Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i review: a camera-bag tracker
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| Rank | Mount | Stars for Your Buck | Recorded UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TeSeek NanoTracker | 100 out of 100 | £52 |
| 2 | ClearSky ST25 | 94 out of 100 | £1,259 |
| 3 | TeSeek 11 | 93 out of 100 | £252 |
| 7 | JUWEI-17 | 85 out of 100 | £669 |
| 9 | ZWO AM5 | 58 out of 100 | £2,099 |
| 13 | ZWO AM3N | 46 out of 100 | £1,599 |
| 14 | Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i | 42 out of 100 | £249 |
| 17 | Sky-Watcher GTi Mount | 33 out of 100 | £435 |
| 18 | Celestron CG5 | 24 out of 100 | £299 |
Contents
- 01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
- 02 Specifications and features
- 03 In the hand
- 04 What would you put on it?
- 05 How well does it guide?
- 06 What is it for? In my words
- 07 Watch the review
- 08 Should you buy it?
- 09 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 42/100
Reviewed 13 Dec 2023 Updated 24 Sep 2026
- Rank
- #14 of 18 mounts
- Verdict
- With reservations
Written by Damon Scotting 4 min read
Buy it if
- You shoot the night sky with a camera and lens and want tracking that fits a camera bag.
- You want a battery-powered tracker for trips away from mains power.
- You are happy to find targets by hand and polar align through a polar scope.
Skip it if
- You want go-to, or guiding in both axes.
- You plan to image through anything heavier than a small refractor.
“Now you can argue that the mount is just shy of being a worthy mount since it's not a go-to tracking mount, but I found that it's still more than possible to get some round stars when taking 60 second long exposures.”
Specifications and features
Against the mounts I have reviewed
Compare with
| Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i reviewed #14 of 18 | TeSeek NanoTracker #1 of 18 | TeSeek 11 #3 of 18 | Sky-Watcher GTi Mount #17 of 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | £249 | £52 | £252 | £435 |
| Stars for Your Buck | 42/100 | 100/100 | 93/100 | 33/100 |
| Average guiding RMS | Unknown | Unknown | 0.92 arcsec | Unknown |
| Type | Single-axis equatorial star tracker | Star tracker | Harmonic drive (strain wave) mount | Equatorial GoTo tracker |
| No-counterweight payload | not recorded | Not rated by TeSeek; about 3 kg estimated | 5 kg | None: it needs its counterweight |
| Counterweight payload | 5 kg maximum | not recorded | not recorded | 5 kg (11 lb) |
| Mount weight | 1 kg | 0.5 kg | 1.3 kg | 2.6 kg |
| Periodic error | Approximately 60 arcsec, reported by one 2i owner; method and amplitude convention unspecified | not recorded | not recorded | About 40 arcsec in one reviewer’s Guiding Assistant test; amplitude convention not stated |
| Gearing | DC servo motor, all-metal gearing | 3000:1 reduction gear set | Harmonic reducers on both axes | Worm drive; 92 mm aluminium-alloy gear |
| Control | Wi-Fi app (Star Adventurer Console); SNAP shutter port; ST-4 port | Four DIP switches or a WiFi web page; no app | OnStep: phone app over Bluetooth or WiFi, ASIAIR, NINA and SharpCap | SynScan Pro app over WiFi; optional SynScan hand controller; USB, ST-4, camera port |
| Power | Four AA batteries or 5 V mini USB | USB-C from a power bank; no built-in battery | 5 V, 2 A from a USB power bank | 8 x AA or 12 V DC |
| Tripod or pier | Not included; fits 3/8 and 1/4 inch camera tripod threads | 38 mm Arca-Swiss base; 1/4 inch output screw for a ball head | 38 mm Arca clamp underneath; a latitude adjuster and a tripod needed | Kit: steel tripod 68 to 113 cm, 2.49 kg, 21.6 cm pier extension |
| In the box | Head, ball head adapter, illuminated polar scope; the Pro Pack adds the wedge, bracket and counterweight | The tracker with its built-in laser pointer | The mount | Mount head, illuminated polar scope, counterweight shaft and counterweights; the kit adds the steel tripod and pier extension |
In the hand
Star Adventurer 2i
Ports
Just over a kilogram
Camera and lens
SV503 on board
What would you put on it?
The Star Adventurer 2i's 5 kg rating with counterweight under a rig you can change part by part, then the same rig on six other mounts
How well does it guide?
In my words, from my videos
“I got about 60 seconds per exposure, which isn't amazing, but it's still pretty good.”
“I think even with the Sky-Watcher star tracker that I have, you'd be able to capture 60-second exposures.”
What is it for? In my words
Three things it is for
Cameras, lenses and small refractors
You can put onto it small refractor telescopes, you can put onto it your camera and lens, you can even mount your phone on it if you wanted to.
Point it at the pole star
Set it on a secure tripod, point it towards the pole star, switch it into one of its modes, and from then on it tracks the motion of the night sky.
Why track at all
Our Earth rotates, so the stars trail across the sky in a long exposure; a tracking mount counteracts that rotation, and that is exactly what this does.
Watch the review
The 9 COOLEST Accessories for ASTRONOMY! · published 13 December 2023 · 17:00 · Watch on YouTube · 19,597 views, 974 likes on 2 Oct 2026
Jump to
- 9:10 Number 6: the Star Adventurer 2i
- 9:17 Why a tracking mount
- 9:40 Polar align and pick a mode
- 9:52 USB or four AA batteries
- 10:16 Imaging the Pleiades
- 10:35 Just over a kilogram, in a camera bag
- 10:44 Cameras, lenses and small refractors
Transcript of the review video 403 words · 7 chapters · searchable
Press a time stamp to play from there.
9:10 Number 6: the Star Adventurer 2i
9:11 and then finally we have the most expensive accessory of the video and that is what I'm leaning on right now this is the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mount
9:17 Why a tracking mount
9:18 to put it simply our Earth rotates on an axis and that means that our view of the night sky which is effectively stationary becomes blurry because the 9:26 Stars seem to Trail across our night sky and it just means we can't get any clear images not without the help of something that counteracts for the rotation of our 9:35 planet and that is exactly what this does so this is it this is all that it boils down to in the end this is the
9:40 Polar align and pick a mode
9:40 tracking Mount you're going to position it somewhere on a secure Mount like that for example and then you're going to point it towards the pole star where you 9:48 are and then from that point on you're just going to change it into one of the modes and it will track the motion of
9:52 USB or four AA batteries
9:52 our night sky you connect it with a USB cable or you can actually just stick in four AA batteries and then use it that 9:59 way so is incredibly portable and the fact that you can power it with an external setup is uh very handy yeah I'm a big fan of it yeah this is honestly 10:08 the pretty much the perfect setup you could ask for under $500 I know you'd probably be thinking more along the lines of a telescope but if you want to 10:15 image a night sky and I think this is a safer bet to go with right now I'm Imaging the Seven Sisters of wise know
10:16 Imaging the Pleiades
10:21 applies and uh we're getting some pretty spectacular images right now yeah I'm not sure how much you can classify it as an accessory cuz considering it is a 10:30 tracking Mount but it's something that I've taken with me on my last three stargazing trips just because it's very useful like I said the fact it weight is
10:35 Just over a kilogram, in a camera bag
10:39 just over a kilogram means I can stick it in my camera bag and it won't take up much room space or add any additional
10:44 Cameras, lenses and small refractors
10:45 weight you can put onto it small refractor telescopes you can put onto it your camera and lens you can even Mount your phone on it if you wanted to and 10:51 then start taking some pictures of the night sky like
Check out more videos on the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i
What YOU Can SEE Through a $0, $100 and a $600 Telescope / Camera!
26 Dec 2021
How GOOD is a $380 Refractor Telescope? (Svbony 503 Review)
27 Jul 2023
Should you buy it?
42/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- “You connect it with a USB cable, or you can actually just stick in four AA batteries and then use it that way, so it is incredibly portable.”
- “The fact its weight is just over a kilogram means I can stick it in my camera bag and it won't take up much room or add any additional weight.”
- A built-in illuminated polar scope, a camera shutter port and an ST-4 port for single-axis guiding
- Sidereal, solar and lunar tracking rates for either hemisphere
Cons
- No go-to: you find every target by hand
- It tracks in right ascension only, so guiding corrects one axis
- A 5 kg maximum payload: a camera and lens or a small refractor, not a full telescope imaging rig
- The wedge, declination bracket and counterweight cost extra unless you buy the Pro Pack
I know you'd probably be thinking more along the lines of a telescope, but if you want to image the night sky, I think this is a safer bet to go with.
Who the Star Adventurer 2i is for
Camera and lens astrophotographer
Buy
It carries a DSLR and lens, runs on AA batteries and fits a camera bag; this is the job it does best.
Traveller
Buy
Just over a kilogram and battery powered, it goes where a mains-powered go-to mount will not.
Beginner who wants go-to
Skip
It has no go-to; the TeSeek 11 finds targets for you and carries 5 kg without a counterweight.
Telescope imager at longer focal lengths
Skip
With single-axis tracking and a 5 kg ceiling, a harmonic mount such as the TeSeek 11 or JUWEI-14 is the better base.
Budget tracker buyer
Skip
The TeSeek NanoTracker tops my mount board for less money.
Existing Star Adventurer 2i owner
Skip
Keep it for wide-field trips, and add a harmonic go-to mount for telescope work rather than buying another tracker.
Three alternatives I have reviewed
- TeSeek NanoTracker The top-scoring mount on my board, a small star tracker 100/100 £52 Read the review
- TeSeek 11 A go-to harmonic mount carrying 5 kg without a counterweight 93/100 £252 Read the review
- JUWEI-14 A go-to harmonic mount carrying 8 kg without a counterweight 89/100 £632 Read the review
Questions and more about this review
Reviewed by
Damon Scotting
The Telescope Man Verified
BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham
About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book
I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded
Seven questions, answered
Questions about the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i
Reviewed 13 December 2023 ·Updated 24 September 2026
I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded
- Can the Star Adventurer 2i carry a telescope? A small one. Sky-Watcher rates it at 5 kg; I have used it with an SVBONY SV503 70 mm refractor and a DSLR, and with a camera and lens. In the hand ↓
- Does the Star Adventurer 2i have go-to? No. You polar align it through the built-in polar scope, point the camera or telescope by hand, and it tracks in right ascension. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- Can you autoguide the Star Adventurer 2i? In one axis. It has an ST-4 autoguider port that takes right ascension corrections. In the hand ↓
- How long can I expose with it? With a DSLR and lens I kept 60 second subs: 14 of them on the Pleiades, and 27 two-minute subs on the Andromeda Galaxy the next night. Watch the review ↓
- What do the three prices include? First Light Optics' £249 is the head with the ball-head adapter and the illuminated polar scope; its Pro Pack, which adds the equatorial wedge, the L-bracket and a 1 kg counterweight, is £328. Agena's $585 is that Pro Package, the only way Agena sells the 2i. The AliExpress listing is the head on its own. The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
- How is the Star Adventurer 2i powered? Four AA batteries, or 5 V through its mini USB port from a power bank. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- What should I buy instead? For go-to and 5 kg without a counterweight, the TeSeek 11; for a lighter tracker, the TeSeek NanoTracker. The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓