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Product no.: 62043

Mount MiniTrack LX3

RRP: $ 258.00 Our price:
$ 209.00 incl. VAT plus shipping costs
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This product is available in the following variants:
Ball head Price
no $ 209.00
yes $ 249.00

Product description

Get the most beautiful pics of the Milky Way with the MiniTrack LX3
The Omegon MiniTrack LX3 is a compact photography mount that almost guarantees accomplished astropics - with both wide-angle and lightweight telephoto lenses. It is surprisingly simple to get gorgeous views of the cosmos - even if you think you don't belong to the bunch of gifted astrophotographers.

Moreover, the MiniTrack LX3 does it all without electricity - it's purely mechanical. The predecessor, the MiniTrack LX2, was already top-notch, but certain parts of the MiniTrack LX3 have been improved yet again, with a 60% increase in precision. So, look forward to wonderful pictures that will astound everyone. See for yourself and create gorgeous portraits in the blink of an eye.

The advantages in a nutshell

  • Take pictures of the night sky from anywhere in the northern hemisphere - successfully and effortlessly
  • Never needs charging - works via clockwork, so is independent of batteries and power sockets
  • Wind-up by pulling the cord and the mount will start operating immediately
  • Optimal for overview shots of the starry sky and using telephoto lenses up to about 300mm

  • The specific advantages of the MiniTrack LX3
  • More load-bearing capacity: the MiniTrack LX3 can support higher weights from now on i. e. cameras and equipment of up to 3 kg
  • A big Teflon bush ensures softer and more fluent motion
  • Even more customized: its stronger suspension system cushions or accelerates motions
  • CNC body: the casing is now even better, more beautiful and, above all, more stable
  • Optical polar finder for an exact adjustment to the celestial pole and impeccably precise tracked star pics

Better astronomy photos
Don't just bring holiday photos back home from your trip with you, take home stunning astronomy photos too. And it's a lot easier than you may think. All you need is a tripod, the MiniTrack mount, a ball-head and your camera. Reduced to the essentials it still does the job - producing good astronomy photos that anyone can take. And it does exactly that!

60 minutes of mechanical tracking
The MiniTrack has a clockwork heart, electronics have no place. A precision movement accurately tracks your camera. Wind-up the MiniTrack with its cord, like an analogue clock, and it will start tracking immediately and continue for 60 minutes. This mount will never flag, even in freezing conditions. Your new mount can even take a telephoto lens. It is no coincidence that this 'expert' in wide-field photography has won the hearts of amateur astronomers.

Like a counterweight: the advanced suspension system
The MiniTrack LX3 does not have a counterweight but features a suspension system instead that works like one. This makes the MiniTrack extremely compact and fit for travel. Now, as a new feature, an improved suspension system will support your camera, even under one-sided strain, and will cushion or accelerate the tracking system. This results in increased adaptability and tracking stars will become more accurate.

Tip: Optimum tracking speed is achieved when the clockwork ticks 130-135 times per minute. The spring has to be tensioned in accordance with the weight of your camera. Determining the ticks per minute with a “TapTempo-App BPM“ for smartphones is recommended. These apps are used in the field of music and measure the tempo of a composition automatically. Make use of such an app and measure the speed of the MiniTrack.

Big Teflon bush
The entire construction of the MiniTrack has been improved. Its bigger Teflon bush ensures an especially smooth camera motion, while tracking.

CNC casing
The new casing of the MiniTrack LX3 is more appealing to the eye and even more durable. This mount's milled aluminum is considerably more resistant. So don't worry if your mount has to endure adverse conditions. The quality of the MiniTrack LX3 holds up - even after several years.

More load capacity - equal portability
Do you need more? The MiniTrack will now support camera rigs of up to 3 kg, but the mount remains nearly as small, lightweight and portable as before. The only difference is you can use cameras with bigger or longer objective lenses and of course you can still expect the mount's superb stability.

Find the celestial pole more easily
Find the celestial pole with precision, using the optical polar finder. The MiniTrack LX3 comprises a bracket and a polar finder just as in larger mounts, making polar alignment easier to capture crisp stars and objects.

Fits onto every tripod
The MiniTrack has two connectors - one for the tripod and another for your camera or ball-head. Simply attach the mount to your tripod as usual using the 1/4" screw and align the MiniTrack as you like. Alternatively, you can mount a ball head with the 1/4" or 3/8" thread.

Invented and developed by Cristian Fattinnanzi
The MiniTrack mount was developed by Cristian Fattinnanzi from Italy. Omegon has taken over the distribution to make it accessible to a wider circle of photographers and nature lovers.

Take astronomy photos in no time at all using this fully mechanical mini-mount. No power or charging is required. Just take a picture - anytime, anywhere.

Tags: MiniTrack, Mini Track, LX2, LX3, LX4, LX Quattro

The MiniTrack LX3 is the successor to the much loved MiniTrack LX2 mount. For you this means even more power for beautiful astrophotos.

Our expert comment:

What's the best way to take successful astro-photos?

You can find out in our article Your first astronomy photo in 7 easy steps using the MiniTrack.

To adjust the polar finder you need a 1.5mm Hex key, for example the Omegon 1.5mm Hex key.

Specifications

Capacity


Fits ...
Camera tripod
Operating temperature
-20 - 60
Max. additional load capacity (kg)
3

Special features


Tracking on DEC axis
no
Tracking on RA axis
yes

Equipment


Tripod
without tripod
Ball head
no
Pole finder
yes

General


Weight (g)
650
Material
Aluminium
Overall size LxWxH (cm)
21 x 7,8 x 3
Type
Mount
Type of build
Camera mount
Series
MiniTrack

Product safety

manufacturer: NIMAX GmbH, Otto-Lilienthal-Str. 9, 86899 Landsberg am Lech, DE, www.nimax.de

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*All prices include VAT plus shipping costs.

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
Hot Product Award 2019
Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
The MiniTrack mount - here is an example showing it with tripod, ball head and SLR camera.

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
No power required - simply wind up the MiniTrack like a clock

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
The back of the MiniTrack - The wind-up spring mechanism ensures reliable tracking, even when only loaded on one side

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
'The Frozen Lake' - Carezza Lake, Italy. At the foot of the Latemar Massif in the Dolomites (1530m). Exposure - 2x300 seconds, ISO800 with a Laowa 12mm lens on a Canon 5d3 camera. Photo: Cristian Fattinnanzi.

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
'Saslong Night' - Sassolungo da Col Raiser, Italy. Composite of 2x300 second exposures at ISO800 (1x sky, 1x landscape), taken with Canon 5d3 camera and Canon 16-35 f/2.8 lens. Photo: Cristian Fattinnanzi.

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
'Heart of the Galaxy' - composite photo from different exposures taken at a mountain refuge in Fargno (1820m). The main picture was taken with a Canon 5d Mark III using a 24-70 f/2.8 lens set at 39mm (exposure 180sec., ISO400). A Canon 20Da camera modified for astronomy was used at two different focal lengths for the nebula region. Wide field at 24mm, Rho Ophiuchi details were zoomed in at 70mm focal length. Picture: Cristian Fattinnanzi.

Omegon Mount MiniTrack LX3
Overview for our various MiniTrack articles

Customer reviews

nice but also probles with startrailing

Review by F. b. on 17.11.2020 04:38:44

( 3 / 5 )

I also experience probles with star trailing dispite a verry accurate calibration and spring settings what can i do to fix this. read there are probles with the inner PTFE bush .

Good idea let down by poor QC

Review by R. S. on 29.09.2020 13:56:33

( 3 / 5 )

I recently bought an LX3 and had some issues with star trailing on some frames. On dismantling the LX3 I found that the PTFE bush that supports the brass drive pin (that the camera ball head connects to) was very poorly reamed out resulting in free play between the pin and the bush. I am arranging for a metal bush replacement to be machined to rectify this. I have had no reply from Omegon in response to a number of emails on this subject. I have done a review on DP review under the astronomy forum section if you want to see photos.

This is a useful product generally well made but let down by this key component

Response on this review by our expert Ulrich Zehndbauer

on 02.10.2020 09:38:22

Dear Customer,
thank you very much for your feedback! Our customer is taking care of this issue already and you will receive a info how to proceed to solve this problem.
Team Astroshop

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