Im using the ioptron skytracker since a couple of years and with great pleasure. All of my images will be landscapes using a DSLR and wide angle lens. Hey Mark! Hi Tom. I found it could be hard to adjust the knob of the WO vixen base with heavy combo attached. With my Astrotech 72 ED and Sony A6500 I can currently get two minutes with my skyguider no star trails. Step 2 - Dark Frame iPano AllView Pro Camera Mount. Features Fast and easy to use High precision (30 arcsec) No need to see the Pole Star No need to rotate the mount during alignment Unique imaging enhancement technique Smart plate solving On screen instruction during alignment Capable under poor sky visibility condition Control StellarMate functions and access the Web Manager and Web based VNC Viewer. Hi Excellent option for the lightweight traveller as needs no extra gear or electronics at all! But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Originally developed as Google Sky Map, it has now been donated and open sourced. Join StellarMate to your home WiFi network. The lack of dithering was evident in the data, and would have helped to reduce noise in the final integration. The SynScan hand controller is now available as an app on your smart device. You have previously reviewed ZWOs ASIAir but you may not know that this device will soon have Polar Alignment built in using the main imaging scope/lens and camera. Start by roughly aligning your telescope mount in the direction of the North Celestial Pole. Apart from the most reliable app for polar alignment (with or without a polar scope), PS Align pro has become the astronomer's swiss-army knife. I show how t Polar Alignment App Part 1 of 2 -. This is the only piece of software I use my laptop for and once polar alignment is done, it gets turned off and put away. Make sure to view the current position of Polaris in your mobile app, and make any adjustments necessary to your mount. This is the official companion app for SkymemoT camera mount from Kenko. The iPolar installation process was interesting. Today we're proud to provide quality products direct to your doorstep through an experience you'll enjoy. An uneven tripod will result in an inaccurate position of your mount in relation to the altitude scale. Let me know what do you think. The tracking speed is set at 1X for sky imaging. The only trailing now was in declination due to the polar alignment being a little off. Polar alignment doesnt just help you take better images, its absolutely imperative for success. What is it? Before you converted did you do a polar alignment with your gear hanging on it ? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Youll want to use an illuminated reticle eyepiece with a crosshair to center the star in your field of view. | FR | IT | ES | DE | PT. Thank you. Use this app to program the Star Adventurer mini for astrophotography and time-lapse photography. This App controls most functions through Bluetooth from your Android cell phone or tablet. It's the feature described on this video if you haven't seen it. Automatic Time/Location. Not all camera lenses are created equal, and imaging a night sky full of pinpoint stars has a way of bringing out the worst (or best) of your lens, Continue Reading The Best Lens for Astrophotography (That You Probably Already Own)Continue, The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer is an extremely popular portable star tracker designed for astrophotography. I would like a setup that can function without a counter weight if possible. With this solution you can still use your polar scope when you are traveling. thanks a lot! I must say, the iPolar experience and software felt very familiar, which isnt a bad thing considering how much I love the PoleMaster. Regardless, I used each one of the 62 (240-second long) sub-exposures for my final image. Works well with SGP and Redcat 51 combo. Mobile Observatory Free is the perfect tool for anybody interested in the sky's wonders, from the occasional sky gazer to the passionate amateur astronomer. The arm holding the polar scope can swing out to a position that is comfortable to the user, and this simple and ingenious design is one of my favorite features of the mount. Wide angle view of the polar region: A wide field of view of 118 degree makes it very easy to locate the pole star. All of the telescope mounts on the list above include a polar alignment scope (depending on the version you order), with the exception of the Celestron CGEM. I have a small min-PC USB stick that I have used with Sharpcap to take my images. Make sure your polar alignment is correct. The app uses the best algorithm to calculate the position of Pole Star: The algorithm calculates 3D space motion of the Pole Star itself, precession, temperature and barometric pressure corrected atmospheric refraction, nutation, parallax, aberration, and etc.). Contact | Accurate polar alignment is essential for all types of long exposure astrophotography from wide-angle nightscapes, to high magnification deep-space imaging. Terms of Service | The app uses your mobile devices GPS to automatically calculate theposition of Polaris for your latitude and longitude. This one is easy due to its proximity to Deneb which shows up in live view even through a NB filter! By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. There is a hole near the top of the body (for lining up if you don't have a polar scope) but I find this very difficult to use. Do I need am extra scope and camera or is it possible with the iploar and laptop? Turn the knobs a few times while looking through the polar scope. You add performance at the cost of more set-up time. As a beginner, am I better off starting without the iPolar, or should I jump to the improved technology? Before you can use the IPolar camera, you need to take a dark frame click settings and the then, leaving the IPolar cap on, take a dark frame. How does autoguiding work? This can be accomplished by physically moving your tripod and mount at dusk, and aiming the polar axis in a general North direction. If so then use the star adventurer mini console. So, if the SkyGuider Pro is your main deep-sky imaging rig, the iPolar is a no-brainer, especially if youve had trouble with polar alignment in the past. It will be interesting to see just how far backyard astrophotographers can push the SkyTracker Pro, with the added polar alignment precision the iPolar provides. With the polar alignment dialed-in thanks to the iPolar, I was able to shoot 4-minute exposures at ISO 1600 on the North American Nebula and surrounding area. Stellarium is an astronomical map and is great for locating objects in the night sky. The equipment used in this example a Sky-Watcher HEQ5 German equatorial mount. Your job is to align these two indicators with each other by making adjustments to the alt-az adjustments knobs on the mount wedge. EQ5 Pro - Polar alignment & Scope aligment out. The iPolar software is available to download on the iOptron website. I take it that you think its a worthwhile upgrade? This only applies to those of us in the Northern Polar alignment is the alignment of the axis of your telescope mount with the motion of the sky. Because if the pole star and the other stars around it are obscured by trees, it would seem like it would not work. The LighTrack II is easy to set up and polar align. The SynScan hand controller is now available as an app on your smart device. No matter how good you are at manually aligning the mount through the polar scope with your eyes, I think its safe to say a camera has got you beat. And most of all, we hope you'll enjoy the products as much as we do. I rather not have to pay for an app but if the iOptron app is more precise, $2 isn't going to kill me. One of the reasons I made Polar Scope Align was because the iOptron app was way off back then - it took them a few years of mucking about to even match their hand controller, it was quite bizarre (maybe they had outsourced the app?). Sky Map is a hand-held planetarium for your Android device. Otherwise, youll have to rotate the tripod and possibly re-level. The information you have provided is invaluable. With camera & ball-head my equipment tops out at 5lbs. So many utilities you never knew you needed. Does the laptop need to be connected throughout shooting or can it be switched off after alignment is finished and how long will it stay aligned if I use a heavier rig with lets say a 400mm lens. Where should I put the Polaris when doing polar alignment? Several functions may not work. Map iOS Next, youll want to find the latitude and longitude coordinates for your location. The purpose of this simple application is to quickly initialize your synscan. For polar alignment, iOptron sells their app for $1.99 but I have downloaded a free app (there are some ads at the bottom) called the Polar Scope Align. I guess I will stick with the stock mount. If you have found this review helpful, please let me know in the comments. Privacy Policy | After the polar alignment process is complete, you can unplug the cable and put it away. We use cookies on our website, in accordance with our. This lithium-ion battery-powered camera mount was designed for portable astrophotography with a camera lens or small telescope riding on top. How do these compare? Remember to tighten the adjustment bolts and knobs when you are satisfied with theaccuracy of your placement. That being said do you have any advice for choosing between the two? With the preview function (which is automatically visible A simple and easy to use application for determining the location of Polaris relative to the north celestial pole. The SGP comes with a built-in polar scope, which will allow to you precisely align to the north star, provided you have the smartphone app. This is more than enough for a sharp 2-minute image using a camera lens with a focal length of 100mm or less. It is really a great app. Couple that with the fact that these astrophotography filters can be expensive, and youve got some, Continue Reading Light Pollution Filters for AstrophotographyContinue, In my opinion, the best astrophotography lens is one that can capture a variety of images of the night sky in a reliable and consistent way. The North America Nebula in Cygnus is a large, bright, and beautiful target thats located in an area full of hydrogen gas including the impressive Pelican Nebula. I noticed the weight changes my polar alignment so I started doing it with my counterweight attached but before the scope and camera. This version of the SynScan app is suited for Use StellarMate App to discover and connect to your StellarMate controller. It may also be used with other brand telescope/camera mounts with similar polar scope reticle. Would whole heartedly agree with this. Achieving an accurate polar alignment is relatively easy with the SkyGuider Pro. For Polar alignment you don't really need an app, however, there's an app for Android called 'Calibration' which will clibrte your phone's accelerometer then give you a compass so you can see where 'north' is. Big fan thank you for all the information you share with us! Owners of the SkyGuider Pro looking to push the mounts capabilities further now have a dedicated device for this critical aspect of astrophotography. - Does my mount level? This is an app to show the position of the Pole Star (Polaris in Northern Hemisphere, or Sigma Octantis in Southern Hemisphere) in the polar scope of all the iOptron(R) telescope/camera mounts.The app uses the best algorithm to calculate the position of Pole Star: The algorithm calculates 3D space motion of the Pole Star itself, precession, temperature and barometric pressure corrected atmospheric refraction, nutation, parallax, aberration, and etc.). The iPolar camera is just like the QHY PoleMaster I use on my larger equatorial mounts such as the Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro, but this one uses its own dedicated software, and was made specifically for popular iOptron mounts like the SkyGuider Pro. Being as minimal as possible on gear/weight for trekking is important. Im about to purchase my first tracker, and Ive chosen the SkyGuider Pro. All rights reserved. iOptron offers their own electronic polar scope for the SkyGuider Pro - the iOptron iPolar - which can be hooked up to your computer/laptop. How do these compare? The app supports almost every polar scope used in the field including ones from iOptron, Astro-Physics, Takahashi, Orion, Celestron, Meade, Vixen, AstroTrac, Losmandy, Kenko, Avalon, even early 80's designs like the Tuthill . You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Trevor, are you able to CHECK the polar alignment after you disconnect the cable? 8402A Hand Controller. 2. Polar alignment is critical to the tracking accuracy. You may have noticed that I am using the upgraded William Optics wedge to mount the SkyGuider Pro, and this certainly makes this process a little more enjoyable. Thanks for the additional information. - When the moon will rise and set ? I use this gear myself but many others use the QHY PoleMaster and rate it highly too so its a matter of preference really. These compact little mounts can rotate along with the night sky for long-exposure astrophotography, but they must be polar aligned accurately to work properly. Even a careful polar alignment routine that is slightly off will begin to negatively affect your images after about 2-minutes. After using iPolar and a Windows PC/laptop to do the polar alignment successfully, do we simply unplug the usb cable and not need the laptop anymore? This will be magnetic north though so only an approximation. This is why I prefer to use a PoleMaster with a customized adapter in front of it. It does the opposite pretty well - if you strap your phone on the telescope, you select an object from the database and it takes you there (Push To button) - which can be accurate if you first calibrate it with a bright star that you can recognise and then "hop" to the object of interest. I am not sure when should I stop rotating. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. So yes using an app is a good idea to show where abouts Polaris needs to be on the clock face. - Where is the polar viewfinder of my EQ6? iPad Polar Scope Align will calculate the position of Polaris or Octantis in your Polar Scope reticle for your location (using your phone's GPS or manually), allowing a quick and accurate polar alignment. maybe not the answer you were expecting, but I renewed my interest in astronomy after some 15 years, and upgraded my gear. I like the Polar Scope Align app as it has other reticles if I ever get something else (unlikely). Your email address will not be published. Does the i-Polar only connect & work with a PC/Laptop? Late June may have the shortest nights of the year, but it sure beats spending extended periods of time outside in the cold winter months. So I have to remove the sheets, adjust and put it back. In this video we go through the simple steps involved in setting up and using iOptron's iPolar digital polar scope. This platform Natevia An electronic polar scope uses a camera to plate solve an image of the area of sky around the celestial poles and provide useful feedback to guide your adjustments to the Altitude and Azimuth controls. I find adjusting the polar alignment with it to border on insanity-inducing. Using IPolar to polar alignment once it has been fitted and aligned is really easy and is my goto method for fast and accurate polar alignment. is iPolar software available only on Windows? The Drift align method can be used in either hemisphere by using free software called PHD2 guiding. But if its your travel/quick setup rig remember that you have given up your ability to polar align the mount without software assistance. Thats some incredibly impressive data acquisition from a star tracker that fits in your hand. (I eyeballed alignment with the SkyGuider's polar scope and mobile app.) Hi! There are a number of tools you can use to help polar align your equatorial mount, such as: PolarFinder Mobile App SharpCap Software Polar Alignment Feature iOptron PoleMaster Electronic Polar Finder The Importance of Balance Speaking of balance, the actual balancing of the weight on top of the mount (the payload) is extremely important. This is an app to show the position of the Pole Star (Polaris in Northern Hemisphere, or Sigma Octantis in Southern Hemisphere) in the polar scope of all the iOptron(R) telescope/camera mounts. Raising review to 4 stars. Its RA (right-ascension) motor slowly rotates at sidereal rate to match the skies movement very simple, yet vital for deep sky imaging. Once you know this it's fairly easy to align your scope without an app at all. It is important to note that the tripod needs to be pointing North before leveling. Quality tutorial/review. Thanks for pointing out the typo! At focal lengths of 200mm+, capturing an image of 3-minutes or more requires a precise polar alignment of the mount. Smooth DC servo motor is almost silent in operation. But.. My pictures really seem to get blown out at that time with pollution. Your email address will not be published. Almost any starcharting software will give the position of Polaris, and most will correct for atmospheric refraction. Use a free planetarium software such as Stellarium to help you learn the night sky and its constellations from your location on Earth. Thanks. Updated Review: Menu button started appearing magically. The QHY PoleMaster uses a high sensitivity camera to capture an image of the northern sky to calculate where true north is. - What are the GPS coordinates? You simply download the iPolar software and calibrate the camera on the RA axis of the mount. During shooting? You may also consider that you may not even need a polar alignment camera at all. instead of my full name pls. Simply put, you need to make sure that your telescope mount is rotating on the exact same angle the sky turns on. Hi, For proper use of this site, you need to enable javascript in your browser! Your polar alignment app should have a button to adjust the view to inverted. It shows a realistic and accurate night sky map, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. I think that that iOptron should develop a smartphone app and connect to the camera with wifi or bt. Long story short, here are my questions: 1. A beginners guide to using IOptrons IPolar mount add-on for Polar alignment. My one regret is that I havent given it a proper test drive yet. If you havent yet gone down this road, its worth looking into the new iPolar. I just wondering maybe I can ask for advise with what euipment i have. For polar alignment, iOptron sells their app for $1.99 but I have downloaded a free app (there are some ads at the bottom) called the Polar Scope Align. Related Post: The best astronomy and stargazing apps for your mobile phone. Im trying to decide on Skyguider pro with ipolar or without.
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