a detachable illuminated polar scope included and the alt-az base for easy polar alignment comes standard. There is an optional declination bracket with counterweight as well for shooting deep space.

Pros:

No tracking limit
Illuminated polar scope and alt-az base come standard
Compact and light
Well constructed
Brand name with good customer support
Multiple tracking modes
Very usable for deep space objects
Built-in rechargeable battery

Cons:

Counterweight with shaft and bracket is a separate option
Polar scope is detachable, can be cumbersome
Bracket to attach ball head to the tracker can be known for slipping, the knobs need to be tightened down significantly
No camera port for camera control, which is surprising at this price point
Mid-tier level pricing

My take: this is ideal if you still want to travel and hike with your gear, but also want the added bonus of being able to shoot some more deep space objects. This is the one to get over the Move Shoot Move if you are willing to sacrifice some portability for more capability.

Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Mini

Similarly specced to the iOptron Skytracker Pro, this is Sky Watcher’s direct competitor. Like iOptron, Sky Watcher is a very reputable brand for astrophotography equipment. The mount differs in several ways, and those differences may sway you one way or the other.

The mount is compact, and unlike the iOptron its illuminated polar scope is built into the mount. But, there is no built-in battery. You need to use 2 AA’s. However, there is a mini-usb port which allows the mount to be powered externally. This may actually make it last longer than the iOptron. Additionally, there is also a snap port for camera shutter control, and it also has built-in W-Fi for control as well. Personally I like to stay away from the complexity of adding Wi-Fi and apps to things, but I see the merit in here as it is useful to change the tracking mode. Still, I would rather just have a button or switch built onto the mount though personally.

The alt-az base does not come standard, which is a bit of a let down considering the iOptron is only $3 more at the time of writing and it does. The assembly which holds the ball head to the mount is a lot more robust however.

Pros:

No tracking limit
Illuminated polar scope is easy to use and built-in
Very compact and light considering its capabilities
Well constructed and a sturdy ball head support
Brand name with decent customer support
Very usable for deep space objects
Expandable power with Mini USB port
Camera control capable with SNAP port

Cons:

Alt-az polar aligning bracket, counterweight assembly, and declination bracket are a separate and pricey option. When bundled, they make the price comparable to the much more capable iOptron Skyguider Pro.
Multiple tracking modes only selectable via console Wi-Fi app
AA batteries power the mount.. I recommend you purchase rechargeable AA’s

My take: this one is confusing. The benefits of purchasing this model over the iOptron Skytracker Pro I feel are made irrelevant when you factor in the additional price for the alt-az base which comes standard with the iOptron. Unless you really need expandable power capabilities, I think this model would be hard to recommend over its competitor.

iOptron Skyguider Pro

Not to be confused with the Skytracker Pro, this model is iOptron’s top of the line star tracker offering. It features camera control support, guiding support via ST-4, hand controller support, a built-in rechargeable battery and it has an integrated illuminated polar scope. Additionally, the mechanism holding either a ball head or the declination bracket is beefed up for adequate grip. The standard configuration is the full package which comes with the alt-az base, declination bracket, and counterweight with shaft. There are also modes for sun, moon, 1/2 speed, and even a manual slew feature which is handy for finding deep space targets.

It has an 11 lbs load capacity which is the highest so far, and it can easily handle large-medium sized deep space objects. I have used it with a heavy DSLR and 200-500mm lens setup with a guider piggybacked and it has done just fine. The mount is the heaviest of the bunch mentioned here thus far, but it still is portable enough to be taken on hiking trails which I do with mine.

Pros

No tracking limit
Built-in battery
Built-in illuminated polar scope
Alt-az base, counterweight with shaft, and declination bracket come standard
Manual slew control
11 lbs load capacity making it very capable for its size and weight class
Guiding support and remote control support
Extremely well built and durable
Handles deep space and pano setups really well

Cons

Expensive, at the time of writing $488 USD without tax.
Alt-az base is flimsy and imprecise for this price point. It is acceptable on the Skytracker Pro, but this much more expensive mount deserves better.
Declination bracket is not as smooth, making it difficult to frame up deep space objects
No option for timelapsing or Wi-Fi like the Star Adventurer below
No way to dither without using a guider

My take: This is my personal mount of choice as it offers a few key advantages for hikers over the below mentioned Sky Watcher Star Adventurer, but can also be used for deep space when paired with the declination bracket and counterweight. This is a mount that will last you for years to come without the need for upgrading unless you plan to get a full sized EQ for deep space.

Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

Like the iOptron Skyguider Pro, this model is not to be confused with the smaller Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Mini. It has a much more capable 11 lbs load capacity and comes standard with an alt-az base, polar scope, and declination bracket with counterweight. It takes 4 AA batteries and can also be powered externally via mini USB. Just like the iOptron Skyguider Pro, it has a port for a ST-4 guider, manual slew control, camera control, and multiple shooting modes selectable via a mode dial. This tracker also features a 6x or 12x function for timelapses and is also controllable via Wi-Fi. The main benefit in Wi-Fi control here though is the ability to make the mount dither in between shots and program your camera, something that is not possible on the iOptron.

There are also two more big benefits over the iOptron here. The alt-az base is way more fluid and precise, and the declination bracket offers a fine tune adjustment. This is extremely handy for finding deep space objects. The polar scope on this mount is built-in like the iOptron, however the illuminator is a separate little part which detaches which can be frustrating. This mount is also slightly bigger and bulkier than the iOptron, and the mode dial switch can turn on easily in a backpack.

Pros:

No tracking limit
Alt-az base, counterweight with shaft, and declination bracket come standard
Manual slew control
11 lbs load capacity making it very capable for its size and weight class. Handles deep space and pano setups like a champ.
Guiding support
WiFi is great in this case for tinkering with the mount as well as the dither function.
Declination bracket is super precise making it much easier to frame up targets at longer focal lengths.
Alt-az base is relatively well made.
Can also be used as a timelapse panning head
Expandable power via Mini-USB

Cons:

Expensive, at the time of writing $449 USD without taxes, with a price increase to $520 USD soon.
AA batteries power the mount.. I recommend you purchase rechargeable AA’s
Polar scope illuminator is detachable, making it sometimes cumbersome.
Mode dial selector is flimsy and easy to bump into a different mode by mistake.
Battery cover door is also a bit flimsy and easy to knock off… I suggest gaff tape!
Slightly bigger size making it a little less portable to travel and hike with.

My take: this is the tracker to get if you plan to prioritize deep space objects. The bigger size and slightly more cumbersome portability due to the detached polar scope illuminator and quirky mode dial make it a little less hiker friendly than the iOptron, although certainly still doable for sure. The more precise declination bracket, dithering via wifi, and better alt-az base are a huge plus when shooting at longer focal lengths which the iOptron cannot compete with.

Fornax LighTrack II

This is the last tracker on this list and also the most capable. But, it is the least portable of the bunch to the point where you would not want to hike with it. It is also the most expensive on this list. The optional alt-az wedge and counterweight kit nearly double the price as well. There is no internal power option, so it must be powered by an external 12V power supply (not even a USB external phone charger will work), and it has a tracking limit of 107 minutes before it needs to be reset.

But, it has an extremely precise only 1 arcsecond of periodic error. The other mounts on this list are between 50-60 arcseconds. This negates the use of a guider while allowing for even longer exposures. For this reason, this mount shines when it comes to deep space astrophotography while also maximizing portability in that regard. For those who do focus more on deep space with an emphasis on travel to dark sites, this is the one to get. While being way larger than the iOptron Skyguider Pro and Sky Watcher Star Adventurer, it is still far more portable than a full sized equatorial mount such as the Sky Watcher HEQ-6r Pro.

Pros:

Extremely precise, barely any periodic error
Excellent for deep space, even at longer focal lengths of 1000mm
No need for external guiding, although it is supported.
Options for lunar and solar tracking
Well made with great robust build quality
13.2 lbs load capacity

Cons:

The most expensive portable tracker mount on the market today when you factor in the wedge and counterweight kit. The price competes with full sized EQ’s
Heavy and bulky
No built in power
107 minute tracking limit
External 12V power only.

My take: This is such a good mount. In terms of capability, there is no competition between this and the others on this list. But, I am a little conflicted on how I could see this fitting in, especially with the recent release of the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer GTI which is not on this list as I consider that more of a full EQ than a star tracker. The reason being is when you factor in the price for the accessories, the Fornax is more expensive than the GTI. You lose the portability of a typical tracker, and what you gain in deep space capability with the lack of periodic error is more than made up by the GTI having computer software control support for PHD2 guiding, Sharpcap polar alignment, and of course dithering. Unless you really need the precision combined with portability and don’t mind paying the premium for this, I would recommend stepping up to a full sized equatorial mount at this price point. If you just are sticking to wide shots for the Milky Way, the other trackers on this list should serve your needs as well.

Honorable mention: Astrotrac tt320x-ag

This mount is similar to the Fornax but is discontinued. You might be able to find a used one cheap. It does have portable power as well, but you still need to add an external counterweight and base

Honorable mention: Vixen Polarie

It would be strange to have a guide without the mention of this tracker. This was the first of its kind and one of the reasons portable trackers rose in popularity. But, as it is one of the first, its design is old and outdated. There is a new version of it coming soon called the “U”, but I cannot report about it until I have used it.

So there you have it. My recommendations for star trackers based on both my use and extensive research. There is no one size fits all option, and that is why it is important to buy the tracker that suits your needs the most! It is awesome that we live in a world these days that these come in as many sizes and price options. 10 years ago these really did not exist in the astro market, another reason why astrophotography today is so accessible.

So many choices! Here is my guide to choosing a portable star tracker in 2023.

The DIY Barn Door Tracker

The NYX Tracker

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3

Move Shoot Move

iOptron Skytracker Pro

Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Mini

iOptron Skyguider Pro

Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

Fornax LighTrack II

Honorable mention: Astrotrac tt320x-ag

Honorable mention: Vixen Polarie