Best star tracker camera mounts for astrophotography in 2024

The best star trackers are an essential piece of kit for long-exposure astrophotography and, in this guide, we'll show you what's on the market and how to buy one.

Let's first look at why your DSLR or mirrorless camera needs a star tracker for astrophotography. One of the main challenges with photographing the night sky is that the stars move, or rather, they appear to when captured with a long exposure.

The Earth rotates once every 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds – and so do you – so the position of stars appears to constantly move too. Try a long exposure of just 30 seconds and you’ll get blurred stars. The ultimate proof of that is a star-trail photo, which shows the path of stars in the night sky over a few hours. 

• See also: Best timelapse cameras

So what do you do if you want to shoot the night sky with long shutter speeds over 30 seconds – and as long as four or five minutes – but you don't want blurred results? That's where you'd use a rotating star tracker, a device you place between the camera and tripod, which, when aligned with the north celestial pole (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere) or the south celestial pole (if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) will keep your camera in sync with Earth’s rotation. 

It becomes so useful because long exposures of two minutes or more are necessary to capture enough light, color, and detail to properly reveal the Milky Way, as well as faint celestial sights such as star fields, galaxies, nebulae, and even gas clouds. 

When shooting close-ups, astrophotographers will often strap their cameras with zoom lenses to telescopes mounted on equatorial mounts; star-trackers like these are all about portability and are best used with a wide-angle (which are generally considered the best lenses for astrophotography). 

Don't forget that while a slowly moving platform means you'll get sharper and cleaner star fields, it will also give you a blurred foreground, so you need to be prepared to do some blending and post-processing when you use a star tracker. 

There are a few things to consider when purchasing a star tracker; portability, the weight they can hold, the ease of polar alignment, and battery life. Of course, there are many star trackers available, though all meet slightly different requirements. As with all photography accessories – the best one depends on what your goals are!

Best star tracker: our top picks

Best star trackers in 2024

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Best overall

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)
Can be aligned using an iOS or Android app making it easy to use

Specifications

Capacity: 3kg
Dimensions: 76x70x103mm
Weight: 650g
Connectors: Mini USB
Run time: 72 hours

Reasons to buy

+
Smartphone control
+
Simple to use

Reasons to avoid

-
Small payload
-
Illuminator is flimsy

The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini – as its name perhaps suggests – is one of the most portable star trackers on the market, given its small size. In fact, the Adventurer Mini is also one of the smartest star trackers around thanks to the utilization of smartphone technology.  

The package is very similar to the iOptron SkyTracker Pro. With your smartphone already armed with the free Star Adventurer Mini Console app on Android or iPhone it’s possible to perform a polar alignment with the included polarscope and Polar Clock feature (which also allows you to change the speed for time-lapse modes). Alignment is a breeze, making it a suitable option for novice astrophotographers. 

On first impressions, the overall build is of very good quality, although the polarscope's illuminator could do with an upgrade. The scope's red light mode is effective in preserving night vision. 

The platform itself has a built-in intervalometer, so if your DSLR doesn’t have one built in you can just attach it to the camera mount. Around 60-second exposures are achievable using a 100mm lens, though a counterweight is available that ups the load limit to 3kg. The images are very good, and we are impressed with the crystal clear results: we even managed to try a touch of deep-sky astrophotography with a fair outcome.

The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini can also perform motion time-lapses, plus it uses two AA batteries so it’s easy to refuel on the go. We recommend keeping your spares in your pocket – just to keep them warm enough for longer battery life – or using the micro USB port.

Read more: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini review for more details

Best for beginners

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)
A great choice for beginners that's not difficult to use or too costly

Specifications

Capacity: 3kg
Dimensions: 43x80x99 mm
Weight: 466g
Connectors: USB-C, hotshoe, 1/4 to 3/8 adapter
Run time: 5 hrs/3,000 shots

Reasons to buy

+
Easy polar alignment
+
Motorized time-lapse mode

Reasons to avoid

-
Lots of fiddly parts
-
No phone app

The Move Shoot Move Star Tracker isn't physically able to take lenses with a focal length of more than about 100mm – but we didn't see this as a massive problem, given that it's a standout tracker for those heading to a dark-sky area to shoot wide-angle images of the Milky Way as star fields. What's more, it's also small enough to fit in your pocket given its lightweight design. The overall build is of pleasing quality.

Easy to use, and with accurate star-tracking, this little rotator offers super-easy polar alignment using a green laser – and, given the cost of the Move Shoot Move, we couldn't have asked for sharper images of the night sky. Especially before editing in astrophotography software. 

The Move Shoot Move does have its downsides, however: it comes with a few fiddly screws that are easy to lose during imaging, while a poorly illuminated control panel makes it tricky to set up in daylight. The battery life is relatively short, made worse in colder conditions. 

However, for entry-level astrophotographers, it’s the business – and kit prices start at just US$239. As a bonus, the Move Shoot Move also works as a motion time-lapse platform in daylight, which landscape photographers will love. This star tracker is a good value, innovative, and nicely-sized addition to a camera bag: highly recommended to beginners! 

Read more: Move Shoot Move 2-in-1 Star Tracker review for more details 

Best for travel

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)

3. iOptron SkyTracker Pro

When carrying a lot in your bag is daunting, this is powerful for its weight

Specifications

Capacity: 3kg
Dimensions: 115x115x95mm
Weight: 1.2kg
Connectors: Micro USB
Run time: 24 hours

Reasons to buy

+
Lightweight design
+
Easy alignment

Reasons to avoid

-
No motion time-lapses
-
Limited load

If you’re restricted on the weight of your camera bag, but need a long battery life, look no further than the iOptron SkyTracker Pro. Over the older generation of SkyTracker, the feel of the Pro has improved – despite iOptron switching out the metal components, you are left with a setup that doesn't feel that it's going to fall apart during observations: everything is welded beautifully together. Seasoned astrophotographers may miss the cast metal fixtures, but the SkyTracker Pro doesn't suffer without them.

A much more basic version than the brand’s souped-up iOptron SkyGuider Pro (featured below), the SkyTracker Pro’s built-in battery lasts for 24 hours, though it can be recharged via an external battery via micro USB. 

The tracker has a loading capacity of 3kg: loading a DSLR even slightly heavier than this caused the SkyTracker Pro to struggle somewhat – a counterbalance will rectify the problem, but it's worth noting that you won't be able to push the SkyTracker Pro much more beyond its capacity. Choose your lenses wisely!

Meanwhile, alignment is via a precision polarscope with an impressive eight brightness levels, as well as a smartphone app (iOptron Polar Scope for iOS and Polar Finder for Android). The app needs to be purchased separately at an extra cost, but alignment is a breeze once installed. The SkyTracker Pro also runs quite quietly, although it does vibrate as expected – no slippage was encountered though, and the exposures we took provided images with pin-sharp stars. 

Something we discovered – and it’s important to note – is that both iOptron products use a platform that can’t handle motion time-lapses. Nevertheless, the SkyTracker offers four tracking rates; stars, 1/2 speed, lunar and solar, so you can also use it to photograph the Moon and even solar eclipses. 

Best smart tracker

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)
The first smart electric tripod head also works as a star-tracker

Specifications

Capacity: 3kg
Dimensions: 115x115x95mm
Weight: 1.2kg
Connectors: Micro USB
Run time: 24 hours

Reasons to buy

+
Outstanding build quality
+
Easy to align
+
Tracks accurately at wide-angle
+
Micro SD slot for onboard media storage
+
Automates complex tasks

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacks plate-solving
-
Can’t point at the zenith
-
App is a work in progress
-
Ineffective autofocus

The Benro Polaris Astro Edition is easily one of the best star tracker camera mounts for astrophotography available, but it’s also by far the most expensive. Its build quality is unrivaled among star trackers, but in use, it has its fair share of quirks. 

It is a ground-breaking design, that uses your smartphone to align to the stars – and this is something we hope catches on with other star-tracker brands – but its one-star alignment seems a little basic. We wonder if two or three-star alignment (which most computerized telescopes use) or plate-solving tech to automatically align (as featured on smart telescopes) would allow even longer tracked images. 

Let’s hope the app keeps developing because the Benro Polaris has the potential to be a truly autonomous and easy-to-use star tracker – but it’s not quite there yet. 

Read our full Benro Polaris Astro Edition review  for more details

Best for small cameras

(Image credit: Vixen Optics)

5. Vixen Optics Polarie Star Tracker

Best for small cameras and wide angle lenses

Specifications

Capacity: 2.5kg
Dimensions: 94x150x58mm
Weight: 737g
Connectors: Mini USB
Run time: 2 hours

Reasons to buy

+
Tracks stars, Sun and Moon
+
Great all-rounder

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive 
-
Short battery life

The Vixen Optics Polarie is designed to work with wide-angle lenses to image star fields and the Milky Way. Featuring a built-in compass and latitude meter (which are helpfully illuminated in red light for set up at night), alignment is very straightforward – you'll need to locate the celestial pole through a sight hole or polarscope, with takes moments to achieve. There’s also a Vixen PF-L Assist phone app for iOS and Android

Like the iOptron suite of products, the Polarie can track the stars, Sun, and Moon, with a 1/2 speed for motion time-lapses at night. Meanwhile, the overall build is perhaps the best we've ever come across in the star tracker market – especially given the reasonable price tag and performance.

Similar to the Sky-Watcher model, the Polarie runs on two AA batteries – we discovered that the battery life doesn't last for very long, limiting us to no more than roughly two hours of valuable imaging time. However, the results we did get are superb with perfectly circular stars in our images.  

To ensure no interruptions, we recommend powering the Polarie from a portable battery over a micro USB, something that we did find to work best over switching batteries out throughout our session. 

With the Polarie, the load is very limited at 2.5kg, but it is possible to upgrade the kit with counterweights to a capacity of 6.5kg, making it possible to use 200mm+ lenses. Just make sure that you have a tripod and mount that can take the weight of your setup!

Best for deep sky

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)

6. iOptron SkyGuider Pro

A star tracker for deep sky astrophotography

Specifications

Capacity: 5kg
Dimensions: 133x115x95mm
Weight: 1.9kg
Connectors: Micro USB, HBX port for external hand controller
Run time: 20 hours

Reasons to buy

+
Tracks stars, Sun and Moon 
+
Can support zoom lenses

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive
-
Can’t do motion timelapses

The iOptron SkyGuider Pro can safely support a whopping 5kg, which means a zoom lens and even a (small) telescope can also be attached. As well as making deep-sky shots possible, it has four tracking rates; stars, Sun, Moon, and, as a bonus, a 1/2 speed for motion time-lapses during the day or night. 

This star tracker comes with a 1.35kg counterweight and has a built-in shutter triggering port so you don’t need to use an add-on intervalometer. In our experience, alignment using the SkyGuider Pro system – an electronic polar finder scope known as the iPolar – is painless. If you'd rather use your smartphone for the process though, there’s also an iOptron Polar Scope app for iOS and Polar Finder for Android, which also works well enough and gets us from A to B.

The built-in rechargeable battery has a decent runtime (though you can also run it off a portable battery) and we enjoyed uninterrupted imaging. Results are very impressive, with good results of a selection of stars and galaxies, and the operation of the setup isn't too noisy.

Although it can support long zoom lenses during short exposures when at long focal lengths, only wide-angle lenses can stand five-minute exposures. The SkyGuider Pro is also not able to perform motion time-lapses: not a massive problem, given the excellent results achieved with this tracker.

Best for battery life

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)

7. Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro

The pro choice can handle a weighty camera and lens and last a while

Specifications

Capacity: 5kg
Dimensions: 353x244x160mm
Weight: 1.2kg
Connectors: Mini USB
Run time: 72 hours

Reasons to buy

+
Long battery life
+
Works with zoom lenses

Reasons to avoid

-
Large size

Offering almost twice as much payload as its ‘little brother’, the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini, this Pro version also ramps up the battery life by using four AA batteries that last for 72 hours. That’s plenty of time for a field trip into remote areas while also being simple enough to swap out mid-shoot. 

The original portable tracking mount that’s easy to set up (it uses a polarscope with Sky-Watcher’s free SynScan app for iOS and Android), the Pro is nevertheless a heavyweight in terms of design, meaning that it's not as portable as its competitors. That’s extended by the inclusion of a counterweight kit (a dovetail L-bracket and an equatorial wedge) for use with zoom lenses up to a focal length of about 400mm. Astrophotographers should make sure that they have a sturdy mount and tripod to support this star tracker.

The Adventurer Pro is able to track stars, Sun and Moon and also offers various motion time-lapse modes. It has a built-in intervalometer to attach a DSLR to, which makes this competent platform completely automated. 

On the whole, this tracker is easy to use and operates quite flawlessly, allowing us to achieve pin-sharp results at a variety of exposures. The supplied manual is comprehensive enough, and we recommend giving this a thorough read before using the setup – it's very easy to fiddle with elements, which will take a while to put right.

FAQs

Is a star tracker worth it?

Astrophotography will not be as crisp and colorful as you have seen it until you use a tracker so that the shutter can stay open long enough to capture a clean, noise-free image. 

Is an astrophotography star tracker and a star tracker app the same?

No. You can get a number of apps for phones which take advantage of the positioning tech to calculate where you are and help show you a live map of the stars – essentially a kind of AR. Apps like GoSkyWatch Planetarium or Star Finder can be a useful tool for astrophotographers too, but the 'star trackers' listed above are devices to help keep the camera pointed at the stars even as the earth rotates so you can keep the shutter open a very long time.

How we test star trackers

Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out how we test. Where possible we include detailed reviews of the products in our buyers guides from hands-on experience.

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Gemma Lavender

Gemma is content director of science and space magazines How It Works and All About Space, history magazines All About History and History of War as well as Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) kids education brand Future Genius. She is the author of several books including "Quantum Physics in Minutes", "Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual to the Large Hadron Collider" and "Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual to the Milky Way". She holds a degree in physical sciences, a Master’s in astrophysics and a PhD in computational astrophysics. She was elected as a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2011. Previously, she worked for Nature's journal, Scientific Reports, and created scientific industry reports for the Institute of Physics and the British Antarctic Survey. She has covered stories and features for publications such as Physics World, Astronomy Now and Astrobiology Magazine.