Very cool. I saw a photo from a friend with the most beautiful space shot. That sparked the adventurer in me. So I let him know how much I liked it and said I needed to start saving specifically for the mounts required and he suggest I check your videos out. So thanks.
Nice vid. Sharing the mode dial side of the Adventurer is a hole you can peep through (or perhaps place a skinny laser pointer) for a quick and dirty alignment.
Happy to see you posting these videos on star trackers. I'm looking at the options you describe on your website and am interested in seeing your field videos. Thanks for posting.
hi! I was wondering can this mount handle a scope like Explore Scientific 102? or a Meade LX85 refractor? I am looking to build a portable astrophotography set up, thank you
New subscriber , enjoying your videos. I am going to get one of some type. I don't enjoy hauling a bunch of equipment in and around. The deep space photos tend to look all alike after awhile. The foreground and wide field shots are more artistic.
Hi there, thanks for the video! I've bought a few of these and I think I'm getting defects. On the first one the clutch would lock when I tuned it but it would stop tracking randomly. I have since exchanged the unit 3 times and every version I get the cluych just continues to spin without locking. Am I missing something?
Great video. I have a beginner question. I already have a great photographic tripod (a Gitzo Systematic 5 and this Gitzo ballhead GH5381SQD). I have a canon 5d mk4 and a good number of lenses (16-35mm f2.8, 85mm f1.4, and super telephoto 100-400mm f4.5-f5.6). If I were to buy the SW SA what bits of kit would I need and what bits of my kit could I already use? I have a remote shutter cable as well. My goal is mostly wide angle shots and perhaps some constellations rather than true deep sky faint fuzzy astrophotography. Thanks. And congrats again on the video. Very helpful
You'll want to get the counterweight kit and latitude base (wedge). That should be all you need. You can remove your ballhead from the tripod, attach the latitude base and Star Adventurer. Then use your ballhead to attach your camera to the declination bracket.
Helpful video, thanks! I picked up a Star Adventurer so I can do TRACKED stitched milky way panorama shots. I'm using a Nodal Ninja head. When I mount the NN head to the Dec base it puts the head at an angle (see 6:21 in the video) ... I need the head to be level so the camera is also level (either horizontally or vertically with the L-bracket). How do I accomplish this? I'd even like to have my camera level for shooting single MW shots as sometimes the angle that you need to raise the camera along with the angle to get the camera horizontally oriented will run into the stops on the ball head. How do I get the camera level? Thanks for any help. ~Chris T.
Hi Peter, On the skywatcher star adventurer it lists the payload as 5kgs Do you think a 7kg payload including counterweight is achievable? Or am I pushing it too far? I was hoping to try out my new small refractor on it Great channel - keep up the good work!!
From everything I've gathered, you really don't want to go over the weight limit. I'm assuming if you put that telescope on there, you'd find it's impossible to balance it. You'd likely need to get a second counterweight, and then at that point you'd probably have so much weight on the tracker it wouldn't perform very well. However, I've never personally attached that much weight, so I can't say for sure.
Hi Peter, great Video. Avid photographer here but new to tracking. I've also been looking into the AZ-GTI which has the advantage of "Go To" capabilities and can be used in Equatorial mode. Have you had a chance to look at this mount and do you think that it might be a better way to go. The price is nearly the same. Thanks in advance.
I had the opportunity to use the GTI a few times last summer. The Go-To functionality is definitely a nice addition! I also have a few students that use one and they really seem to love it! Unfortunately, I don't have enough experience with it to give a recommendation one way or the other.
Correct! If you are able to take one long exposure, 2+ minutes, you shouldn't need to do any photo stacking. However, depending on your focal length, you may not be able to shoot as long as you need. For example, I can only get about 30 second exposures at 600mm, so I still need to photo stack. If you're just shooting at a wide angle though, you can easily shoot 4+ minutes and get a clean image
Hello. Have you ever experienced alignment in southern hemisphere with this mount. ? Any tips for a beginner who just received his mount a few days ago ? Seems to be very hard to pick the south celestial pole accuratly.... Nice vids and great channel added to my fav ones ! Thanks
Yeah, thankfully the Star Adventurer polar scope makes this relatively easy! You'll also want the Star adventurer mini console app on your smart phone, which has a polar clock utility built-in! What you want to do is use that app to find which orientation the Sigma Octans stars are currently in, then rotate your camera mount (and polar scope) until the stars are in the same position. Then you'll use the altitude and azimuth adjustment knobs to fine tune your alignment. I visually explain the polar scope process for the southern hemisphere in the Star Adventurer Full Course: www.peterzelinka.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer-full-course
Christophe Jammes I'm gonna try to record a new video specifically for the Southern Hemisphere alignment, since I haven't seen a clear and concise one yet! I'll try to get that uploaded before the next New Moon!
Hello, Thanks for the video. Can you explain a little bit how you would go about tracking the sun? say for an eclipse or just the sun. How to align, thanks.
Hi Jorge, Unfortunatley, you won't be able to do an accurate polar alignment during the day, without any stars. However, it's really not necessary. As long as the star tracker has the right latitude dialed in on the base, and it's pointed up North, it should be okay for solar tracking. I recommend using an app like Stellarium to help you find North, and the North Star, during the daytime. Then you can try to point your star tracker to roughly the same spot. Once you've done a rough alignment, make sure you turn the tracking speed to Solar. From there, you should be good!
Personally, I like the SkyGuider Pro a bit better. The Star Adventurer has a great declination bracket design that makes using a telephoto lens very easy. However, the tracking speed dial tends to get turned on by accident quite often. The plastic covers are junky, and the polar scope requires an external red light illuminator which doesn't work that well. It's also quite large and heavy. The SkyGuider Pro doesn't have any of these problems, but it's declination bracket design is noticeably worse than the Star Adventurers. If you want a complete comparison on all of the trackers, I've got a full review on my website: www.peterzelinka.com/blog/2018/8/which-star-tracker-should-i-get
Yep, you can do a lot of timelapse panning with the trackers. For example, the Star Adventurer's base goes all the way to 90 degrees. So you could have a horizontal pan over the course of your timelapse. I personally don't too much with timelapses, but if you're creative you can do some cool things!
Check out my comparison video here on UA-cam, where I break down the differences between all the trackers. In short, I'd go with either the Star Adventurer or SkyGuider Pro. Both are good trackers, but they each have their own minor problems
It's definitely better! I'd recommend getting it if you've been having trouble with the iOptron one. It's a bit more sturdy, can go all the way to 90 degrees, and should turn smoothly.
So even though the ball head I already have is rated for 30-37 lbs I’m not sure which..I’ll still need that big bracket for my 5d mark iii and my tamron 150-600mm lens? You don’t think the ball head I have has the right screw I’ll still need that adapter? Thanks in advance any help would be appreciated:)
You won't want to attach your ballhead and 150-600mm directly to the circular ballhead mounting adapter. That will seriously stress the whole system. I would only use the "default" mount if I was shooting with a relatively lightweight setup and at a wide angle. The reason you'll need the bracket is to properly distribute the weight and balance of your telephoto lens. It's best to attach the lens directly to the top of the bracket, which will lower the center of gravity considerably. Check out my Star Tracker Tutorial - Deep Space video to see what I mean
Can you still do the polar alignment with the declination bracket on? In case it works, how to attach the polar scope illumination adapter to it? Looks like i have to do some diy led light to the declination bracket for it?
Yes, you can see through the polar scope when the Dec bracket is attached. I wouldn't even bother with that illuminator. Just used a headlamp with a red light and shine in briefly over the front of the polar scope to see the reticle
Peter Zelinka Thank you! I was hesitating to buy the adventurer pro because of this.. I think i prefer this one over the skyguider pro because of the better designed declination bracket (you mentioned in other Videos) :-)
Great question! Realistically, that minor movement won't really matter, especially if you're shooting anything wider than 100mm. Most people are only using wide angle lenses, and even a rough polar alignment will allow you to shoot upwards of 5 minutes without star trails. However, for those shooting at 300mm+, this is definitely a concern. With the Fine Tuning Assembly installed (dec bracket), you can always double check your polar alignment once everything has been installed. Of course, you may have to rotate the entire bracket around to get the Polar Scope in the correct orientation to double check. This is a common problem with both the Star Adventurer and SkyGuider Pro. One thing that can help when using a telephoto lens is auto-guiding. This is a bit more complicated though, and it's something I'll be covering in my upcoming Star Tracker Tutorial series update - the Deep Space Course.
your are right on the wide images. It sounds like skytrackers are good for wide ones only. I face hard time to point distant objects while accurately polar aligned.
The simple solution if you want accurate alignment with the Adventurer is to align AFTER you install and align your camera! If you use the declination bracket instead of the ball head adapter (the ball head adapter blocks the polar scope) then you can align the polar scope through the slot in the bracket. I have a 3D printed bracket I bought off a French guy on UA-cam which allows the illumination to be fitted in the slot. I also use the Canon right angle viewfinder attached using another of his adapters that I helped him design after seeing the one on his sight for the Seagull right angle viewfinder. Much better for us oldies. Just search for right angle viewfinder adapter star adventure if you want to see Phillipe's videos on it. I think he sells the adapters for around 15 dollars each.
Apologies about the stupid spelling mistakes! Just read it through and realised how bad this auto word insertion is on UA-cam. Why can't we switch it off?
I think, technically, they say it's not a good idea to use it in very cold temps. However, you should be able to. I've used my SkyGuider Pro when it was like 11F a few times. It might drain your battery life faster, but it shouldn't hurt the tracker.
The instructions in the Star Adventurer manual were so vague, this was so so helpful! Thank you!
Very cool. I saw a photo from a friend with the most beautiful space shot. That sparked the adventurer in me. So I let him know how much I liked it and said I needed to start saving specifically for the mounts required and he suggest I check your videos out. So thanks.
Great tutorial. Very clear and methodically explained.
Nice vid. Sharing the mode dial side of the Adventurer is a hole you can peep through (or perhaps place a skinny laser pointer) for a quick and dirty alignment.
At last!!! Please keep these coming, as there are seriously no good tutorials anywhere. Great work!!
Happy to see you posting these videos on star trackers. I'm looking at the options you describe on your website and am interested in seeing your field videos. Thanks for posting.
Best channel for Astro photography
Subbed. These are superb mounts for the money, I'm enjoying mine very much so far.
Thank you Peter!
Great in depth review, I’m just about to purchase one of these..
great video! thanks peter. can't wait to watch the next one
hi! I was wondering can this mount handle a scope like Explore Scientific 102? or a Meade LX85 refractor? I am looking to build a portable astrophotography set up, thank you
Great video! Going to check out the others. Ty!
What tripod would you recommend to use with the star adventurer?
New subscriber , enjoying your videos. I am going to get one of some type. I don't enjoy hauling a bunch of equipment in and around. The deep space photos tend to look all alike after awhile. The foreground and wide field shots are more artistic.
Wish i a telescope like that
Thanks for this. Is this only for DSLR or can you use any of these astro cameras? Also I want to get Evostar 72ED, is it any good with this ?
Hi there, thanks for the video! I've bought a few of these and I think I'm getting defects. On the first one the clutch would lock when I tuned it but it would stop tracking randomly. I have since exchanged the unit 3 times and every version I get the cluych just continues to spin without locking. Am I missing something?
Great video, Peter. Any plans of reviewing the Fornax Lightrack II?
Thanks! No plans currently, but I may branch out into more star trackers in the future!
Great video. I have a beginner question. I already have a great photographic tripod (a Gitzo Systematic 5 and this Gitzo ballhead GH5381SQD). I have a canon 5d mk4 and a good number of lenses (16-35mm f2.8, 85mm f1.4, and super telephoto 100-400mm f4.5-f5.6). If I were to buy the SW SA what bits of kit would I need and what bits of my kit could I already use? I have a remote shutter cable as well. My goal is mostly wide angle shots and perhaps some constellations rather than true deep sky faint fuzzy astrophotography. Thanks. And congrats again on the video. Very helpful
You'll want to get the counterweight kit and latitude base (wedge). That should be all you need. You can remove your ballhead from the tripod, attach the latitude base and Star Adventurer. Then use your ballhead to attach your camera to the declination bracket.
Thanks Peter! Look forward to getting into this.
Brilliant videos thank you , Going on a trip taking my star adventurer and this time i feel i might even get an image or two lol
Thanks for these videos! Curious if you’ve tried using a right angle scope viewer with it? Any pros or cons?
Helpful video, thanks! I picked up a Star Adventurer so I can do TRACKED stitched milky way panorama shots. I'm using a Nodal Ninja head. When I mount the NN head to the Dec base it puts the head at an angle (see 6:21 in the video) ... I need the head to be level so the camera is also level (either horizontally or vertically with the L-bracket). How do I accomplish this? I'd even like to have my camera level for shooting single MW shots as sometimes the angle that you need to raise the camera along with the angle to get the camera horizontally oriented will run into the stops on the ball head. How do I get the camera level? Thanks for any help. ~Chris T.
Hi Peter,
On the skywatcher star adventurer it lists the payload as 5kgs
Do you think a 7kg payload including counterweight is achievable?
Or am I pushing it too far?
I was hoping to try out my new small refractor on it
Great channel - keep up the good work!!
From everything I've gathered, you really don't want to go over the weight limit. I'm assuming if you put that telescope on there, you'd find it's impossible to balance it.
You'd likely need to get a second counterweight, and then at that point you'd probably have so much weight on the tracker it wouldn't perform very well.
However, I've never personally attached that much weight, so I can't say for sure.
Hi Peter, great Video. Avid photographer here but new to tracking. I've also been looking into the AZ-GTI which has the advantage of "Go To" capabilities and can be used in Equatorial mode. Have you had a chance to look at this mount and do you think that it might be a better way to go. The price is nearly the same. Thanks in advance.
I had the opportunity to use the GTI a few times last summer. The Go-To functionality is definitely a nice addition! I also have a few students that use one and they really seem to love it!
Unfortunately, I don't have enough experience with it to give a recommendation one way or the other.
Good explanation, thank you. Newbie question if I may. Will taking star pictures of several minutes negate the need for image stacking?
Correct! If you are able to take one long exposure, 2+ minutes, you shouldn't need to do any photo stacking.
However, depending on your focal length, you may not be able to shoot as long as you need. For example, I can only get about 30 second exposures at 600mm, so I still need to photo stack.
If you're just shooting at a wide angle though, you can easily shoot 4+ minutes and get a clean image
@@PeterZelinka thank you.
Thanks mate 👍
Any review on the barndoor tracker ??
I'm actually testing out a barndoor tracker right now. I might have a video on it in a month or so.
Hello. Have you ever experienced alignment in southern hemisphere with this mount. ? Any tips for a beginner who just received his mount a few days ago ? Seems to be very hard to pick the south celestial pole accuratly.... Nice vids and great channel added to my fav ones ! Thanks
Yeah, thankfully the Star Adventurer polar scope makes this relatively easy! You'll also want the Star adventurer mini console app on your smart phone, which has a polar clock utility built-in!
What you want to do is use that app to find which orientation the Sigma Octans stars are currently in, then rotate your camera mount (and polar scope) until the stars are in the same position.
Then you'll use the altitude and azimuth adjustment knobs to fine tune your alignment.
I visually explain the polar scope process for the southern hemisphere in the Star Adventurer Full Course:
www.peterzelinka.com/skywatcher-star-adventurer-full-course
Peter Zelinka Thank you Peter. Waiting for the new moon to try !!!
Christophe Jammes I'm gonna try to record a new video specifically for the Southern Hemisphere alignment, since I haven't seen a clear and concise one yet! I'll try to get that uploaded before the next New Moon!
Peter Zelinka It would be great !! Think I won't be the only one to need it !!!
Finished the tutorial today!
ua-cam.com/video/VKjGc-VjUFk/v-deo.html
Hello,
Thanks for the video. Can you explain a little bit how you would go about tracking the sun? say for an eclipse or just the sun. How to align, thanks.
Hi Jorge,
Unfortunatley, you won't be able to do an accurate polar alignment during the day, without any stars. However, it's really not necessary. As long as the star tracker has the right latitude dialed in on the base, and it's pointed up North, it should be okay for solar tracking. I recommend using an app like Stellarium to help you find North, and the North Star, during the daytime. Then you can try to point your star tracker to roughly the same spot.
Once you've done a rough alignment, make sure you turn the tracking speed to Solar. From there, you should be good!
hi and thanks for this great video. Do you recommend this tracker? Anything else you found better as an alternative? thank you again.
Personally, I like the SkyGuider Pro a bit better.
The Star Adventurer has a great declination bracket design that makes using a telephoto lens very easy. However, the tracking speed dial tends to get turned on by accident quite often. The plastic covers are junky, and the polar scope requires an external red light illuminator which doesn't work that well. It's also quite large and heavy.
The SkyGuider Pro doesn't have any of these problems, but it's declination bracket design is noticeably worse than the Star Adventurers.
If you want a complete comparison on all of the trackers, I've got a full review on my website:
www.peterzelinka.com/blog/2018/8/which-star-tracker-should-i-get
@@PeterZelinka thanks a bunch!
Can these not only track the stars to not get star trails but can you do panning on timelapes?
Yep, you can do a lot of timelapse panning with the trackers. For example, the Star Adventurer's base goes all the way to 90 degrees. So you could have a horizontal pan over the course of your timelapse. I personally don't too much with timelapses, but if you're creative you can do some cool things!
Wish i had a telescope like that so awesome 😍
Which one would you choose as your go to tracker. This one or the iOptron skytracker or skyguider?
Check out my comparison video here on UA-cam, where I break down the differences between all the trackers.
In short, I'd go with either the Star Adventurer or SkyGuider Pro. Both are good trackers, but they each have their own minor problems
Thanks for the reply! Also, what's the tripod you use in this video?
@@FarmLapse It's a Gitzo Systematic tripod, not sure the exact model number though
thank you so much!
What tripod do you use in this video?
Hi Peter. Do you think the sky watcher latitude base would work better than the one that comes with the Skyguider Pro, I struggle with that one.
It's definitely better! I'd recommend getting it if you've been having trouble with the iOptron one. It's a bit more sturdy, can go all the way to 90 degrees, and should turn smoothly.
Peter Zelinka Thank you. I’m going to try it.
So even though the ball head I already have is rated for 30-37 lbs I’m not sure which..I’ll still need that big bracket for my 5d mark iii and my tamron 150-600mm lens?
You don’t think the ball head I have has the right screw I’ll still need that adapter?
Thanks in advance any help would be appreciated:)
You won't want to attach your ballhead and 150-600mm directly to the circular ballhead mounting adapter. That will seriously stress the whole system. I would only use the "default" mount if I was shooting with a relatively lightweight setup and at a wide angle.
The reason you'll need the bracket is to properly distribute the weight and balance of your telephoto lens. It's best to attach the lens directly to the top of the bracket, which will lower the center of gravity considerably.
Check out my Star Tracker Tutorial - Deep Space video to see what I mean
I need a tripod for my starwatcher. None of my tripods fit. Any suggestions?
Can you still do the polar alignment with the declination bracket on? In case it works, how to attach the polar scope illumination adapter to it? Looks like i have to do some diy led light to the declination bracket for it?
Yes, you can see through the polar scope when the Dec bracket is attached. I wouldn't even bother with that illuminator. Just used a headlamp with a red light and shine in briefly over the front of the polar scope to see the reticle
Peter Zelinka Thank you! I was hesitating to buy the adventurer pro because of this.. I think i prefer this one over the skyguider pro because of the better designed declination bracket (you mentioned in other Videos) :-)
What kind of tripod can it be attached to?
Peter, How can you polar align very precisely as every time you align and install your camera you introduce minor misalignment
Great question! Realistically, that minor movement won't really matter, especially if you're shooting anything wider than 100mm. Most people are only using wide angle lenses, and even a rough polar alignment will allow you to shoot upwards of 5 minutes without star trails.
However, for those shooting at 300mm+, this is definitely a concern. With the Fine Tuning Assembly installed (dec bracket), you can always double check your polar alignment once everything has been installed. Of course, you may have to rotate the entire bracket around to get the Polar Scope in the correct orientation to double check. This is a common problem with both the Star Adventurer and SkyGuider Pro.
One thing that can help when using a telephoto lens is auto-guiding. This is a bit more complicated though, and it's something I'll be covering in my upcoming Star Tracker Tutorial series update - the Deep Space Course.
your are right on the wide images. It sounds like skytrackers are good for wide ones only. I face hard time to point distant objects while accurately polar aligned.
@@swapsaraf3 I've been able to capture some great images of distant Nebula and galaxies at 600mm.
www.peterzelinka.com/nightscapes/hb6112409
The simple solution if you want accurate alignment with the Adventurer is to align AFTER you install and align your camera! If you use the declination bracket instead of the ball head adapter (the ball head adapter blocks the polar scope) then you can align the polar scope through the slot in the bracket. I have a 3D printed bracket I bought off a French guy on UA-cam which allows the illumination to be fitted in the slot. I also use the Canon right angle viewfinder attached using another of his adapters that I helped him design after seeing the one on his sight for the Seagull right angle viewfinder. Much better for us oldies. Just search for right angle viewfinder adapter star adventure if you want to see Phillipe's videos on it. I think he sells the adapters for around 15 dollars each.
Apologies about the stupid spelling mistakes! Just read it through and realised how bad this auto word insertion is on UA-cam. Why can't we switch it off?
Can I use Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer in winter (at temperatures below 0°C ) without harming the device ?
I think, technically, they say it's not a good idea to use it in very cold temps.
However, you should be able to. I've used my SkyGuider Pro when it was like 11F a few times. It might drain your battery life faster, but it shouldn't hurt the tracker.
Hi
I'm looking for some information please. I have a tamron 150-600mm g2. Wondering if you could use it on this tracker cheers
Yeah, I use the original version of that lens for most of my Astro photos. The Star Adventurer can handle it no problem!
@@PeterZelinka thanks for reply 😃
What Kind of tripod is that?
But WHERE do the batteries go?? I can't find anywhere that tells you.
I’m not really into astrophotography but to be honest?
You look like such a good guy that I Had to subscribe :)
Not gay or anything lol
you only balanced one way, turn your camera the other way and itll be out of balance, how do u balance it? i am struggling
I"m at 32.4 degrees. Air temp is 94 degrees however.
Haha, down in the desert eh? I'm glad I finally made it back into the mountains on this roadtrip. Dark, clear night skies, and cool temps!
Why do we need a northern and southern hemisphere switch if the Earth is flat, hmm? 🤣