Great informative video. Yes pricey but convenient for remote imaging. I don’t use one currently but plan to review them for my channel to make imaging sequences more repeatable from night to night. Thank you for the review and information. Best regards Luis from NY
I use the ASIAir, and think this might still be useful. Perhaps not fully automated, but used with the Pegasus app to rotate in conjunction with the ASIAir app., to achieve the desired framing. Could you comment? Thanks!
You could use it together... Although, I would personally wait for the rotator from ZWO if you use ASI Air. To be honest, I had been waiting for a ZWO version since last year untill Pegasus released their new rotator.
Hellishly expensive for what it is. Pegasus does make good gear, but it's always seriously expensive. I can see the use cases for this, but, for me at least, this is way out of my budget - costs more than a EQ35M Pro mount that I have on my wish list! Thanks for the review mate - it's very much appreciated!
I had to place my rotator after the reducer. It's only 18mm thick, so I replaced a 17.5mm spacer. Didn't really see a huge difference. (Also using filters, which add a little to the backfocus distance)
I can see the main benefit of a rotator on an alt az mount to compensate for field rotation. Would the rotation be precise enough to enable longer exposures? From seconds to may be a minute, depending on the focal length? Of course, the real astrophotographers don't use alt az mounts. But I am just a starting EAA guy. And then this could be helpful. The price of the thing however....
I recently saw that some photographers used the rotator as a solar tracker when capturing total solar eclipse. You can find those posts on Facebook on Pegasus Astro page. It is something I didn't think about, but it is just another way to use it.
I wouldn't discredit alt-az mounts as if they are totally inferior. They are pretty much the only option available for truly large telescopes and are the standard for professional observatories. Now most ameteurs don't have large enough telescopes to need one and a high quality one is expensive, but I digress.
Also, I wonder if that’s the right place in your imaging train to put the rotator? Shouldn’t it be closer to the camera, so that you’re not also rotating the filter wheel?
At first I was thinking about installing the rotator closer, but I couldn't find proper adapters that would keep my back focus correctly. Considering the payload capabilities of Falcon Rotator, I think my solution worked out well.
@@Darren-vf2qw Filter wheel rotates together with the camera sensor and reducer, so it should be fine. In the meanwhile, I also have a flat panel on my rig, so the process of taking flat frames is automated.
@@AstroCreation Understood, I was asking in regards to @shubinternet's question about not rotating the filter wheel - which of course could cause issues as the filters accumulate some dust..
I guess it's a nice convenience but at a high cost. Also, moving the camera around means you'd have to retake flats everytime. Better would be to use the rotator money to get a larger camera sensor to avoid rotation. Best would be camera companies should make round sensors to eliminate any need to rotate the camera at all. Thanks for sharing your new kool toy.
Thank you for the comment! I agree that this rotator is a pricey. This is why I've been looking for different rotators for the past couple of years deciding whether I should get one or not. I consider it as an investment that saves my time and potentially increases efficiency considering the fact I do remote imaging.
How would a round sensor help after a meridian flip? It's not a "convenience", it's common sense. An imaging rig without a rotator is like a soccer player with one leg. And honestly, anyone who thinks this is "pricey" is in the wrong hobby. $5-7k for a reputable APO, $6-10k for a non-dogshit mount, $3-4k for the camera, more with narrowband filters, OAG, etc.. This is $700. "Pricey"? lol
Either you don't speak english well (which is why it's confusing, and absolutely not an issue) or you get things mixed up heavily. A larger camera sensor won't fix anything, also a round sensor won't fix anything regarding flats if you only move the sensor without filters😂
@@crateerWith a larger sensor, the object might be able to fit in the frame; hence no need to rotate the camera. That’s elementary in astrophotography.
@@AstroCreation it's simple, you vote with your wallet and refuse to buy. This idea of people spending money because manufacturers make them think that something is special needs to stop. It's a simple device that does ONE thing, needs to be 1/4 of that price.
Great informative video. Yes pricey but convenient for remote imaging. I don’t use one currently but plan to review them for my channel to make imaging sequences more repeatable from night to night. Thank you for the review and information.
Best regards
Luis from NY
Thanks, Luis!
I use the ASIAir, and think this might still be useful. Perhaps not fully automated, but used with the Pegasus app to rotate in conjunction with the ASIAir app., to achieve the desired framing. Could you comment? Thanks!
You could use it together... Although, I would personally wait for the rotator from ZWO if you use ASI Air. To be honest, I had been waiting for a ZWO version since last year untill Pegasus released their new rotator.
Have to agree. Thanks for the reply👍
Hellishly expensive for what it is. Pegasus does make good gear, but it's always seriously expensive. I can see the use cases for this, but, for me at least, this is way out of my budget - costs more than a EQ35M Pro mount that I have on my wish list!
Thanks for the review mate - it's very much appreciated!
Thank you for the comment!
@@BadYossa to be fair it's the cheapest option for the diameter it provides(68mm) :)
So, adding the rotator changes your back focus distance, right? How did you adjust for that?
It didn't in my case since I placed the rotator before the reducer.
I had to place my rotator after the reducer. It's only 18mm thick, so I replaced a 17.5mm spacer. Didn't really see a huge difference. (Also using filters, which add a little to the backfocus distance)
I can see the main benefit of a rotator on an alt az mount to compensate for field rotation. Would the rotation be precise enough to enable longer exposures? From seconds to may be a minute, depending on the focal length? Of course, the real astrophotographers don't use alt az mounts. But I am just a starting EAA guy. And then this could be helpful. The price of the thing however....
I recently saw that some photographers used the rotator as a solar tracker when capturing total solar eclipse. You can find those posts on Facebook on Pegasus Astro page. It is something I didn't think about, but it is just another way to use it.
I wouldn't discredit alt-az mounts as if they are totally inferior. They are pretty much the only option available for truly large telescopes and are the standard for professional observatories. Now most ameteurs don't have large enough telescopes to need one and a high quality one is expensive, but I digress.
Also, I wonder if that’s the right place in your imaging train to put the rotator? Shouldn’t it be closer to the camera, so that you’re not also rotating the filter wheel?
At first I was thinking about installing the rotator closer, but I couldn't find proper adapters that would keep my back focus correctly. Considering the payload capabilities of Falcon Rotator, I think my solution worked out well.
Rotating the sensor relative to the filters? Wouldn't that create issues with flats?
@@Darren-vf2qw Filter wheel rotates together with the camera sensor and reducer, so it should be fine.
In the meanwhile, I also have a flat panel on my rig, so the process of taking flat frames is automated.
@@AstroCreation Understood, I was asking in regards to @shubinternet's question about not rotating the filter wheel - which of course could cause issues as the filters accumulate some dust..
I wish you've shown how it actually rotates, otherwise nice video
Thanks! I should've done that, indeed!
I guess it's a nice convenience but at a high cost. Also, moving the camera around means you'd have to retake flats everytime. Better would be to use the rotator money to get a larger camera sensor to avoid rotation. Best would be camera companies should make round sensors to eliminate any need to rotate the camera at all. Thanks for sharing your new kool toy.
Thank you for the comment!
I agree that this rotator is a pricey. This is why I've been looking for different rotators for the past couple of years deciding whether I should get one or not. I consider it as an investment that saves my time and potentially increases efficiency considering the fact I do remote imaging.
How would a round sensor help after a meridian flip? It's not a "convenience", it's common sense. An imaging rig without a rotator is like a soccer player with one leg.
And honestly, anyone who thinks this is "pricey" is in the wrong hobby. $5-7k for a reputable APO, $6-10k for a non-dogshit mount, $3-4k for the camera, more with narrowband filters, OAG, etc.. This is $700. "Pricey"? lol
Either you don't speak english well (which is why it's confusing, and absolutely not an issue) or you get things mixed up heavily.
A larger camera sensor won't fix anything, also a round sensor won't fix anything regarding flats if you only move the sensor without filters😂
@@gr0uch02aIt doesn’t effect a flip in any way. The picture will just be turned when being stacked
@@crateerWith a larger sensor, the object might be able to fit in the frame; hence no need to rotate the camera. That’s elementary in astrophotography.
$687 US dollars just to do one thing??????? What a whopping rip off seriously
Astrophotography equipment prices sure know how to reach for the stars! Every astrophotographer knows this "pain", right? 😁
@@AstroCreation it's simple, you vote with your wallet and refuse to buy. This idea of people spending money because manufacturers make them think that something is special needs to stop. It's a simple device that does ONE thing, needs to be 1/4 of that price.