Should I buy the Ioptron GEM 45?

[golden forum]

I am looking for a good mount that works very well without too much trouble. Is this mount worth the price and is it a reliable mount?

[halcyon inlet]

I would buy a used EQ6-R if you can find one

Even a new, on-sale EQ6-R will probably be more worth your money

[golden forum]

Thanks

[harsh mortar]

If it's in your price range and you value portability, you may want to give some thought to strain wave mounts, like ZWO's AM3/AM5N, Sky-Watcher's Wave 100i/150i, or the Ragdoll series.

But if you don't have a problem with the extra weight an EQ6-R is an excellent choice. After all, you do pay extra for the portability

[golden forum]

Thanks, was indeed looking at the eq6r. I don’t really mind the weight, bc it’s only really a problem when taking it on a plane for example and the weight makes it feel more sturdy. The only thing which is very important to me is the reliability, do you or anyone perhaps know if the eq6r is reliable in terms of durability?

[lament kernel]

I have both eq6r pro and am3 mounts and am3 wins with portability only so far. I probably wasn’t lucky with my am3 unit but in the last 3 months I have this month I already had to send it back twice to the shop/manufacturer. eq6r pro works like a charm for a year. Both (when am3 works) get around 0.5 total error.
One more note on portability:
I live in the UK where the weather isn’t that great for astronomy, sometimes there is only a few hour window to take the gear out. Eq6r pro with its tripod and counterweights is about 40kg. Then there is my telescope as well. To disassemble it, take it out, put everything together, balance it, polar align it etc takes some time, so when I have 2-3 hours window it’s usually not worth it. The am3 with the tripod is probably something like 5-6kg. I keep it all together with my telescope and I don’t have to disassemble it. I just put it outside, polar align and I am done in less than 5 min (or at least I was when my am3 used to work;) )

[golden forum]

Thanks, that gives very good insight! After some research since last post my top contenders were indeed the eq6r pro and the am3. Since I especially was looking into a mount without a lot of issues, I think my choice has been confirmed 👍🏻. I now only have a dslr, but I was looking into maybe buying a Newtonian telescope someday. And with the high payload capacity of the eq6r pro compared to the am3, I think it will be more future proof.

[golden forum]

Do you perhaps know how well it works with an asiair and auto guiding?