What is the Difference Between AZ and EQ Telescopes?
AZ = Altazimuth Mount
Altazimuth mounts are some of the most common mounts for both astronomy and photography. It is a simple manual mount that allows you to move the telescope upwards, downwards, left and right. This gives you the freedom to move the telescope freely across the sky without any constraints, alignment, or calibration necessary.
This is the type of mount most people will think of when they think of mounts in general. It is used for mounted TV cameras, professional photography, and astronomy.
People like the altazimuth mount because of the freedom and fluidity of movement that it offers.
EQ = Equatorial Mount
Equatorial mounts are similar to altazimuth mounts but they lock one of the axes of movement so that the telescope only moves along a single axis.
Which Is Better?
At the end of the day, which is better is going to be up to you depending on what you are trying to get out of your telescope experience. If you are looking for a more freeform and relaxed method of star scanning then you might prefer the ease of the altazimuth mount.
The equatorial mount does require some alignment and basic calculations to get set up properly. Suitable for professionals