BENRO POLARIS ASTRO IS NOW IN STOCK! You can get it with a whopping 20% discount if you use "kamilpolaris" code at checkout. EU shipping available from a polish store: f43.pl/pl/glowice-astro/3362-benro-glowica-polaris-astro-3-osiowa-br209-6931747320899.html
Nice review dude. Definitely huge potential if they can get the quirks ironed out. The L shaped stars you got look like what you sometimes get when you leave image stabilisation on in astro. May want to check that as I've had no tracking issues with the tracked pano mode, just that it only lets me pan up by 8 degrees per row which is annoying.
Hmm ok, interesting, I will retest. I was using a Sigma 135mm which doesn’t have any stabilization and also my body doesn’t have IBIS either. I’ve done an untracked 360deg full dome pano with a 28mm and it works like a charm. I’m selling my MSM and keeping Polaris for travel stuff 😀
Just received my copy of Benro Polaris about a week ago. Actually based on the specs announced at the Kickstarter, and taking into account my preferences to weight, equipment I use, I convinced my wife to make me a gift :). So far it was completely as expected. I can confirm, that it tracks quite well even when I attached 200mm lens to my Canon 6D MII. No trails even at 60 s exposure time. Did not have time yesterday to test it with 300mm and 400mm lens. I'm also thinking to check how it will behave with my Celestron C90Mak. I don't expect, that it will allow to avoid trails completely at its focal length (1250 mm, as far as I remember), but I think for simple travel planet imaging (Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars), where the exposure time can be much less, and one just needs to keep the planed within the field of view, it should work pretty well. Much easier to get the same results, which I received before with simple clockwork Omegon MiniTrack LX2 (BTW, also a great mount, which I'm not going to rid of anyway :) ). I would argue about the price issue with this head. Because for other mounts you need to use quite advanced stable tripod, counterweights etc. And those, even relatively inexpensive ones with GoTo functionality can still cost a bit. I was targeting for something which I could drop to my bicycle and just ride somewhere where the light conditions are much better, than at my backyard. Or take this to a trip to some darker place. And take just lenses for the camera and have fun. Therefore from this point of view, I think it does its job pretty well.
Nice overview. I know some people have complained about the astro camera AS mount being set 90 degrees off "normal", but as you pointed out... it permits the use of a nodal rail. This is great for panos because you can set your lens nodal length to eliminate any frame to frame miss-alignment issues with post process stitching. I always keep a few of them handy in my bag... one long (~180mm) and one short (~80mm), as the longer one may actually infringe into the shot on super wide lenses. BTW... The astro/cell version of Polaris was delayed in manufacturing/shipping, probably due to global parts shortages, and I just got mine today. I'm very impressed with its build quality and can't wait to put it through its paces. It hopefully will supplant both my Timelapse+ and MSM (Move Shoot Move) devices, since it combines both functions, amongst others.
Thanks! glad to see some real use footage of the polaris tripod head I backed this project on kickstarter and have been patiently waiting for my unit to arrive. It seems theres no specific order on how these are being shipped out at least not by backer number order cause there are people who backed way after others and myself who have received their units. Happy theres no need to align to polaris cause I always have a hard time trying to get that done lol.
Really comprehensive review Kamil thanks. This is a really exciting development. Hopefully it will wake up other tracker manufacturers to all the creative avenues they could follow.
I was one of the kickstarter backers. I just received my unit - i went for the astro cellular version which shipped later than the non cellular version. I’ve only tried in in my home so far, I connected up a Sony A7S3 and I got the image on the camera and on my iPad. Not sure if that is because I’m using a Sony, or because they have updated the software. I looked at the astro side in the house just to get familiar with it, and it pointed roughly in the direction that I know North to be when I selected the star Polaris, and it also skewed to the position I know Orion to roughly be in. This was with very minimal setup. As a kickstarter backer, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster journey if I’m honest. Initial excitement, then being replaced with a bit of concern as the time dragged on past expected milestones in the project with less than ideal comms from Benro on progress (or lack of). Then the first reports from users who got the first units were not encouraging (hardware very good, software very poor), then frustration with the slow roll out of units to the other backers. I got to the point where I didn’t really want the product anymore, in my head, I had written off the money. Even when the box arrived it was multiple days, maybe a week, before I finally opened it up and started having a look at it. Now I’m finding my enthusiasm for Polaris slowly returning, in an ‘actually, this isn’t as bad as I thought it might be’ kind of way. The hardware is very nice, it’s compact, light and convenient for what it does. The software side still needs some work (the start screen does not display correctly on my iPad mini - I could only just see a corner of the box for the settings button for example, i only found out it was settings when I clicked on the corner of the box/button). From what I’ve seen on the astro side so far it actually looked quite impressive with the map of the sky moving as the hardware skews etc. the pano mode looks pretty flexible & well thought out with focal lengths and sensor sizes being taken into account. Etc etc. so yeah, my confidence in the product is now increasing from what had got to quite a low point. Looking forward to using it in anger and seeing how capable it actually is.
Thanks Sarah. I am at this very moment shooting the Heart and Soul nebulae with it and a 135mm Sigma lens. Will make a video on how it went down very soon so stay tuned!
I read about this on Kickstarter, but to me everything sounded way too good to be true. Really glad someone finally were able to do a review of it. Thank you for this Kamil!
Nice video. Got the Polaris a while ago, but didn't use it for the moment. Looking forward to your next videos to see the different use cases and replicate how you are using it. Please keep them coming from setup to different uses.
Excellent review. Thank you! Just wondering if with timelapse the Benro allows for the internal intervalometer of say the Z 9 be used as master? That would be awesome. At around 26:42 ff. the Rooster bombs the Video Review - hilarious. I think after the Review you probably jumped the fence and chased the Rooster ;)
Nice explaination and walk through. Going to save this video in my favorite and re-watch again once my cellular version arrived. It's been too looooong... :)
Hello Kamil, I'm a fairly regular viewer of your content. Always informative! I almost pulled the trigger on this unit via cloud sourcing a couple of times many months ago, but it was just a little more than I wanted to risk for an unknown and seemed to be taking forever to get out the door. I'm glad to finally see someone do a hands on review! Looks like it's getting close to doing what they said it would. Pretty exciting to see all of these new tools coming out that take a lot of the pain out of night sky/deep sky imaging. :) Keep up the good work!
By the way, the rooster was pretty hilarious. It seems he kept creeping closer as the video went on. Didn't bother me at all, but I know it's frustrating when you're trying to do a recording and an uninvited guest decides to make an appearance. haha
Damn, I may sell my skytracker pro with ipolar as that's a pain having to take a laptop out every time I decide to use the 135mm.. I wonder what this will retail for down under.
Thank you for this review and look forward to the next one for this product. Got mine last week so in the discover mode. Tried it out for panoramas and doesn’t work like it should. With the slightest mouvement sidewards to set the endpoint it goes immediately to 3 shots horizontal. The same for the upward selection it don’t seem to be able to use two columns or rows. It jumps from 1 row directly to 3 rows. So the pano’s are widely overshooting the boundaries and becomes in this way a little useless. Tried FF, 35mm and 400mm and the settings were ok regarding the focal point, FF, landscape mode and overlap. Doesn’t want to the number 2….??? Rather annoying if you want to perform vertical shots of the sky… Tried out the time-lapse as well and it’s marvellous to perform a manual Holy-Grail because it’s possible to change all the settings as you like at any moment (during the time-lapse). With Sony it’s possible to use the viewfinder/LCD in order to check the sharpness. The menu’s are also accessible. Sorry maybe stupid question: at 10:40 you explain that you shot some tracked and untracked images (foreground) to make the final pano. How did you perform the pano in the tracked and untracked portion. Did you do the tracked part like you explained on 15:20… And great tip regarding the area swiss plate with clamp for vertical shots, thank you. Friendly greetings
Hi Kamil, thanks for this very interesting introduction to Polaris. I have one question if you don’t mind, how do you compose your shot after you’ve done your Celestial Alignment?
in my country polaris is on the opposite of the milkeyway what i have to to when i calibrated on polaris . do i need to rotate the benro to the milkeyway?
Hey Kamil, First of all great review buddy🤗 Benro also planning to send me 1 unit for youtube review, unluckily I can't travel to the Himalayas again till next year for Milkyway but will try this on some other places here in India🤗 I just want 1 suggestion from you as a beginner DEEP SKY photographer🤗 I am planning to remove IR Cut filter from my old Nikon D800 for better Deep Sky images. And thinking to order Ha 12nm clip-in filter of Astronomik. But I also have Sony A7M 4. So here I am confused. Should I go for the clip-in filter for my converted d800 (which I can't use with my sony a74) or should I go for a 77mm external filter? Which I can use with a74 as well (if it's available). And as you mentioned at 8:36 Ha exposures on Cygnus. So have you used the HA clip in the filter on the modified camera body? Because ground colours come so natural (same at 12:17)... I have also watched many videos by Alyn Wallace 🙂 Sorry for the bad grammar 🤪 and the very beginner question 🤭
The 77mm front threaded Ha filter is probably gonna be crazy expensive as it would require to have much more glass as a small clip-in filter. I’d go for the clip in. I was using a modified camera body and a clip-in Ha filter from Astronomik for that Cygnus shot
I just received mine and I connected to fuji x-t4. I was able to view on the LCD at the same time it's connected to the Polaris so I guess the camera screen turning off when connected is dependant on the manufacturer
Is your xt4 actually connecting to the Polaris and what did you do to get it to do so? My xt4 will not connect to the Polaris. I have the usb c to usb c connected to the Polaris and I have tried adjusting my tethering settings but no luck any input would be appreciated.
@@Subyspecialist I set the tethering to pc auto and It mostly worked out of the box.The few times it didn't connect to the camera I turned the camera on and off a few times. I also made sure not to use the power only cable that came with the astro kit.
@@will.photography I appreciate it. Sounds like this is a common issue with quite a few xt4 owners. My coiled cord absolutely won’t work, I have tethering set to auto. Was able to get it to connect using a different usb c to usb c cord from my junk drawer, but latency is horrendous view on app goes black, only shows an image every 15sec or so and shooting fails constantly. Will try benro customer support. Thanks again.
Great review, really nice to see a comprehensive review, covering likes and dislikes, from someone who really understands astro and pano shooting, and can produce such fine work. I am still waiting for mine to show up - I ordered the one that included the cellular connection although I am not sure I will ever use that feature, but I think that is perhaps why it has taken so long to get it. I think it is now supposed to ship out in the next batch, we will see. In any case, really found this valuable, you have a great presentation style and covered lots of great info. Much appreciated! :)
You mention a Facebook group? I can find the page, but not a user group. Could it be set to “private”? If so, could you perhaps share a link? Nice to see you and Alyn playing with it. It looks absolutely promising
I just got one a week ago, will not work with time-lapse and path-lapse together with my Nikon Z7-II. I cannot adjust the interval time. It always stays on around 5-6 seconds, regardless what time i set. The rest seems to be working...... This makes this unit for me completely unusable.... I guess i will get rid of it.
Hi Kamil. Thank you for the very interesting video to Benro Polaris. What I still miss is the holy grail function for timelapse. You mentioned that it’s possible to control camera (aperture, ISO, …) by an external trigger. I have an Arsenal 2 Pro and a Timelapse+view trigger. But I don’t know how to setup the Polaris with the external trigger and which settings I should do in the Polaris App. Could you explain that in more detail. I would be very grateful to you for that. Thank you and best greetings.
Good overview, thank you. I have it and I'm experimenting with a Nikon Z7, I miss a manual for some of the configurations, let's see how fast I can reach your level of photos 🙂
@@koenpijpersphotography Yes, that was possible, I just checked my test pictures. there I e.g. had 180 seconds, can't remember whether even more was possible as well, due to the weather and time constraints I in the end used it lesser than thought.
@@ChristophProtz that’s quite nice now I am always messed up in a external timer. Still, an expense piece of kit. But I like the ease of use (it seems) for polar alignment, Timelapse, tracked panoramas, panoramas in general. So I am considering getting one.
Thanks for the review. I met someone in New Zealand a few months ago who was using it for Milky Way panoramas. He said that polar alignment was very easy for the Southern Hemisphere but there were still some kinks in the software that they needed to fix. Do you know if you can control it with a Wi-Fi only enabled tablet or does it have to be used with a cellular phone/tablet?
Probably wifi only is fine but it also needs gps data altough maybe you can input your coordinates manually now - not sure. There is a facebook group about Polaris - I’d advise to ask there
12/21/22 Hi Kamil! Excellent review. This video is 6 mo old. I just got my hands on the Benro Polaris Astro Mode a couple of days ago. Do you think the firmware has been updated and any/or all of the concerns/recommendations that you and other users have voiced have been addressed or is that still a work in progress? Such as a more detailed astronomical catalog. Would you kindly consider doing a detailed step-by-step video in the near future on how to do tracked/untracked Panos, time-lapses, etc using the Polaris? Thanks and Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
Great content! Do you have links to the plates you use for verticle shooting? Also I own this and have a really weird issue where my phone won't connect to polaris unless I've turned off cellular! Quite annoying!
Hi. Great explanation and introduction. Keep them coming as this seems really the solution for a lot of Astro stuff. A comment: I am glad I got my via Kickstarters, although I think it took more than 2(??) years to get the unit. Second could you please give me the details of the accessories you use for the long lenses? Third do you know the max weight it can carry ?
Sounds like an Alt Alt Az mount , I can’t find it anymore but Long ago I read an article by a chap who had a algorithm to run such a three motor setup that would avoid field rotation.
I think it only needs GPS which will work on the top of a mountain. And if not I believe at some point they added an option to enter geo coords manually
Yours is an excellent review; you know what you are talking about, and then do it. Have you observed any parallax error when taking vertical panoramas?
I haven’t observed it because I didn’t have any objects close by but the parallax is unavoidable on this head. This is not a no-parallax head so if you wanna make indoor panoramas for real estate photography e.g. then you’re gonna have issues. Otherwise for outdoor stuff it should be perfectly fine like it was in my experience!
@@kamilkp Thanks for your reply. so once the tracking starts, while the polaris is in tracking motion we can just use the polaris app joysticks to recompose our shot in any direction?
Thanks for the review! Definitely a nice over view of what's possible with the Polaris! Quick question. Is it possible to use the Polaris without connecting it to the camera? My main camera is a Pentax K1 and I was hoping to use the mount without connecting it to the camera
So solved partially the Pano-problem: Seems to be related to my iPhone 11 + iOS15.5 (and previous iOS). Don't have this problem with my older iPhone 6 (iOS 12.5.2). Can someone try this out. If it's purely related to the newer iOS version a "Polaris-App update" would solve the problem... Tried out the time-lapse App and works very well !!!!
@@floris-janvandermeulen8054 Sorry, my bad 😅 I totally meant Mallorca but I guess the imagined taste of well-cooked rooster messed my mind and threw me somewhere else 🤭
el 11 de agosto me descontaron de mi VISA 763 €, a fecha de hoy no he recibido ni confirmación ni el Benro Polaris, les he mandado correos y NO responden, OJO...peligro
The software is buggy and far from fully functional. The documentation is poor. The HDMI port and remote triggers don't function at all currently. The Astro attachment's cable is proprietary. It has USB-C ends, but you can't use any standard USB-C data cable. You need to make sure your phone's compass is calibrated before you attempt Polaris tracker calibration. Focusing in all modes is terrible. You are limited to center point focus for AF. Manual focusing view is poor. They added focus peaking, which is worthless since even very out of focus areas are highlighted. There's no magnification view for AF. Most folks start tracking and then disconnect their cameras so they can focus. Video mode doesn't work with my Nikon body. The promised holy grail time lapse is yet to surface. Vertical movement panorama parallax error can't be avoided since it's not a gimbal head.
The remote trigger ports would allow use with many unsupported cameras. Perhaps the HDMI-out would improve preview quality and also expand compatibility. Note that the app has been in users hands for six months and progress has been slow. I'd expect a rough road with software for at least another half year. That's optimistic in my view.
BENRO POLARIS ASTRO IS NOW IN STOCK! You can get it with a whopping 20% discount if you use "kamilpolaris" code at checkout. EU shipping available from a polish store: f43.pl/pl/glowice-astro/3362-benro-glowica-polaris-astro-3-osiowa-br209-6931747320899.html
Nice review dude. Definitely huge potential if they can get the quirks ironed out. The L shaped stars you got look like what you sometimes get when you leave image stabilisation on in astro. May want to check that as I've had no tracking issues with the tracked pano mode, just that it only lets me pan up by 8 degrees per row which is annoying.
Hmm ok, interesting, I will retest. I was using a Sigma 135mm which doesn’t have any stabilization and also my body doesn’t have IBIS either. I’ve done an untracked 360deg full dome pano with a 28mm and it works like a charm. I’m selling my MSM and keeping Polaris for travel stuff 😀
Alyn, did you get one supplied by Benro. Would be good to see your reviews of this. I am backer 28 but haven’t received mine yet☹️
Will you make a video on this too? I’m stuck deciding between the skywatcher star adventurer GTI and this.
When you do get one, would love to know how it works for you in astro pano mode. Big fan of both of you. I have one on back order.
Danke!
Just received my copy of Benro Polaris about a week ago. Actually based on the specs announced at the Kickstarter, and taking into account my preferences to weight, equipment I use, I convinced my wife to make me a gift :).
So far it was completely as expected.
I can confirm, that it tracks quite well even when I attached 200mm lens to my Canon 6D MII. No trails even at 60 s exposure time. Did not have time yesterday to test it with 300mm and 400mm lens. I'm also thinking to check how it will behave with my Celestron C90Mak. I don't expect, that it will allow to avoid trails completely at its focal length (1250 mm, as far as I remember), but I think for simple travel planet imaging (Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars), where the exposure time can be much less, and one just needs to keep the planed within the field of view, it should work pretty well.
Much easier to get the same results, which I received before with simple clockwork Omegon MiniTrack LX2 (BTW, also a great mount, which I'm not going to rid of anyway :) ).
I would argue about the price issue with this head. Because for other mounts you need to use quite advanced stable tripod, counterweights etc. And those, even relatively inexpensive ones with GoTo functionality can still cost a bit.
I was targeting for something which I could drop to my bicycle and just ride somewhere where the light conditions are much better, than at my backyard. Or take this to a trip to some darker place. And take just lenses for the camera and have fun.
Therefore from this point of view, I think it does its job pretty well.
Nice overview. I know some people have complained about the astro camera AS mount being set 90 degrees off "normal", but as you pointed out... it permits the use of a nodal rail. This is great for panos because you can set your lens nodal length to eliminate any frame to frame miss-alignment issues with post process stitching. I always keep a few of them handy in my bag... one long (~180mm) and one short (~80mm), as the longer one may actually infringe into the shot on super wide lenses.
BTW... The astro/cell version of Polaris was delayed in manufacturing/shipping, probably due to global parts shortages, and I just got mine today. I'm very impressed with its build quality and can't wait to put it through its paces. It hopefully will supplant both my Timelapse+ and MSM (Move Shoot Move) devices, since it combines both functions, amongst others.
Thanks! glad to see some real use footage of the polaris tripod head I backed this project on kickstarter and have been patiently waiting for my unit to arrive. It seems theres no specific order on how these are being shipped out at least not by backer number order cause there are people who backed way after others and myself who have received their units. Happy theres no need to align to polaris cause I always have a hard time trying to get that done lol.
Really comprehensive review Kamil thanks. This is a really exciting development. Hopefully it will wake up other tracker manufacturers to all the creative avenues they could follow.
Thanks Richard, glad you liked it! 🙌
I was one of the kickstarter backers. I just received my unit - i went for the astro cellular version which shipped later than the non cellular version.
I’ve only tried in in my home so far, I connected up a Sony A7S3 and I got the image on the camera and on my iPad. Not sure if that is because I’m using a Sony, or because they have updated the software.
I looked at the astro side in the house just to get familiar with it, and it pointed roughly in the direction that I know North to be when I selected the star Polaris, and it also skewed to the position I know Orion to roughly be in. This was with very minimal setup.
As a kickstarter backer, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster journey if I’m honest. Initial excitement, then being replaced with a bit of concern as the time dragged on past expected milestones in the project with less than ideal comms from Benro on progress (or lack of). Then the first reports from users who got the first units were not encouraging (hardware very good, software very poor), then frustration with the slow roll out of units to the other backers. I got to the point where I didn’t really want the product anymore, in my head, I had written off the money. Even when the box arrived it was multiple days, maybe a week, before I finally opened it up and started having a look at it. Now I’m finding my enthusiasm for Polaris slowly returning, in an ‘actually, this isn’t as bad as I thought it might be’ kind of way. The hardware is very nice, it’s compact, light and convenient for what it does. The software side still needs some work (the start screen does not display correctly on my iPad mini - I could only just see a corner of the box for the settings button for example, i only found out it was settings when I clicked on the corner of the box/button). From what I’ve seen on the astro side so far it actually looked quite impressive with the map of the sky moving as the hardware skews etc. the pano mode looks pretty flexible & well thought out with focal lengths and sensor sizes being taken into account. Etc etc. so yeah, my confidence in the product is now increasing from what had got to quite a low point. Looking forward to using it in anger and seeing how capable it actually is.
Great review, Kamil. The Benro Polaris seems promising and has some pretty cool features. Thanks for this!
Thanks Sarah. I am at this very moment shooting the Heart and Soul nebulae with it and a 135mm Sigma lens. Will make a video on how it went down very soon so stay tuned!
@@kamilkp Excellent! Looking forward to it.
I read about this on Kickstarter, but to me everything sounded way too good to be true. Really glad someone finally were able to do a review of it. Thank you for this Kamil!
Nice video. Got the Polaris a while ago, but didn't use it for the moment. Looking forward to your next videos to see the different use cases and replicate how you are using it. Please keep them coming from setup to different uses.
Ahh. Finally some real hands on review of benro Polaris. Thank you so much ❤️.
You’re welcome!
Could you please make a tutorial video on how to take 360 pano of night sky with Polaris?
Excellent review. Thank you! Just wondering if with timelapse the Benro allows for the internal intervalometer of say the Z 9 be used as master? That would be awesome. At around 26:42 ff. the Rooster bombs the Video Review - hilarious. I think after the Review you probably jumped the fence and chased the Rooster ;)
Great video summary of my experiences using it as well. The in app switch idea is GREAT, Benro please do this ASAP.
The Benro Polaris looks super expensive but also super awesome!
Nice explaination and walk through. Going to save this video in my favorite and re-watch again once my cellular version arrived. It's been too looooong... :)
Hello Kamil, I'm a fairly regular viewer of your content. Always informative! I almost pulled the trigger on this unit via cloud sourcing a couple of times many months ago, but it was just a little more than I wanted to risk for an unknown and seemed to be taking forever to get out the door. I'm glad to finally see someone do a hands on review! Looks like it's getting close to doing what they said it would. Pretty exciting to see all of these new tools coming out that take a lot of the pain out of night sky/deep sky imaging. :)
Keep up the good work!
By the way, the rooster was pretty hilarious. It seems he kept creeping closer as the video went on. Didn't bother me at all, but I know it's frustrating when you're trying to do a recording and an uninvited guest decides to make an appearance. haha
Yeah exaclty hehe. I’m glad it wasn’t too annoying and thanks for the comment!
Damn, I may sell my skytracker pro with ipolar as that's a pain having to take a laptop out every time I decide to use the 135mm..
I wonder what this will retail for down under.
Thank you for this review and look forward to the next one for this product. Got mine last week so in the discover mode.
Tried it out for panoramas and doesn’t work like it should. With the slightest mouvement sidewards to set the endpoint it goes immediately to 3 shots horizontal. The same for the upward selection it don’t seem to be able to use two columns or rows. It jumps from 1 row directly to 3 rows. So the pano’s are widely overshooting the boundaries and becomes in this way a little useless. Tried FF, 35mm and 400mm and the settings were ok regarding the focal point, FF, landscape mode and overlap. Doesn’t want to the number 2….???
Rather annoying if you want to perform vertical shots of the sky…
Tried out the time-lapse as well and it’s marvellous to perform a manual Holy-Grail because it’s possible to change all the settings as you like at any moment (during the time-lapse).
With Sony it’s possible to use the viewfinder/LCD in order to check the sharpness. The menu’s are also accessible.
Sorry maybe stupid question: at 10:40 you explain that you shot some tracked and untracked images (foreground) to make the final pano. How did you perform the pano in the tracked and untracked portion. Did you do the tracked part like you explained on 15:20…
And great tip regarding the area swiss plate with clamp for vertical shots, thank you.
Friendly greetings
Really nice video man. im not even interested that much in astro but i have watched this review just because it was well done!
Great presentation and gear. Can it be used in the southern hemisphere?
I haven’t checked myself but yeah I don’t see why not
Finally thinking of getting a star tracker. What are your thoughts on the Benro Polaris compared to others, here at the beginning of 2025?
Hi Kamil, thanks for this very interesting introduction to Polaris. I have one question if you don’t mind, how do you compose your shot after you’ve done your Celestial Alignment?
in my country polaris is on the opposite of the milkeyway what i have to to when i calibrated on polaris . do i need to rotate the benro to the milkeyway?
Hey Kamil,
First of all great review buddy🤗 Benro also planning to send me 1 unit for youtube review, unluckily I can't travel to the Himalayas again till next year for Milkyway but will try this on some other places here in India🤗
I just want 1 suggestion from you as a beginner DEEP SKY photographer🤗
I am planning to remove IR Cut filter from my old Nikon D800 for better Deep Sky images. And thinking to order Ha 12nm clip-in filter of Astronomik.
But I also have Sony A7M 4. So here I am confused. Should I go for the clip-in filter for my converted d800 (which I can't use with my sony a74) or should I go for a 77mm external filter? Which I can use with a74 as well (if it's available).
And as you mentioned at 8:36 Ha exposures on Cygnus. So have you used the HA clip in the filter on the modified camera body? Because ground colours come so natural (same at 12:17)...
I have also watched many videos by Alyn Wallace 🙂
Sorry for the bad grammar 🤪 and the very beginner question 🤭
The 77mm front threaded Ha filter is probably gonna be crazy expensive as it would require to have much more glass as a small clip-in filter. I’d go for the clip in. I was using a modified camera body and a clip-in Ha filter from Astronomik for that Cygnus shot
I just received mine and I connected to fuji x-t4. I was able to view on the LCD at the same time it's connected to the Polaris so I guess the camera screen turning off when connected is dependant on the manufacturer
Is your xt4 actually connecting to the Polaris and what did you do to get it to do so? My xt4 will not connect to the Polaris. I have the usb c to usb c connected to the Polaris and I have tried adjusting my tethering settings but no luck any input would be appreciated.
@@Subyspecialist I set the tethering to pc auto and It mostly worked out of the box.The few times it didn't connect to the camera I turned the camera on and off a few times. I also made sure not to use the power only cable that came with the astro kit.
@@will.photography I appreciate it. Sounds like this is a common issue with quite a few xt4 owners. My coiled cord absolutely won’t work, I have tethering set to auto. Was able to get it to connect using a different usb c to usb c cord from my junk drawer, but latency is horrendous view on app goes black, only shows an image every 15sec or so and shooting fails constantly. Will try benro customer support. Thanks again.
Great review, really nice to see a comprehensive review, covering likes and dislikes, from someone who really understands astro and pano shooting, and can produce such fine work. I am still waiting for mine to show up - I ordered the one that included the cellular connection although I am not sure I will ever use that feature, but I think that is perhaps why it has taken so long to get it. I think it is now supposed to ship out in the next batch, we will see. In any case, really found this valuable, you have a great presentation style and covered lots of great info. Much appreciated! :)
Thanks Michael, I appreciate the comment!
You mention a Facebook group? I can find the page, but not a user group. Could it be set to “private”? If so, could you perhaps share a link? Nice to see you and Alyn playing with it. It looks absolutely promising
Hi. Is it possible to share your 360 degree panorama setup process?
Just received mine. what is the name of the factbook community you spoke about?
I just got one a week ago, will not work with time-lapse and path-lapse together with my Nikon Z7-II. I cannot adjust the interval time. It always stays on around 5-6 seconds, regardless what time i set. The rest seems to be working......
This makes this unit for me completely unusable....
I guess i will get rid of it.
Another great Video. Alas my polaris has been stuck in customs for two weeks now. Very annoying. Still at least it's finally been shipped 🙄
yay it has turned up today - stuck in customs since May 17th! (don't ask).... now to wait for a clear sky
Thanks for the review! Do you know where can I get it for some tests?
Hi Kamil. Thank you for the very interesting video to Benro Polaris. What I still miss is the holy grail function for timelapse. You mentioned that it’s possible to control camera (aperture, ISO, …) by an external trigger. I have an Arsenal 2 Pro and a Timelapse+view trigger. But I don’t know how to setup the Polaris with the external trigger and which settings I should do in the Polaris App. Could you explain that in more detail. I would be very grateful to you for that. Thank you and best greetings.
Good overview, thank you. I have it and I'm experimenting with a Nikon Z7, I miss a manual for some of the configurations, let's see how fast I can reach your level of photos 🙂
@christoph hey i have a Z6. can you use your Z7 it with shutter times longer than 30 s with the Polaris, without an external timer?
@@koenpijpersphotography Yes, that was possible, I just checked my test pictures. there I e.g. had 180 seconds, can't remember whether even more was possible as well, due to the weather and time constraints I in the end used it lesser than thought.
@@ChristophProtz that’s quite nice now I am always messed up in a external timer. Still, an expense piece of kit. But I like the ease of use (it seems) for polar alignment, Timelapse, tracked panoramas, panoramas in general. So I am considering getting one.
@@koenpijpersphotography I don't regret it. Should you be in Switzerland by any chance, you can also have a look at mine if you want.
How this could be used for visual astronomy with high powered binoculars (40x) ?
Wow.. looks promising..Your super review made it look even more promising :-) wondering how will it handle a lens like the SIGMA 150-600mm?
It might be able to lift it but tracking at 600mm even with a big equatorial mount without guiding might not be satisfactory
Kamil! Could you post links to the Arca Swiss plate adapter you use to interface with the L Bracket
This contraption is no longer needed. Benro added suppport for 90deg orientation flip of the astro attachment head
Thanks for the review. I met someone in New Zealand a few months ago who was using it for Milky Way panoramas. He said that polar alignment was very easy for the Southern Hemisphere but there were still some kinks in the software that they needed to fix.
Do you know if you can control it with a Wi-Fi only enabled tablet or does it have to be used with a cellular phone/tablet?
Probably wifi only is fine but it also needs gps data altough maybe you can input your coordinates manually now - not sure. There is a facebook group about Polaris - I’d advise to ask there
@@kamilkp - Thank you!
Will this work well with my Nikon D3100 or will I need to bump up to the D7200 or higher. Which have Bluetooth better screen and processor.
12/21/22
Hi Kamil! Excellent review. This video is 6 mo old. I just got my hands on the Benro Polaris Astro Mode a couple of days ago. Do you think the firmware has been updated and any/or all of the concerns/recommendations that you and other users have voiced have been addressed or is that still a work in progress? Such as a more detailed astronomical catalog.
Would you kindly consider doing a detailed step-by-step video in the near future on how to do tracked/untracked Panos, time-lapses, etc using the Polaris? Thanks and Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.
Great content! Do you have links to the plates you use for verticle shooting?
Also I own this and have a really weird issue where my phone won't connect to polaris unless I've turned off cellular! Quite annoying!
Hi. Great explanation and introduction. Keep them coming as this seems really the solution for a lot of Astro stuff. A comment: I am glad I got my via Kickstarters, although I think it took more than 2(??) years to get the unit. Second could you please give me the details of the accessories you use for the long lenses? Third do you know the max weight it can carry ?
Sounds like an Alt Alt Az mount , I can’t find it anymore but Long ago I read an article by a chap who had a algorithm to run such a three motor setup that would avoid field rotation.
Supported in Kickstarters. Yet to receive it. The potential is very interesting. Glad you are starting to play with it. Makes it feel real now
Hi Kamil, thanks for the overview. Does this allow you to stack a tracked session too?
Yeah you can always stack tracked photos
@Kamil Pekala so I can select the number of frames I want for stacking in frame of a pano, before it slews to the next frame sequence ?
Can u do accurate long-exposures? The tracking is very accurate?
It’s pretty good. 2 minutes at 135mm looks great!
very interesting, but if I'm on the top of the mountain and might there is not signal, can the app works properly ? or not ?
I think it only needs GPS which will work on the top of a mountain. And if not I believe at some point they added an option to enter geo coords manually
interesting, gonna keep an eye on this.
Where should the leveling be done, between tripod and benro polaris or between polaris and camera?
Between Polaris and ground
@@kamilkp ok, probably excessive but got the geared benro one
Kakil you should make a video of panorama milkyway with benro polaris
Yours is an excellent review; you know what you are talking about, and then do it. Have you observed any parallax error when taking vertical
panoramas?
I haven’t observed it because I didn’t have any objects close by but the parallax is unavoidable on this head. This is not a no-parallax head so if you wanna make indoor panoramas for real estate photography e.g. then you’re gonna have issues. Otherwise for outdoor stuff it should be perfectly fine like it was in my experience!
@@kamilkp Thanks a million. That's what I wanted to hear.
Just received mine.. after Go-To and start tracking, recomposing to completely different part of night sky will impact accuracy of tracking?
If you use the knobs on Polaris or the app to reposition then no. If you unscrew a ballhead and move the camera by hand then yes
@@kamilkp Thanks for your reply. so once the tracking starts, while the polaris is in tracking motion we can just use the polaris app joysticks to recompose our shot in any direction?
Interesting 🤔 Is it available to order in Europe at the moment Kamil?
Świetna, merytoryczna recenzja. Dziękujemy!
Thanks for the review! Definitely a nice over view of what's possible with the Polaris!
Quick question. Is it possible to use the Polaris without connecting it to the camera? My main camera is a Pentax K1 and I was hoping to use the mount without connecting it to the camera
You need to connect it to do the celestial alignment
So with this Benro Polaris we don't need to see Polaris to make a polaris alingment?
Exactly! 😄 they should’ve called it Benro no-Polaris 😃
Thank you for posting this information
I got mine. It is working perfectly with my Sony A7R4 but it is not working with my Nikon Z6ii and just say Camera not connected. Any ideas?
Did you manage to connect? I'm also having Z6II and thinking about buying Benro...
So solved partially the Pano-problem: Seems to be related to my iPhone 11 + iOS15.5 (and previous iOS). Don't have this problem with my older iPhone 6 (iOS 12.5.2).
Can someone try this out. If it's purely related to the newer iOS version a "Polaris-App update" would solve the problem...
Tried out the time-lapse App and works very well !!!!
So the last update fixed the pano problem for my iphone11.
Does it self leveling?
No but Benro recently released a self-leveling tripod which would be a great match for Polaris
@@kamilkp awesome! Which model is it? (The name)
Is this available yet?
Not yet, at least not in Poland
looks promising. but the price is painful, I think that will greatly hinder adoption
And I'm assuming it'll work as intended in the Southern Hemisphere? You reckon?
I’m assuming that too but haven’t checked it myself
Kamil great job on the review, but at $1,200 price tag it isn't for me. The Benro Polaris looks great, but out of my price range.
This is great! Thank you :)
Still waiting for mine... Feels like ages
Got it !!
There might be delicious rooster recipies in Madeira 🤔 *just thinking aloud
Unfortunately he’s in Majorca (or Mallorca in Spanish). But I’m sure rooster recipes from Madeira can be found somewhere on the internet. 😉
😂
@@floris-janvandermeulen8054 Sorry, my bad 😅 I totally meant Mallorca but I guess the imagined taste of well-cooked rooster messed my mind and threw me somewhere else 🤭
Yeah when it works
Good video but dark 🙁
I want it!
el 11 de agosto me descontaron de mi VISA 763 €, a fecha de hoy no he recibido ni confirmación ni el Benro Polaris, les he mandado correos y NO responden, OJO...peligro
On which website?
Polecam rosół.
😂
The software is buggy and far from fully functional. The documentation is poor. The HDMI port and remote triggers don't function at all currently. The Astro attachment's cable is proprietary. It has USB-C ends, but you can't use any standard USB-C data cable. You need to make sure your phone's compass is calibrated before you attempt Polaris tracker calibration. Focusing in all modes is terrible. You are limited to center point focus for AF. Manual focusing view is poor. They added focus peaking, which is worthless since even very out of focus areas are highlighted. There's no magnification view for AF. Most folks start tracking and then disconnect their cameras so they can focus. Video mode doesn't work with my Nikon body. The promised holy grail time lapse is yet to surface. Vertical movement panorama parallax error can't be avoided since it's not a gimbal head.
The remote trigger ports would allow use with many unsupported cameras. Perhaps the HDMI-out would improve preview quality and also expand compatibility. Note that the app has been in users hands for six months and progress has been slow. I'd expect a rough road with software for at least another half year. That's optimistic in my view.