Is the ZWO AM5 still sold?

Not new. ZWO replaced it with the AM5N, which carries 15 kg without a counterweight and moves the power and USB-C ports to the saddle; First Light Optics and the ZWO store now list only the AM5N.

How much can the AM5 carry?

The mount alone can support a payload of up to 13 kg, but you can increase your payload up to a very generous 20 kg. Past 13 kg you screw in a counterweight bar; ZWO allows up to 5 kg of counterweight on a bar no longer than 25 cm.

What is the difference between the AM5 and the AM5N?

The payload capabilities without counterweight have gone up from 13 kg to 15, and the power port has been relocated to the saddle, as well as the inclusion of a USB-C port to control the mount with.

How well does the AM5 guide?

ZWO quotes 0.5 to 0.8 arcsec for the AM5; I have no guide log of my own for it, and it was not in my seven-mount showdown.

What comes in the box?

Included in your purchase of the AM5 mount is a carry case roughly a foot in length and width. ZWO's box list: the head, the case, a 2 m USB 2.0 cable, the hand controller and its 2 m cable, a performance sheet, a quick guide and two Allen keys. The tripod was sold separately.

ZWO AM5 review: 13 kg without a counterweight, from 5 kg

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 18 mounts on my board, against price
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
12	EM31 Pro	52 out of 100	£1,679
16	ZWO AM3	34 out of 100	£1,599
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 Here's what I captured with the AM5
08 Raw against finished
09 Watch the review
10 Should you buy it?
11 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 58/100

Reviewed 13 Jun 2024 Updated 24 Sep 2026

Rank: #9 of 18 mounts
Verdict: With reservations

Written by Damon Scotting 6 min read

Buy it if

You find one second-hand and your rig stays under 13 kg.
You want a light head that packs with its tripod into cabin luggage.
You use an ASIAIR and want the mount in the same app.

Skip it if

You are buying new: it is discontinued, and the AM5N replaced it with 15 kg and ports on the saddle.
Your rig is over 13 kg and you do not want to carry counterweights.
Cable snags on meridian flips bother you: the AM5N moves the power and USB-C ports up to the saddle.

“The bottom line in terms of the AM5 mount is that it is simple. Everything about it is so straightforward.”

Specifications and features

Against the strain-wave mounts I have reviewed

Compare with

ZWO AM5 reviewed #9 of 18	ZWO AM5N #8 of 18	JUWEI-17 #7 of 18	TeSeek 17 #6 of 18	ClearSky ST17 Mini #11 of 18	EM31 Pro #12 of 18
Recorded UK price	£2,099	£2,099	£669	£536	£712	£1,679
Stars for Your Buck	58/100	71/100	85/100	88/100	56/100	52/100
Average guiding RMS	0.6 to 0.8 arcsec (my AM5 review, 5:09)	0.99 and 1.10 arcsec	0.40 to 0.61 arcsec on M 31, 1.52 to 1.57 on M 45	0.85 arcsec	1.09 arcsec	0.73 arcsec
Type	Harmonic drive (strain-wave) head for equatorial and alt-azimuth use	Harmonic drive (strain-wave) head for equatorial and alt-azimuth use	Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount	Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount	Harmonic drive equatorial mount; equatorial and theodolite modes	Harmonic (strain-wave) head, equatorial or alt-azimuth
No-counterweight payload	13 kg	15 kg	13 kg	13.5 kg	13 kg	15 kg
Counterweight payload	20 kg	20 kg	18 kg	18 kg	20 kg	20 kg
Mount weight	5 kg head	5.5 kg head	5.15 kg head	3.2 kg head	2.7 kg head	4.0 kg head
Periodic error	under ±20 arcsec	±10 arcsec	Approximately 25 arcsec peak-to-peak in one owner's unguided, drift-corrected RA test; not a factory limit	not recorded	not recorded	not recorded
Gearing	Harmonic drive and synchronous belt, 300:1	Harmonic drive and synchronous belt, 300:1	Two size-17 harmonic reducers, 400:1	Two size-17 harmonic gearboxes, 400:1 on both axes	RA 17-100 harmonic, speed ratio 500, with brake; Dec 14-100, speed ratio 500	Strain-wave gear and synchronous belt, 300:1; RA brake
Control	ZWO app over Wi-Fi, USB, ASIAIR; hand controller in the box	ZWO app over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, USB, ASIAIR; hand controller in the box	OnStep app	WiFi and Bluetooth app; ASIAIR	not recorded	OnStep; hand controller, ASIAIR
Power	12 V DC (11 to 15 V), 3 A or more; USB, autoguide, hand controller and power ports on the head	12 V DC, 3 A minimum (5 A recommended); DC out and USB-C on the saddle	12 V DC; no power output port	12 V, 2 A	not recorded	12 V DC, 5 A; DC 12 V and Type-C ports
Tripod or pier	Any tripod with a 3/8 inch screw; not included	Not included; ZWO's TC40 carbon fibre tripod is sold with it as a set	GEM4 base; 125 mm diameter; 12 mm centre column	Metal latitude base included; no tripod	not recorded	85 mm base, 3/8-16 fixing; optional EMTC44 tripod or EMH150 pier
In the box	Head, carry case, 2 m USB 2.0 cable, hand controller with 2 m cable, performance sheet, quick guide, M6 and M4 Allen keys	Head, hand controller with 2 m cable, travel case, 2 m USB-B and 1 m USB-C cables, performance sheet, quick guide, M6 Allen key; no counterweight bar	Head, data cable, counterweight bar, adjustment column, Allen key; no counterweight	The mount; no tripod	1 x equatorial mount	Mount; hand controller; Vixen/Losmandy saddle; mounting adapter; 0.5 m and 2 m USB 2.0 cables; soft bag

In the hand

Six A7S frames of the head and the FF80 rig it carried

The head

RA box and saddle

The front panel

The Dec axis

The FF80 on the saddle

On a carbon fibre tripod

What would you put on it?

The AM5's 13 kg and 20 kg ratings 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

“Its guiding error is between 0.6 to 0.8, which is tiny.”

What is it for? In my words

Four things the AM5 is for, in my words

No counterweight needed

This is a harmonic drive telescope mount and it doesn't require the counterweight structure that a typical telescope mount would. You are able to add a counterweight bar to it if you want to, and that means you can increase the payload.

Four ports

We do have four different inputs. The first one is the USB, which I have plugged into the ASIAIR, which is the computer that just controls everything. To the right of it you have an autoguide port, and then further right you have HC, which stands for hand controller, and the last one is the power.

Go-to from a tablet

I'm going to pan away from Polaris and I'm going to look at something nearby, and would you look at that, just over here we have M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. I'm going to hover over it and press go-to, and then just like that the telescope's going to point towards it.

Quiet

Many of us who are backyard astronomers, we don't like to annoy our neighbours with the annoying whirring sounds that cause them to look out their windows.

Here's what I captured with the AM5

The ZWO FF80 and the RedCat 51 on the AM5

The Horsehead and Flame Nebulae, ZWO FF80

Integration: 42 min (21 x 120 s)
Field: 2.92 x 1.92 degrees
Telescope: ZWO FF80 APO + 0.76x reducer
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Duo
Mount: ZWO AM5
Target: IC 434 Horsehead and NGC 2024 Flame Nebulae
Type: Dark and emission nebulae

The Pleiades, ZWO FF80

Integration: 56 min (28 x 120 s)
Field: 2.97 x 1.98 degrees
Telescope: ZWO FF80 APO + 0.76x reducer
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Duo
Mount: ZWO AM5
Target: M 45 Pleiades
Type: Open cluster and reflection nebula

The Veil Nebula, RedCat 51

Integration: 21 min (21 x 60 s)
Field: 5.3 x 3.6 degrees
Telescope: William Optics RedCat 51
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC
Mount: ZWO AM5
Target: Veil Nebula (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992)
Type: Supernova remnant
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

M 13, RedCat 51

Integration: 15 min (15 x 60 s)
Field: 5.4 x 3.6 degrees
Telescope: William Optics RedCat 51
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Duo
Mount: ZWO AM5
Target: M 13 Hercules Globular Cluster
Type: Globular star cluster
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Raw against finished

Watch the review

The 2 targets, the raw combined stack against my finished image, each with its integration, the camera and the palette:

IC 434 Horsehead and NGC 2024 Flame Nebulae: 42 min (21 x 120 s) of light, ASI2600MC Duo, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch
M 45 Pleiades: 56 min (28 x 120 s) of light, ASI2600MC Duo, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch

This is the BEST TELESCOPE MOUNT I've ever used! · published 13 June 2024 · 6:47 · Watch on YouTube · 9,151 views, 370 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

0:30 How a harmonic drive mount works
0:47 Weight and payload
1:30 The carry case and the tripod
1:52 The rig: ZWO FF80 and ASI2600MC Duo
2:34 Four ports
3:27 Go-to and plate solving
3:53 How quiet it is
4:31 The carbon fibre tripod
4:53 Verdict

Transcript of the review video 1,362 words · 10 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

0:00 No counterweight needed

0:02 this is my new favourite mount it is the AM5 and perhaps my favourite feature of it is that it does not require a counterweight bar or any counterweights 0:08 so if you traveling somewhere remote like the edge of a volcano perhaps you won't need to lug around all this heavy equipment with you all you need is this 0:14 5 kg mount it is jampacked with lots of cool features that I'm going to Showcase in tonight's video I'm Damon Scotting and this is 0:23 astronomical so a telescope mount without counterweight bar might seem a little bit suspicious you might want to know what kind of witchcraft is going on well

0:30 How a harmonic drive mount works

0:36 this is a harmonic Drive telescope Mount and it doesn't require the counterweight structure that a typical telescope Mount would you are able to add a 0:44 counterweight bar to it if you want to and that means you can increase the payload by itself the mount is a mere 5.5 kg which is easy enough to carry in

0:47 Weight and payload

0:52 your backpack the mount alone can support a payload of up to 13 kg but you can increase your payload up to a very generous 20 kg which is a tremendous 1:01 amount of telescope weight that means that you can mount your C11 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on top of this Mount which is quite a hefty Beast it includes 1:09 attaching a camera and a finder scope to that as well but if you want to take things further maybe you do want to step 1:15 up to an even bigger telescope or add a second telescope on top and then a bunch of additional accessories then very easy you just screw in a counterweight bar 1:22 down here and add on a couple of counter weights so I like the fact that you do have the option to increase the payload 1:27 but even without a counterweight bar it is capable of carrying a lot included in your purchase of the AM5 mount is a carry case roughly a foot in length and

1:30 The carry case and the tripod

1:35 width which means from the get-go you are ready to Travel and Transport your new Mount take that heavy duty tripods hey speaking of tripods normally you 1:42 would have to pay extra money to afford a tripod but as of right now ZWO and it suppliers are running a special promotion which means you get that Ultra 1:50 lightweight carbon fiber tripod included for free now this entire setup might look quite messy and that's because I've got loads of different things attached

1:52 The rig: ZWO FF80 and ASI2600MC Duo

1:58 to it I of course have the main telescope on top which is the FF80 from ZWO is a quadruplet refractor telescope and in the back just around here we have 2:07 the ASI2600MC which is making quite a bit of noise right now because a large portion of this camera is actually a cooling fan and it's trying to reduce it 2:16 now to -20° C where here on the edge of the volcano it's about 10° C so it's got its work cut out we want to cool it 2:24 because we want to reduce the amount of hot pixels that turn up in our image so by cooling our camera we actually get a 2:28 much cleaner final result image so with all these things attached it does mean that there are a lot of cables that you're looking at but this is good this

2:34 Four ports

2:35 means that even though the mount itself is very simplified with just these four different inputs at the front down here you can actually do a lot in terms of 2:42 controlling it so we do have four different inputs the first one is the USB which I have plugged into the ASIAIR which is the computer that just 2:49 controls everything to the right of it you have an autoguide port and then further right you have HC which stands for hand controller which is this little 2:57 joystick down here and the last one is the power that's it it's very Compact and also at the same time quite stylish which isn't something you normally say 3:05 about telescope mounts I do like the red and black design of the mount itself and it goes along with everything else that ZWO produces so if you do enjoy 3:14 their equipment and want to put it all together like I have here in a all-in-one rig then it looks quite aesthetically pleasing the entire setup 3:21 is by no means cheap but it is arguably one of the most cost-effective professional travel astrophotography rigs on the market you get precisely what you pay for like change it to point

3:27 Go-to and plate solving

3:30 at anything that I want in the night sky so I'm going to pan away from Polaris and I'm going to look at something nearby and would you look at that just 3:36 over here we have M31 the Andromeda galaxy so I'm actually going to pinch him and I'm going to hover over it and press go 3:44 to and then just like that the telescope's going to point towards it but it's not just going to go yeah I think it's about here 3:50 this will do it's actually going to plate solve your image immediately afterwards and figure out exactly where it location is and I have to add that

3:53 How quiet it is

3:57 I'm very impressed by how quiet the mount is we are in the location where it's so quiet it's almost scary but if I put this Mount onto the max speed 4:05 setting and I start moving it you can hear for yourself how loud it actually is which is very nice because for me and many of us who are backyard astronomers 4:24 we don't like to annoy our neighbours with the annoying whirring sounds that cause them to look out their windows and think oh my God what is that crazy man 4:30 doing and then the last thing I think I'm going to talk about whilst I'm outside here is just the carbon fiber tripod that it's standing on now this is

4:31 The carbon fibre tripod

4:37 incredibly lightweight uh and also compact yeah I managed to fit the entire Mount itself and the tripod legs in my carryon so it's very travel friendly at 4:47 the same time setting it up every single night this is the dream because it makes it so much easier this is a very lightweight setup okay so final verdict

4:53 Verdict

4:55 the bottom line in terms of the AM5 mount is that it is simple everything about it is so straightforward it can take Vixen and Losmandy dovetail mounts 5:04 it's controllable by Wi-Fi or by a heavily simplified rocket style hand controller its guiding error is between 0.6 to 0.8 which is Tiny and although it 5:13 is extremely portable and lightweight it is still capable of payloads as high as 13 kg without any counterweight which is just perfect I'm sure if you've watched 5:22 anyone else's review on the AM5 mount you will have also seen that it is a well-loved Mount and an instant favourite so there we have it the AM5 mount I'm 5:32 very impressed by it and depending on your location on our planet the price may vary slightly but it should be about $2,000 which puts it within the budget 5:41 of people that are quite serious about this hobby but I will say it's a very good investment if you like keeping things simple but also being able to do 5:49 a lot thank you very much ZWO for sending me this telescope Mount and the rest of the equipment you see here I'm going to be doing reviews for all of 5:56 these objects that you can see right here I'm very impressed by this entire setup and the fact that I've been able to bring it all the way up here to one 6:02 of the most remote locations on our planet is a testament to how durable capable and travel friendly this equipment really is and it does 6:10 Pack-a-Punch wait until you see the images that I've captured with this setup if you'd like to purchase the ZWO AM5 mount for yourself I've attached the 6:19 product Linked In the description below thanks for watching I'm Damon Scotting and this was astronomical

Check out more videos on the ZWO AM5

Why it is BETTER than most Mounts? | AM5N Review.

7 Nov 2024

Ep 1: Can I become the WORLDS BEST Astrophotographer?!

4 Jul 2024

Should you buy it?

58/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

“Perhaps my favourite feature of it is that it does not require a counterweight bar or any counterweights.”
“Although it is extremely portable and lightweight, it is still capable of payloads as high as 13 kg without any counterweight, which is just perfect.”
“I have to add that I'm very impressed by how quiet the mount is.”
“I managed to fit the entire mount itself and the tripod legs in my carry-on, so it's very travel friendly.”
Vixen and Losmandy saddle, and control from the ZWO app over Wi-Fi, from the ASIAIR or from a small hand controller.

Cons

Discontinued: ZWO replaced it with the AM5N, which carries 15 kg without a counterweight and moves the power and USB-C ports to the saddle.
“When using a larger scope, the issue of cable snags was consistently on my mind, especially when needing to do a meridian flip.”
13 kg without a counterweight stops short of a 14 kg tube such as a 10-inch Newtonian.
Periodic error is rated at under ±20 arcsec, twice the AM5N rating of ±10.

I will say it's a very good investment if you like keeping things simple but also being able to do a lot.

Who the AM5 is for

Complete beginner

Skip

It is discontinued, and new strain-wave mounts such as the TeSeek 11 or JUWEI-14 start a first rig for far less.

Second-hand buyer

Buy

A used AM5 still carries 13 kg without counterweights, slews from the ZWO app and packs into hand luggage.

ASIAIR user buying new

Skip

Buy the AM5N instead: the same system with 15 kg and the ports on the saddle.

Travelling imager

Buy

A 5 kg head with no counterweights; the head and a carbon fibre tripod fit in cabin luggage.

AM5 owner thinking of upgrading

Skip

The AM5N adds 2 kg of payload and saddle ports; keep the AM5 unless you hit 13 kg or snag cables on meridian flips.

SCT owner at 14 kg or more

Skip

That is past its no-counterweight rating; add a counterweight for up to 20 kg, or look at the AM7, which carries 20 kg without one.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

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

Five questions, answered

Questions about the ZWO AM5

Reviewed 13 June 2024 ·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

Is the ZWO AM5 still sold? Not new. ZWO replaced it with the AM5N, which carries 15 kg without a counterweight and moves the power and USB-C ports to the saddle; First Light Optics and the ZWO store now list only the AM5N. The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
How much can the AM5 carry? The mount alone can support a payload of up to 13 kg, but you can increase your payload up to a very generous 20 kg. Past 13 kg you screw in a counterweight bar; ZWO allows up to 5 kg of counterweight on a bar no longer than 25 cm. From my video review What would you put on it? ↓
What is the difference between the AM5 and the AM5N? The payload capabilities without counterweight have gone up from 13 kg to 15, and the power port has been relocated to the saddle, as well as the inclusion of a USB-C port to control the mount with. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
How well does the AM5 guide? ZWO quotes 0.5 to 0.8 arcsec for the AM5; I have no guide log of my own for it, and it was not in my seven-mount showdown. How well does it guide? ↓
What comes in the box? Included in your purchase of the AM5 mount is a carry case roughly a foot in length and width. ZWO's box list: the head, the case, a 2 m USB 2.0 cable, the hand controller and its 2 m cable, a performance sheet, a quick guide and two Allen keys. The tripod was sold separately. From my video review The specifications and the comparison table ↓