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I started to post this in another thread but then thought it may be of more use in its own thread. I know that there are quite a few folk on here that do, or would like to do, a bit of Astro Photography from the brilliant and very experienced to the less experienced, the latter group to which I belong.
As I have recently bought a Skywatcher Star Adventurer and several people in here either own one or have expressed an interest in trackers I thought I would put my thoughts on the tracker and its use into a review that might answer some of the questions people may have regarding tracked Astro photography on a budget.
So here are my thoughts on the Star Adventurer based on my experience with it and my suggestions for making the use of it easier.
I had done a bit of Astro photography over the last 18 months but never took it seriously but decided this year I was going to make an effort to do more and take better quality images. I decided to buy this mount as it seemed to get decent reviews and wasn't going to break the bank.
I bought the astro version of the star adventurer which comes with additional equipment including an equatorial wedge to mount the tracker on as well as other pieces to allow various options in set up and also the use of more than one camera/ scope at the same time. It currently retails for around £280 for the Astro version.
The Star Adventurer is what is known as an equatorial mount. It is designed to rotate at the same speed as the earth and in theory allow long exposure imaging that would not be possible with static camera/tripod set ups.
Initial impressions are that it is a well made piece of equipment and that some thought has gone into its design and manufacture. Given all the accessories that come in the Astro version I think that it is decent value for money.
So to setting up the tracker and its accessories to allow you to take great Astro photographs. Well that's the idea anyway.
The first step is to mount the equatorial wedge to your tripod.
To get the best out of the tracker you will need a stable tripod and only extend it to the minimum height required. I have a small stool that I sit on to polar align the tracker initially and only extend the tripod enough to be able to see through the finder scope on the tracker.
Then you mount the tracker to the equatorial wedge.
The equatorial wedge isn't strictly necessary as you can mount the tracker to a pan and tilt head or a ball head but the equatorial wedge has two functions that, whilst not impossible to do with a pan and tilt or ball head, make it a lot easier to polar align the tracker. The first is that you can set the elevation or latitude in degrees on the tracker by means of an adjuster on the wedge. The second is that the left/right movement of the equatorial mount is controlled by two adjusters that allow very fine control to get Polaris in the right position in the polar scope when polar aligning.
The tracker has a polar scope built into it which allows you to look through the body of the tracker along its rotational axis to correctly align Polaris. At the eye piece end of the polar scope you have a couple of calibrated dials that you can use to set up the tracker ready for polar alignment. On the side of the tracker you will see a couple of buttons with arrows on them, a slider switch, a socket labelled 'snap', a 5v DC socket and a 'auto guider port'. On the other side of the body you will see a rotary switch with 7 different functions which are used dependent on what role you are utilising the tracker for as it can be used as a time lapse head as well. For the purposes of basic Astro photography you only need to ensure that the slider switch is set to 'N' and on the rotary dial you will be using the setting marked by a 'star' on the dial.
Polar aligning the tracker.
Download PS Align app for your phone or tablet. This helps significantly in setting the polar alignment.
You have to polar align every time you use the tracker so it's worth practising at home until you're confident that (a) You can find Polaris in the sky and (b) you can find it in the polar scope and be sure that it is Polaris that you're using for the set up. To find Polaris you need to set the latitude of the tracker to the same as Polaris in the night sky. This is when you need the PS Align app. Make sure that 'location' or GPS is enabled on your phone or tablet so that the app can find your location. Open the app and you will see that it is giving you the time, date and also your latitude and longitude. This obviously varies depending on where you live.
You need to take the latitude setting, which for me is around 57 degrees, and using the scale on the front of the equatorial wedge rotate the adjuster knob until the arrow points to the right latitude.
You now need to take the polar illuminator, which comes with the kit, and mount it in the hole at the opposite end from the eyepiece on the polar scope and switch it on. This illuminates the polar scope tube so that you can see the set up reticule when you look through the the eye piece of the polar scope.
You now need to go into the settings of the PS Align app and choose the reticule display called 'Orion/Skywatcher 2012-2032'. Then click 'done'. When the home screen returns you will see that the display now matches the view that you can see in the polar scope of the tracker. Also on the screen you will see the position of Polaris marked by a small yellow cross somewhere on the display depending on the time of day. You now need to set the '0' on the reticule scale to the 12 o'clock position. You do his by loosening the large black clutch release ring on the front of the tracker and rotating the dovetail section where you mount the camera. Once you have the '0' at the 12 o'clock position lock the clutch release ring again.
Now you need to find Polaris in the sky. There is plenty of information on how to do this online but I always use the Plough Constellation to find it. Once you have found it then move your tripod and tracker until you have it pointing roughly in the right direction. After a bit of practice you will be able to set the tripod accurately enough that you will see Polaris in the polar scope when you look through it. Now level the tripod using the level built into the tracker base. Now look through the polar scope eyepiece. With a bit of luck you will see Polaris in the scope. Now it is simply a case of adjusting the left/right rotation and the latitude of the wedge until Polaris is in the exact position that you see on the screen of PS Align. When you have Polaris aligned to your satisfaction then turn the rotary dial on the tracker to the 'star' position which will start the tracker running.
You are now in a position to mount your camera.
I will post the next piece later as this is the most typing I've done since I filled out my CV
As I have recently bought a Skywatcher Star Adventurer and several people in here either own one or have expressed an interest in trackers I thought I would put my thoughts on the tracker and its use into a review that might answer some of the questions people may have regarding tracked Astro photography on a budget.
So here are my thoughts on the Star Adventurer based on my experience with it and my suggestions for making the use of it easier.
I had done a bit of Astro photography over the last 18 months but never took it seriously but decided this year I was going to make an effort to do more and take better quality images. I decided to buy this mount as it seemed to get decent reviews and wasn't going to break the bank.
I bought the astro version of the star adventurer which comes with additional equipment including an equatorial wedge to mount the tracker on as well as other pieces to allow various options in set up and also the use of more than one camera/ scope at the same time. It currently retails for around £280 for the Astro version.
The Star Adventurer is what is known as an equatorial mount. It is designed to rotate at the same speed as the earth and in theory allow long exposure imaging that would not be possible with static camera/tripod set ups.
Initial impressions are that it is a well made piece of equipment and that some thought has gone into its design and manufacture. Given all the accessories that come in the Astro version I think that it is decent value for money.
So to setting up the tracker and its accessories to allow you to take great Astro photographs. Well that's the idea anyway.
The first step is to mount the equatorial wedge to your tripod.
To get the best out of the tracker you will need a stable tripod and only extend it to the minimum height required. I have a small stool that I sit on to polar align the tracker initially and only extend the tripod enough to be able to see through the finder scope on the tracker.
Then you mount the tracker to the equatorial wedge.
The equatorial wedge isn't strictly necessary as you can mount the tracker to a pan and tilt head or a ball head but the equatorial wedge has two functions that, whilst not impossible to do with a pan and tilt or ball head, make it a lot easier to polar align the tracker. The first is that you can set the elevation or latitude in degrees on the tracker by means of an adjuster on the wedge. The second is that the left/right movement of the equatorial mount is controlled by two adjusters that allow very fine control to get Polaris in the right position in the polar scope when polar aligning.
The tracker has a polar scope built into it which allows you to look through the body of the tracker along its rotational axis to correctly align Polaris. At the eye piece end of the polar scope you have a couple of calibrated dials that you can use to set up the tracker ready for polar alignment. On the side of the tracker you will see a couple of buttons with arrows on them, a slider switch, a socket labelled 'snap', a 5v DC socket and a 'auto guider port'. On the other side of the body you will see a rotary switch with 7 different functions which are used dependent on what role you are utilising the tracker for as it can be used as a time lapse head as well. For the purposes of basic Astro photography you only need to ensure that the slider switch is set to 'N' and on the rotary dial you will be using the setting marked by a 'star' on the dial.
Polar aligning the tracker.
Download PS Align app for your phone or tablet. This helps significantly in setting the polar alignment.
You have to polar align every time you use the tracker so it's worth practising at home until you're confident that (a) You can find Polaris in the sky and (b) you can find it in the polar scope and be sure that it is Polaris that you're using for the set up. To find Polaris you need to set the latitude of the tracker to the same as Polaris in the night sky. This is when you need the PS Align app. Make sure that 'location' or GPS is enabled on your phone or tablet so that the app can find your location. Open the app and you will see that it is giving you the time, date and also your latitude and longitude. This obviously varies depending on where you live.
You need to take the latitude setting, which for me is around 57 degrees, and using the scale on the front of the equatorial wedge rotate the adjuster knob until the arrow points to the right latitude.
You now need to take the polar illuminator, which comes with the kit, and mount it in the hole at the opposite end from the eyepiece on the polar scope and switch it on. This illuminates the polar scope tube so that you can see the set up reticule when you look through the the eye piece of the polar scope.
You now need to go into the settings of the PS Align app and choose the reticule display called 'Orion/Skywatcher 2012-2032'. Then click 'done'. When the home screen returns you will see that the display now matches the view that you can see in the polar scope of the tracker. Also on the screen you will see the position of Polaris marked by a small yellow cross somewhere on the display depending on the time of day. You now need to set the '0' on the reticule scale to the 12 o'clock position. You do his by loosening the large black clutch release ring on the front of the tracker and rotating the dovetail section where you mount the camera. Once you have the '0' at the 12 o'clock position lock the clutch release ring again.
Now you need to find Polaris in the sky. There is plenty of information on how to do this online but I always use the Plough Constellation to find it. Once you have found it then move your tripod and tracker until you have it pointing roughly in the right direction. After a bit of practice you will be able to set the tripod accurately enough that you will see Polaris in the polar scope when you look through it. Now level the tripod using the level built into the tracker base. Now look through the polar scope eyepiece. With a bit of luck you will see Polaris in the scope. Now it is simply a case of adjusting the left/right rotation and the latitude of the wedge until Polaris is in the exact position that you see on the screen of PS Align. When you have Polaris aligned to your satisfaction then turn the rotary dial on the tracker to the 'star' position which will start the tracker running.
You are now in a position to mount your camera.
I will post the next piece later as this is the most typing I've done since I filled out my CV
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