Benro Polaris Review
- David Jensen
- Jul 10
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
2 year evaluation of the Benro Polaris Astro 3-Axis Head
Is the Benro Polaris just an expensive paperweight or a star tracker worth getting? Lets find out!
What influenced my decision to choose the Benro Polaris?
In this review, I will focus on the Benro Polaris 3 Axis Head, particularly for astrophotography (Milky Way). This review will specifically discuss using the Benro Polaris for capturing images of the Milky Way both single and panoramic images.
First some history to give my review context. Like most beginners in Milky Way photography, I started with a simple camera and tripod. I would venture out under the night sky, pushing the limits of the 25-second exposure time that most photographers are restricted to.
This limitation is due to Earth's rotation; exposures longer than 26 seconds result in blurred stars as they begin to trail. My favourite Astro lense at the time was the Tokina 16-28mm 2.8
For several years, I was happy with this approach, however I admired the breath-taking images of other Astro photographers and wondered how they managed to create such clean, noise-free photos with vibrant detail and colour. I also wanted to be able use longer focal lengths like a 35mm and 50mm to make the Milky Way a little more prominent in my images.
The final straw for me was when I went on an adventure with some friends, and one of them had the MSM (Move Shoot Move) tracker. He spent the night taking two-minute exposures at ISO 800. His images were incredibly clean because he used a fast lens and a lower ISO. I have to admit, I was envious. After seeing his photos, I decided I needed a tracker to advance my Milky Way photography.
Which tracker should I choose? Would it be mainly for the Milky Way, or would I explore deep sky object tracking? After some consideration and reflecting on my past preferences, I decided that a Milky Way tracker would be sufficient for my needs but which one?
After discussion with family astro photographers it boiled down to the Sky Watcher 2i or the IOprton. The fact that the IOPtron works best when used with a laptop made the decision easy. As I was not wanting to carry even more gear, I went with the Sky Watcher 2i.
The Sky Watcher was extremely challenging to use in the Southern Hemisphere because of its inadequate polar scope. I could hardly see through it, and the alignment process was frustratingly slow. Even when I thought I had it aligned correctly, it was difficult to achieve proper alignment.
Once I got the Sky Labs phone mount to utilize photo pills for aligning the tracker, I began experiencing some success, though it was somewhat inconsistent and panoramas meant I had to manually move the tracker and hope I got enough overlap.
"Surely, in today's modern world, someone has developed a more automated tracker using GPS?"
During my search, I came across the Benro Polaris and it looked pretty awesome that was until I saw the price! In New Zealand, it was priced at $2299 with the Astro Kit—ouch! That's quite a hefty sum for something that is essentially a side hobby for most photographers.
There was also lots of negative feedback about its complicated usage; some even referred to it as an expensive paperweight. I definitely had second thoughts. Many people mentioned that it didn't perform as expected. However, I also discovered online images captured by other Astro photographers who loved their Benro Polaris and highlighted their breathtaking panoramic Milky Way shots.
Confusion and decisions.....I was definitely uncertain about whether to purchase it or not. So, I ventured out a few more times with my Sky Watcher 2i and tried to capture a panoramic image of the night sky. It was not very user-friendly and felt rather cumbersome when attempting the panorama. The whole process was very manual. Frustrated, I went home and decided to take the plunge, spending $2299 NZD on the Benro Polaris. I suppose I was about to discover whether I had just purchased an expensive paperweight!
1st Field Trip - Complete disaster!
My first trip out with the Benro Polaris was a complete disaster in every respect. However this was all entirely user error and not the fault of the Polaris. I did very little research on how to operate the unit and ended up never able to successfully polar align the unit to a star. Lesson learned, do more research!
2nd Field Trip - Still a failure but hope on the horizon!
So a few weeks later after some YouTube research and some test runs at home learning how to calibrate and celestial align, I headed out on my second adventure. Although I managed the alignment and at home, out in the field I could not get the unit to celestial align properly. The unit kept searching for objects in the complete opposite area of sky. What the hell was going on?
I soon discovered that I was calibrating with my phone in the wrong orientation! This part was really crucial but because of my inexperience with the unit, I did not know the phone had to be pointed in a specific direction...
So yet again back on YouTube and do some research...
And then I found Dan Zafra You Tube series on the Polaris. https://capturetheatlas.com/author/danzafra/
I noticed that Dan had a specific course on the Benro Polaris. However it was going to cost some money. It was called the Benro Polaris Masterclass https://academy.capturetheatlas.com/benro-polaris-masterclass-en/
Well I thought to myself, if I have spent near $2300 NZD on the Benro Polaris and the course was on sale for $200NZD at the time, I had nothing to lose. Maybe the Polaris was just an expense paperweight as others had said. Maybe they were right... damn it!
I was so wrong! The Dan Zafra Benro Polaris Course was truly a masterclass. The course mostly focused on the Astro Module of the Benro Polaris however the course included so many great tips and tricks for using the Benro Polaris. I watched the course many many times and this time felt super confident to go out and risk it all on one of my bucket list shots. If I screwed this up there was probably going to slim chance I would get the opportunity again.
The skies were super clear, the Milky Way was going to be in perfect alignment, there was zero wind, so I headed out and I knew it was going to be the night I would decide if I was going to succeed or end of selling the Benro Polaris to the next victim.
3rd Field Trip - Success!
So here I was at my bucket list location, the skies were clear, no wind, no traffic passing by and the Milky Way exactly where I wanted it to be.
I breathed deeply and followed the masterclass instructions, slowly and surely doubling checking my settings, focus and settings in the Polaris. It was now or never, time to take those shots. I waited 25 minutes for the shooting sequence to finish, nervous and apprehensive.....
To my absolute joy and pleasure I looked at the sequence on the back of my Nikon Z7 and was very happy!
The Benro Polaris Pros and Cons
Since that fateful night, I sold the Sky Watcher 2i and have completely depended on the Benro Polaris for all my Milky Way single and panoramic shots with absolutely no regrets. Sure, the Benro Polaris is not perfect but after a few firmware updates over the last two years, the Polaris has improved its reliability and accuracy.
There are moments where it does random things, like lose alignment and start skewing in a weird direction or I have also experienced it losing tracking during a shoot and ruining the panorama, but these issues are few now and and I still wonder whether its maybe my fault. Its easy to get excited when out in the night sky with the Milky Way shining bright and you forget to keep your cool and setup correctly.
I strongly suggest that if you're considering buying the Benro Polaris, you should take Dan's Masterclass. I would even say it's essential, as it can significantly impact your success or failure.
I have also created a small series of videos on the Benro Polaris basic functions on You Tube for further instruction on how to use the tracker.
In Summary
Do I recommend the Benro Polaris for Milky Way photography?
My answer is yes although be prepared to have a learning curve that is different to the other types of trackers on the market. Its a pity Benro don't really provide decent instruction on how to use the Polaris and you essentially have to pay for Dans course to understand how to use the unit correctly.
Pros
Makes Milky Way panoramic images an absolute breeze. You practically set and forget and enjoy some relax time while the unit goes and does its thing.
Is light and very portable.
Takes a variety of lenses and can be used for Deep Sky in conjunction with a laptop and Alpaca
Shows you a preview after it takes a shot of each frame.
Battery lasts more than long enough for a good nights shooting.
Automated tracking & polar alignment.
Plenty of automations.
Frequent firmware updates.
You can power it from a suitable USB Power Bank.
Cons
Expensive.
Rarely but occasionally loses alignment during the middle of a shoot for no apparent reason and starts skewing in a weird direction.
Software bugs in some advanced functions.
Can only be controlled via smartphone.
Drains your smartphone battery very quickly! (take a power bank is a must).
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