I have learned more information in the past few years than my entire life. Thank you for you channel. I got my Star Adventurer a few days ago and have a cabin near a Bortle 2 dark sky park. The park is so busy with vehicles it looks like a drive in movie parking lot but too much light activity so I packed up and went to my backyard which cuts down on my field of view since I am in a valley. Lucky for me the Milky Way runs parallel to the mountains so I can see closer to the horizon looking North and South. I am pleased with my first tracked pics. THANK YOU!
I just bought mine yesterday Living in Glasgow city. I have balcony that gives and excellent view of the sky and Orion from rise to set. But Polaris is blocked by the building. Is there any way to get around polar alignment? Or is tracker useless on my balcony?
I am following your instructions precisely and headed, tomorrow, to Dark Sky Country in Southwest Texas, Big Bend National Park. I feel confident that I will bring home some good photos. Your videos are excellent! Thank you.
Hi Kamil...totally love your videos, very informative and well presented. I have to say that you are inspiring me to buy a star adventure tracker, nice in depth videos you have on this subject without leaving anything out I live in the UK and am currently in full lockdown...probably to march, just in time for milkyway core season...😁. Everywhere here at the moment is waiting stock of this Star Adventurer product (about march) so I'm going through your content and trying to learn as much as I can on astrophotography as its all new to me, I do have experience in landscape photography so hopefully this will help me in the field for nice compositions. I find astro fascinating and can't wait to get out there and capture some andromeda and milkyway shots. Keep up the great work...your time and effort is most appreciated...👍
Thanks for the video, it helped a lot. Newbie question: is there an app that will tell you where to place Polaris in your polar scope for a future date/time? I am going to a location that will not have a connection for my smartphone. Thanks!
Thanks for your in depth tutorials, only came across your channel and subscribed today, you’ve made up my mind , in now going to get your setup , that’s when they’re available, everywhere in the uk seems sold out , you make it look easier than most and given me the confidence to have a go myself ,once again thanks and I look forward to viewing more of your content
Thank you - I'm glad you like them! I got mine at B&H from New York as it was sold out locally in Poland where I live as well. Good luck and clear skies! More content will come soon for sure 😊
Hi Kamil, very nice video. I especially liked the inside view of the polar scope. Thank you very much. After watching the entire viewo I am left with a questions :) : When taking the testshot of the milkyway you say that from 15" exp. time to 4` its 4 steps down, thus reducing the iso by 4 steps. How is 15" to 4´ four steps?
Exposure „stops” go by doubling or halving when it comes to shutter or ISO. So 1 stop from 15’’ is 30”, 2 stops is 1’, 3 stops are 2’ and 4 stops are 4’
Great post-processing work to blend the landscape and the sky, mate! FWIW, with my copy of Samyang 135mm f/2.0, infinity is infinity, so I have no problem focusing in the field. I take you usually use the Canon 70-300mm for semi-deep-sky objects like Rho?
Thanks! Yeah 70-300mm is my go-to for deep sky and actually Rho is my next target. For that one I wish I had the Samyang 135mm f/2 actually - it would be perfect for that!
@@kamilkp Sure, the focal length is, but the lens itself - unfortunately - isn't. Rho is one of the first targets people try when they get their hands on the Samyang 135mm f/2, but its vignetting is so bad even at f/2.8, and if you ever try to frame such that Antares is at the center, then it becomes nearly impossible to fix the concentric rings of light gradient. Just google about its vignetting and concentric rings problem. Sorry but what's the point of purchasing a f/2 lens if you have to stop it down to at least f/5.6, or face cropping most of the image out?! Sorry for the rant, mate - something to keep in mind if you ever decided to purchase this lens! :)
No no no, don’t be sorry! Actually I appreciate that you wrote it very much because I was seriously considering to buy this lens 😅 I guess I’d better off buy a proper refractor from Sky-Watcher then
Prawdopodobnie zaoszczędziłeś mi pół miesiąca prób i błędów tym filmem. Wyprowadziłem się na wyspy prawie 20 lat temu i odgłos insektów w nocy uzmysłowił mi jak bardzo mi tego tutaj brakuje. Wiszę ci dobrą whisky.
how do you determine how many stops you need to go down after you determine the right ISO without the tracker on. and how do you find out how many stops are worth of ISO?
Your videos are SO helpful omg!!! I just got my star adventurer pro 2 and sooo lost on how to properly use it!! I’ve been trying to practice tracking the moon as it’s a full moon when it came in the mail, but im having such a hard time getting the SA to track. As my camera is shooting, the moon is moving across my frame instead of the tracker going with it. I’m not sure if that’s a silly comment but I’m such a beginner with tracking the night sky, I’m typically a single exposure kind of gal! I’m thinking my balance is off.
@@kamilkp I’m definitely doing a lazy polar alignment as I live 10 minutes out of NYC and haven’t had the time to go somewhere darker, so finding Polaris has been rough! I’ll try fine tuning next week when I go to the Jersey shore region!
Well, I stack them with either SSS or SLS bacause I’m on MacOS. On Windows definitely DSS is the way to go. Check out this video for my general workflow: ua-cam.com/video/2yUkmx9EicQ/v-deo.html
It’s up to you. In principle you can even stack daytime images with ISO 100 as long as the subject is not moving. It will reduce noise even if you start with low-noise images to begin with and I’d advise to always shoot a couple of exposures anyway just to be extra safe. Also you might get an airplane or sattelite flare on one of them so it’s nice to have backup. But you are right, when you use a tracker and low ISO you can totally get away with no stacking. In fact at the very end of this video when I show the two final images: the 24mm one is a stack of 4 sky exposures but the 15mm is a single sky exposure blended with a single ground exposure.
Loved this video and looking through polar scope. 26 thousand light years away lies a solar mass black hole at centre of milky way galaxy. A solar mass sized black hole is about 3 to 6 million times the mass of our sun. Hope those shots turned out really good!!! From Scotland the centre of the milky way barely rises in South. Have you ever thought of photographing the M16? M16 is now a target for astronomers who do astrophotography thanks to those famous Pillars of creation by the most successful telescope ever built The Hubble Space telescope! Next year I plan to photograph the eagle nebula with my new 72ed refractor as I want to find out how much of those pillars of creation will be shown as I know it will be very small. You ever thought about testing the Pixel 4's astrophotography mode? This phone will be amazing in very dark sky locations. The dark nights has returned but I never saw Comet neowise due to cloud and haze. It's always great when The dark nights come back so it means Astrophotography season started again.
I’m glad you loved the video - means a lot! 😊 Yeah this image of Pillars of Creation from Hubble is amazing! You know that there will be a „Hubble 2.0” telescope launched into space soon? It’s the James Webb telescope - imagine what photos will it be able to take, just wow, what a time to live in, right? 😀 I don’t own this phone and I’m more into astrophotography with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras but I’ve heard that these new phones are quite capable at night. So best of luck and let me know how it goes!
@@kamilkp The James web space telescope JWST is going to do things that no other telescope will do. This telescope will see into the early universe like never before. It will find atmospheres round other planets in other solar systems out there. It will see in the infrared further. Astronomers have made Hubble the success it is today with the most stunning images ever seen. JWST will usher a new era in astronomy research that no telescope will achieve. You know that object you photographed in your detail setup of star adventure video? Thats the north American nebula near Deneb. So called that because it looks like north America. How much do you know about the night sky? You know the constellations well? I can't wait to take star tracker to Glencoe near Fort William because Glencoe is absolutely stunning even one of the top stars of Game of thrones tv series said it's the most stunning place to see in world. I think it was John snow from game of thrones said that. I love camping in Glencoe and it's pretty dark there and I got fantastic shots of Orion. My favourite Astronomer now is Neil degeese Tyson he simply is awesome how he explains the universe and astronomy research! Hubble and JWST will work together until Hubble is broken or it's time to burn it in earth atmosphere but Hubble will always be in the history books!!!
Yep, I know all about it with regards to JWST and I couldn’t be more excited for when it’s finally operational - what a huge milestone that will be for science!!
I’m using a very cheap basic tripod from a polish brand called „Camrock”, model TS53. It costed like $50 and I’m perfectly happy with it. I’m using it for 3 years in different conditions and it’s good as new 😄
Hello brother! how do we add ground photo to the milky way photo with masking technique? It is difficult to composit a photo with trees and branches on the ground.Can you make a video about it?
Couple of questions 1. At what point do you turn on the tracker ? once you find polaris or when you are about to shoot after you find polaris? 2. To take the ground shot, did you have to recomposed the camera ?
I turn on the tracker just before starting to find my framing. And to take the ground shot I did recompose to include a little bit more of the ground and why I did that I explain here: ua-cam.com/video/ZeGMMoXBNMA/v-deo.html
great trip! on the other hand I find that the lighting of the polar finder of the star adventurer is weak ... especially if the support of the camera is in place
I recommended not to use one ONLY when using the declination bracket with counterweight etc. But here I was doing wide angle shots so I used the smaller and lighter ballhead mount in which case a ballhead is essential. Let me know if that’s clear now :)
Ok, szybkie pytanie. Może ktoś mi pomoże. skąd się wzięła ta redukcja ISO o 4 stopnie ? Jak będę chciał mieć czas ekspozycji 3 minuty to redukuję ISO o 3 stopnie ?
Another cracking tutorial especially with the sound effects from the crickets
Haha yeah, I’m glad you liked it! 😉
@@kamilkp thanks again for sharing your knowledge. There's so much to learn but your videos help flatten the learning curve
Just bought a skywatcher SA pro2. So will check out your work. Subbed and liked . Happy new year to you. From Scotland 😉
Super good video again and nice that you showed us little bit of Krakow at night
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it 😊
I have learned more information in the past few years than my entire life. Thank you for you channel. I got my Star Adventurer a few days ago and have a cabin near a Bortle 2 dark sky park. The park is so busy with vehicles it looks like a drive in movie parking lot but too much light activity so I packed up and went to my backyard which cuts down on my field of view since I am in a valley. Lucky for me the Milky Way runs parallel to the mountains so I can see closer to the horizon looking North and South. I am pleased with my first tracked pics. THANK YOU!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you succeeded!
I just bought mine yesterday
Living in Glasgow city. I have balcony that gives and excellent view of the sky and Orion from rise to set. But Polaris is blocked by the building. Is there any way to get around polar alignment? Or is tracker useless on my balcony?
I am following your instructions precisely and headed, tomorrow, to Dark Sky Country in Southwest Texas, Big Bend National Park. I feel confident that I will bring home some good photos. Your videos are excellent! Thank you.
Such a good video!
Man u r my hero
Hi Kamil...totally love your videos, very informative and well presented. I have to say that you are inspiring me to buy a star adventure tracker, nice in depth videos you have on this subject without leaving anything out I live in the UK and am currently in full lockdown...probably to march, just in time for milkyway core season...😁. Everywhere here at the moment is waiting stock of this Star Adventurer product (about march) so I'm going through your content and trying to learn as much as I can on astrophotography as its all new to me, I do have experience in landscape photography so hopefully this will help me in the field for nice compositions. I find astro fascinating and can't wait to get out there and capture some andromeda and milkyway shots. Keep up the great work...your time and effort is most appreciated...👍
Thanks Kamil, very helpful
Thanks for the video, it helped a lot. Newbie question: is there an app that will tell you where to place Polaris in your polar scope for a future date/time? I am going to a location that will not have a connection for my smartphone. Thanks!
Excellent thank you again!
Kamil that's great thanks!
Thank you so much, i received my star adventurer a few days ago and tomorrow i will have a clear night.
Wish me luck
Fingers crossed! You have a bunch of videos on my channel to refer to - I hope you make it 😉
Hi, your videos are very good, I learn a lot from it, thank you!
You’re welcome 👌
Good stuff, I dream of clear sky’s, been almost 3 months now of cloud cover 😞get some sleep
Thanks for your in depth tutorials, only came across your channel and subscribed today, you’ve made up my mind , in now going to get your setup , that’s when they’re available, everywhere in the uk seems sold out , you make it look easier than most and given me the confidence to have a go myself ,once again thanks and I look forward to viewing more of your content
Thank you - I'm glad you like them! I got mine at B&H from New York as it was sold out locally in Poland where I live as well. Good luck and clear skies! More content will come soon for sure 😊
Hi new subscriber here and new to astrophotography. What is the app you are using at the beginning of your video?
It’s „Plan It” - here’s my video about it: ua-cam.com/video/cNpvE4_ok_g/v-deo.html
Nice one👍👏
Thanks!
I need a tripod for my new star Watcher. None of mine fit. Any suggestions?
Za te filmy niech Bóg Pana nagrodzi lepszą partią rządzącą w Polsce.
Hi Kamil, very nice video. I especially liked the inside view of the polar scope. Thank you very much.
After watching the entire viewo I am left with a questions :) :
When taking the testshot of the milkyway you say that from 15" exp. time to 4` its 4 steps down, thus reducing the iso by 4 steps. How is 15" to 4´ four steps?
Exposure „stops” go by doubling or halving when it comes to shutter or ISO. So 1 stop from 15’’ is 30”, 2 stops is 1’, 3 stops are 2’ and 4 stops are 4’
@@kamilkp Thank you, understood.
Great post-processing work to blend the landscape and the sky, mate!
FWIW, with my copy of Samyang 135mm f/2.0, infinity is infinity, so I have no problem focusing in the field.
I take you usually use the Canon 70-300mm for semi-deep-sky objects like Rho?
Thanks! Yeah 70-300mm is my go-to for deep sky and actually Rho is my next target. For that one I wish I had the Samyang 135mm f/2 actually - it would be perfect for that!
@@kamilkp Sure, the focal length is, but the lens itself - unfortunately - isn't.
Rho is one of the first targets people try when they get their hands on the Samyang 135mm f/2, but its vignetting is so bad even at f/2.8, and if you ever try to frame such that Antares is at the center, then it becomes nearly impossible to fix the concentric rings of light gradient. Just google about its vignetting and concentric rings problem.
Sorry but what's the point of purchasing a f/2 lens if you have to stop it down to at least f/5.6, or face cropping most of the image out?!
Sorry for the rant, mate - something to keep in mind if you ever decided to purchase this lens! :)
No no no, don’t be sorry! Actually I appreciate that you wrote it very much because I was seriously considering to buy this lens 😅 I guess I’d better off buy a proper refractor from Sky-Watcher then
This is what I'm looking the actual
Hi,
what tripod is this?
Camrock TS53 - Polish local brand. camrock.pl/statyw-camrock-ts53
Kamil, what is the app you showed at beginning?
„PlanIt”
Bro tell me one thing how to start tracking after all set. Is there any start button in tracker .
Just set the dial to the ⭐️ position and it will make it start tracking. It’s very slow tho, hard to notice by just looking at it
Okk I got it bro. Thank you very much. And please try M38 Star fish cluster . There is no photos of M38 in internet I'll send you my M38 in instagram
Prawdopodobnie zaoszczędziłeś mi pół miesiąca prób i błędów tym filmem. Wyprowadziłem się na wyspy prawie 20 lat temu i odgłos insektów w nocy uzmysłowił mi jak bardzo mi tego tutaj brakuje. Wiszę ci dobrą whisky.
how do you determine how many stops you need to go down after you determine the right ISO without the tracker on. and how do you find out how many stops are worth of ISO?
Is your tracker in motion the whole time your working with your camera
It’s on all the time from the moment I’ve polar aligned
@@kamilkp thank you. I have been pounding my head against the wall just stuck on that one point.
Your videos are SO helpful omg!!! I just got my star adventurer pro 2 and sooo lost on how to properly use it!! I’ve been trying to practice tracking the moon as it’s a full moon when it came in the mail, but im having such a hard time getting the SA to track. As my camera is shooting, the moon is moving across my frame instead of the tracker going with it. I’m not sure if that’s a silly comment but I’m such a beginner with tracking the night sky, I’m typically a single exposure kind of gal! I’m thinking my balance is off.
Thanks! I’d first make sure that you are polar aligned and set the tracker to the correct hemisphere so it rotates in the correct way.
@@kamilkp I’m definitely doing a lazy polar alignment as I live 10 minutes out of NYC and haven’t had the time to go somewhere darker, so finding Polaris has been rough! I’ll try fine tuning next week when I go to the Jersey shore region!
thanks! and how do you do with those images? stack with DSS or just photoshop?
Well, I stack them with either SSS or SLS bacause I’m on MacOS. On Windows definitely DSS is the way to go. Check out this video for my general workflow: ua-cam.com/video/2yUkmx9EicQ/v-deo.html
@@kamilkp thanks! but if I am using tracker, which my iso is basically low (400-800), so am I supposed to stack images also in this way?
It’s up to you. In principle you can even stack daytime images with ISO 100 as long as the subject is not moving. It will reduce noise even if you start with low-noise images to begin with and I’d advise to always shoot a couple of exposures anyway just to be extra safe. Also you might get an airplane or sattelite flare on one of them so it’s nice to have backup. But you are right, when you use a tracker and low ISO you can totally get away with no stacking. In fact at the very end of this video when I show the two final images: the 24mm one is a stack of 4 sky exposures but the 15mm is a single sky exposure blended with a single ground exposure.
Loved this video and looking through polar scope. 26 thousand light years away lies a solar mass black hole at centre of milky way galaxy. A solar mass sized black hole is about 3 to 6 million times the mass of our sun. Hope those shots turned out really good!!! From Scotland the centre of the milky way barely rises in South. Have you ever thought of photographing the M16? M16 is now a target for astronomers who do astrophotography thanks to those famous Pillars of creation by the most successful telescope ever built The Hubble Space telescope! Next year I plan to photograph the eagle nebula with my new 72ed refractor as I want to find out how much of those pillars of creation will be shown as I know it will be very small. You ever thought about testing the Pixel 4's astrophotography mode? This phone will be amazing in very dark sky locations. The dark nights has returned but I never saw Comet neowise due to cloud and haze. It's always great when The dark nights come back so it means Astrophotography season started again.
I’m glad you loved the video - means a lot! 😊 Yeah this image of Pillars of Creation from Hubble is amazing! You know that there will be a „Hubble 2.0” telescope launched into space soon? It’s the James Webb telescope - imagine what photos will it be able to take, just wow, what a time to live in, right? 😀 I don’t own this phone and I’m more into astrophotography with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras but I’ve heard that these new phones are quite capable at night. So best of luck and let me know how it goes!
@@kamilkp The James web space telescope JWST is going to do things that no other telescope will do. This telescope will see into the early universe like never before. It will find atmospheres round other planets in other solar systems out there. It will see in the infrared further. Astronomers have made Hubble the success it is today with the most stunning images ever seen. JWST will usher a new era in astronomy research that no telescope will achieve. You know that object you photographed in your detail setup of star adventure video? Thats the north American nebula near Deneb. So called that because it looks like north America. How much do you know about the night sky? You know the constellations well? I can't wait to take star tracker to Glencoe near Fort William because Glencoe is absolutely stunning even one of the top stars of Game of thrones tv series said it's the most stunning place to see in world. I think it was John snow from game of thrones said that. I love camping in Glencoe and it's pretty dark there and I got fantastic shots of Orion. My favourite Astronomer now is Neil degeese Tyson he simply is awesome how he explains the universe and astronomy research! Hubble and JWST will work together until Hubble is broken or it's time to burn it in earth atmosphere but Hubble will always be in the history books!!!
Yep, I know all about it with regards to JWST and I couldn’t be more excited for when it’s finally operational - what a huge milestone that will be for science!!
What protection in terms of your safety, you take while going to shoot on such remote places ?
Pepper gas for wild animals
good job :)
Thanks! 😊
What tripod are you using ? also which is a good budget tripod for the sky watcher star tracker ? cheers !
I’m using a very cheap basic tripod from a polish brand called „Camrock”, model TS53. It costed like $50 and I’m perfectly happy with it. I’m using it for 3 years in different conditions and it’s good as new 😄
@@kamilkp I can not find one in the UK :(
Check out this video of mine: ua-cam.com/video/lGAtP1xhPz4/v-deo.html I talk about tripods there (among many others)
Hello brother! how do we add ground photo to the milky way photo with masking technique? It is difficult to composit a photo with trees and branches on the ground.Can you make a video about it?
Hey! Actually I already have a video about it 😉 check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/ZeGMMoXBNMA/v-deo.html
@@kamilkp Thank you bro, okey
What was the app you used to show you how the Milky Way would look like?
„PlanIt” I have a video about it here: ua-cam.com/video/cNpvE4_ok_g/v-deo.html
Couple of questions
1. At what point do you turn on the tracker ? once you find polaris or when you are about to shoot after you find polaris?
2. To take the ground shot, did you have to recomposed the camera ?
I turn on the tracker just before starting to find my framing. And to take the ground shot I did recompose to include a little bit more of the ground and why I did that I explain here: ua-cam.com/video/ZeGMMoXBNMA/v-deo.html
great trip! on the other hand I find that the lighting of the polar finder of the star adventurer is weak ... especially if the support of the camera is in place
Thanks! Well, yeah it could be better but I’m overall very happy with this setup.
I'm surprised you used a ball head when in your other video you recommended not using it due to sturdiness. Any particular reason for the change?
I recommended not to use one ONLY when using the declination bracket with counterweight etc. But here I was doing wide angle shots so I used the smaller and lighter ballhead mount in which case a ballhead is essential. Let me know if that’s clear now :)
@@kamilkp Excellent. Thank you!
Ok, szybkie pytanie. Może ktoś mi pomoże. skąd się wzięła ta redukcja ISO o 4 stopnie ? Jak będę chciał mieć czas ekspozycji 3 minuty to redukuję ISO o 3 stopnie ?