Thanks again. I've shot many Pano over the years but never with a tracker. I have a shinny new tracker now and your advice is so helpful. I'm hoping to give it a try in about two weeks.
Well after viewing and searching all over youtube, you have the best explanation of how to use a tracker for the Milky Way Pano. I've watched numerous videos and NOBODY explains the fact that you need to re-adjust the camera before moving to the next section of the Milky Way. Great job and clear skies.......
Thanks so much for sharing. I already have Alyn Wallace's Z and V brackets (thankfully I bought two Z's last summer). I also shoot with a Star Adventurer tracker and am looking forward to giving this a try at the end of the month when I have two nights under a Bortle 2 sky (I live in a Bortle 6). Clear skies!
Jesus John only your second video and I'm hooked! Some great advice and delivered in a great way. I'm looking forward to future uploads and learning more. Best of luck with the channel.
Came straight from the MSM Facebook group post and it was worth it. You sure have a sub from me. Waiting for more uploads and the opportunity to learn more. Thanks.
Great video my friend. I just did my first pano last night of the Milky way. That was alot of fun. Today your talking about tracking pianos. You just blew my mind, your photo are total major league. The one that has Orion and Milky Way in the same photo. Amazing. Keep doing what your doing your channel will friggin go Super Nova.
This is a great video! I definitely have been wanting to change my setup but my only concern is the v platform attached to the ballhead attachment. I get I could polar align then attach the rest above like you do here but, I don't want to risk knocking off my alignment and then not knowing until after I photograph if I have a good alignment. I'd rather be able to see through the polar scope to double check after I have my camera attached. Of course this would only be a concern for me when shooting with a 50mm where it counts a little more than lets say a 14mm.
Hey John, nice video, it is really interesting seeing someone put a video together that is almost exactly the same as the process I figured out myself. I always had a problem with olde cheaper z brackets and have just solved the problem the same way with the MSM v and z brackets purchased a couple of months ago. Just waiting for Milky Way season to get underway here in Canada!
Amazing video. Thanks so much John for sharing. I was struggling to find good advice on how to shoot tracked panos but you've absolutely nailed it. Agree too that for panos ballheads seem like a nightmare of imprecision. I've just bought another z bracket so that I can have a similar setup to what you've got. I also have a nodal slide rail and wonder whether that will be useful or not? (I'm still waiting for my gear to arrive in the post and to get a chance to put it to the test).
This is the best video to show how to use the Z brackets. Now I get it. This looks far superior to using a ball head on top of the Z bracket. Your keeping the center of gravity over the middle of the tracker with this method. When I'm shooting with my ball head on top of the Z bracket and shooting to the east or west I have too much weight off center which is pulling against the tracker.
In the UK, we get max 2 hours of mw, I used to do r to l and bk to the start, but they often didn't match, so I find zigzag helps me keep it overlapped enough. If I'm doing stack track I do 3 images approx 1 min each, and if using a longer focal length like a 35 mm, it takes much longer because of the overlap, so will probably only manage one composition single or possibly a double row pano in on night...... And that depends on if my intervalometers play ball, or go off on their own agenda
It must be hard living there with the limited night, the way I do my panos works for where I live but it totally makes sense to mix it up to suit the location. I too only normally get one image per night doing big panos at longer focal lengths... the price we pay
Hi John, Love your video mate! .. One of the best videos to show how to do tracked panos .. Needed a link to purchase that z platform (the same exact model in your video) if you don't mind .. I'm in Sydney NSW
Great video and super informative mate keep it up, would love to get some info on what gear you use just to have a look around at what may or may not work for myself cheers 👍🤙🏼
Hi John, thanks for the precious advices! I didn't understand one thing: should I reset the position of the camera and set it on level after every shot for a multi row panorama like you are doing in a single row?
Great video. Thanks for sharing these tips, which most of the time are not clarified by astrophotographers. Do you intend to test the Benro Polaris? A hug from Brazil.
Hi John, nice meeting you at Catho last night. That is one great instructional video I'll go back to again and again. Hope you got something nice at Catho 😁
Rewatching this vid again & again trying to prep for the upcoming season…can I ask, what arca Swiss adaptor plate do u use between the z-bracket & the l-bracket of ur camera. It looks very solid & sturdy & everything I’ve purchased thus far just makes me nervous because it’s always coming loose….this is an awesome vid & would love more like this to better understand in the field how to do tracked panos 👍
Hi John, awesome video. First question, do you turn the tracker off each time you level for the next shot? Secondly, what clamp is that you use to secure the camera? Thanks
Great video Mate! Was wondering how to do Panos with a tracker like that! Was the foreground also a pano? Do you incorporate the foreground in the pano shooting process or just blend it separately in post?
Excellent video, thanks for such a clear explanation. I already have a V bracket, do you think I can combine V + Z or would you believe Z + Z is better?
Apart from your awesome video. I have problem with my L Bracket comes loose (unscrewed) while my camera is tracking star on Protrait orientation. Could you tell me what is the model of your L bracket you are using in combination with star tracker? Thanks
Nice presentation for shooting MW panos! I am using 2L brackets with pano head under camera for leveling and rotator heads with degrees index for rotating camera left-right, up-down...in this way i am much faster and dont need to contantly look on my lcd for good overlaping...Also found that my setup is more stable then with MSM z bracket...i only have one question for you. Do you relevel your tracker after each exposure, or do you leave tracker and camera untuched...because, lately i do not relevel tracker ( if i am shooting without stacking multiple-exposure ) and in this way i capture still night sky image. What is your way? Thank you, and keep uploading video, nice start!🤟✨
Just 3 videos but I'm totally hooked on your channel John! Quick question; when you show how you level your setup after each shot, you move the Star-tracker clutch and relevel from there. Do you turn the tracker off every time you want to relevel? Also, later in the video you show how you can use the base Z bracket sideways to level your camera. Is there any reason to level using the tracker instead of the Z bracket? Thanks mate and keep more videos like this coming please!
You can either loosen the clutch and level with the tracker, or of you have a Z bracket you can use that too. I would just say if you use the clutch, don't tighten it up so much that you struggle to undo it, that's a sure wat to knock your mount off alignment.
@@johnrutterphotography That's one of the reasons why I was asking. I haven't tried the 2 Z brackets method but, on paper it'd make more sense to me to relevel directly from the Z bracket. That way you don't have to turn the tracker off or risk throwing off your polar alignment when you need to level. Did you find any advantage of adjusting the level loosening the clutch?
Hey John, thank you so much for the info! I need to level up the camera after very shot! (sound dumb isn't it? I am pretty new to the tracker 'MSM' please excuse me.)
Hi! Great tutorial! Thank you for providing! I have a question though.. Do you shoot multiple exposures for the same frame with a tracker, or just one? Does it help stacking tracked images even shot at low iso? Can you get more detail with multiple exposures stacked? Thanks again! :)
Hi mate, I only take one image per frame, of course it's possible to stack multiple frames per panel, but when shooting 3 minute exposures and needing 50+ images you can see that it would take a really really long time if stacking per frame, and I have found 1x3 minute exposures per panel better than 3x1 minute exposures stackes
Thanks for the video, well done. I have a question with 3,4 min exposures and iso around 800, have you shot at lower than F2.8, like 1.4-2.0, keen on your thoughts when tracked? Cheer
Hey Alan, I haven't shot wide open, as one of the benefits of tracking is having the ability to stop the lens down to improve its performance. I won't shoot wider than 2.8
Thanks for this video and the previous one. I was shooting stacked panoramas last year and want to try tracked panos this year. Regarding your comments on where to begin: in the Northern hemisphere the MW is low and horizontal at the beginning of the core season so do you recommend I begin shooting at the top right (East) panel? Cheers
@@johnrutterphotography I’m in Thailand John. The western side of the MW rises up and the eastern end stays planted. Normally I start top left and zig zag but I won’t zig zag next time. Coordinates of my next shoot are these: 15.8000999, 105.3945819. Cheers for your help mate!
I had a look at the movement if I was shooting it, I would start top left (north east) so your not chasing the core. the milkyway will rise as you shoot down
@@johnrutterphotography cheers. That’s what I usually do but zigzag. I’ll do it the way you suggest next time and shoot each row from the left. Cheers again 🍻
Aloha John......thanks for an informative video. I've ordered the Z and V plates and been waiting a few weeks.....still waiting. What star tracker are you using? Mahalo and Aloha.
It wasn’t clear but I presume you are also shooting a separate panorama of the ground with the tracker turned off to prevent the ground from blurring, then layering and masking it in later. Look forward to seeing your processing tutorial. Cheers, from Canada.
Sorry for the confusion, but that's correct, I include lots of foreground in the tracked sky shots so I can line up the untracked foreground and mask it in.
As soon as you mentioned 4,5,6 houes , I had to pause the vid & check Photo Pills for my area. Ithought it was about 3- 3 -1/2 hrs the MW would be showing. It is about 5 hrs. Great . Gives lots to think about. I'm going to watch your editing vid but, am guessing it takes a while to blend all the images. Hope my computer doesn't sieze up on me.
@@johnrutterphotography Near the new moon this month & last month on the days a I had available to do so was cloudy & rainy. I never shot the MW before. Expecting rainy off & on T-storms for the next 3 days starting tomorrow. See what the sky looks like tonight. The only place maybe dark enough near me is abaout2hrs south from where I live. Happy shooting.
One more question. I just bought to Z brackets but then realized I don;'t have any way to attach my camera's L-bracket. What is the area-type clamp you have mounted on top of your upper Z bracket? Without that I must use a Ball hard, which I don't want to do. Thanks.
Would you recommend doing a 4-5 shot pano with a 20mm or 24mm of the sky and then switching lenses to do another 4 shot pano of the ground with a 14mm, and then combining both those panoramas? Or would that be too complicated to do?
You can definitely do that, I have done that before to speed up the time it takes to do the foreground, you will just have ro get the scale right in photoshop so they match back up
When you level back up your camera after tracking one after another , How you know your camera is back levelled? Use the levelling line built in the camera? Thanks
When we pan up or down for pano , we just do the oppisite direction of thr Milky Way. For example, Milky way is rising up , so we can start pan down from the top of the sky to the bottom, That means we gonna get at least more than 50% overlap, which is not a problem when stitching , Am I right? Just for you to clarify my thoght Cheers
When I start a new row, I refer to the first image from the previous row and get a 50% overlap using a bright star or part of the milkyway for reference
Hi can you show me the links of your material to attach the machine to the tracker? I use the Skywatcher Star Adventurer mini, a sigma 14mm f1.8 art and a canon EOS R &, my equipment is heavy
Hi John, I just come back to see this video again. “As the camera has moved due to the tracker , we can level it back up “ How often do we have the level the camera back up while we are shooting? Every single shot? Or Once a row ? Thanks
Hey mate, every few minutes I re level. So if I'm shooting 3 minute exposures I re level after each frame, if I were shooting 1 minute exposures I'd re level after 3 or 4 images
Hi John . I wanna star shooting panaramas with the tracker but theres is one thing that I still dont understand. I have to set de camera in a horizontal position shoot and track and then re frame every single shot?
@@johnrutterphotography perfect. Thanks. So shoot, releve in the horizontal plane and keep ok shooting. Now the other question is, it's better estar from right to left? Thinking in the case that the western part of the sky goes down earlier. Am I right?. Thanks again budy.
I don't understand, if you align the tracker with the North, in this Z-shaped shoe you will have the machine towards the North too, so how do you turn the machine to start making the milky way panorama? I would be grateful if you could tell me the links for me to buy your material, Z bracket and which shoe to put on top that you use? How do you put the Z shoe on the skywatcher? any piece?
The z bracket swivels so you can shoot any direction, I got it off the move shoot move website. It attaches to the tracker with the ball head adapter that comes with the skywatcher
Couldn't you just create a mosaic to be your panorama, and have it all controlled by NINA framing assistant or ASIAIR etc. That way its all automatic, just like doing deep sky?
The issue you run into is plate solving such a wide field of view, I've found anything wider than 85mm won't plate solve so it can't be done like deep sky
You say you're using "two Z Brackets" but it looks like you have a V bracket connected to the tracker, then a Z bracket connected to the V bracket with the camera attached to the Z bracket? Am I seeing that correctly?
Awesome video and wonderful results! I do have a question, what kind of hardware are you using in your PC? Ram, CPU, GPU and disks? My images are getting into the few GIG size and my machine dies!! LOL Any advice would be great! Thanks again and keep 'em coming!
Only now seeing this! This is awesome dude 🤘🏻🌌 Glad your enjoying the star tracker platforms
Cheers mate! I've been waiting for something like this for years.
Thanks again. I've shot many Pano over the years but never with a tracker. I have a shinny new tracker now and your advice is so helpful. I'm hoping to give it a try in about two weeks.
THANK YOU. I have learned a lot of this from thinking it through, but your lessons are incredible and are filling in the gaps.
Your most welcome
Great job! Can’t wait for the start to finish pano.
Thanks Colin, the start to finish edit is up on my channel
Finally someone explains this. Great stuff mate.
Cheers Matt
Well after viewing and searching all over youtube, you have the best explanation of how to use a tracker for the Milky Way Pano. I've watched numerous videos and NOBODY explains the fact that you need to re-adjust the camera before moving to the next section of the Milky Way. Great job and clear skies.......
Thanks so much for sharing. I already have Alyn Wallace's Z and V brackets (thankfully I bought two Z's last summer). I also shoot with a Star Adventurer tracker and am looking forward to giving this a try at the end of the month when I have two nights under a Bortle 2 sky (I live in a Bortle 6). Clear skies!
Your welcome Cheryl, good luck and hope the weather cooperates
John, thanks for sharing your knowledge. Great to see another Aussie flying the flag. Clear skies mate!
Thanks Jim 👍 I appreciate that mate
Some sound advice John thanks for sharing your knowledge in this video.
My pleasure carl.
Jesus John only your second video and I'm hooked! Some great advice and delivered in a great way. I'm looking forward to future uploads and learning more. Best of luck with the channel.
Thanks for the support Trevor 👍
Thanks Jon very informative and helpful. Can’t wait for Molly Way season to start and try some of these techniques.
Good luck hope it helped out 👍
This ist really helpful!! I have been wanting to do this for quite some time now, but didn't know how to. Thanks for the awesome explanation!
My pleasure Brandon, 👍
Amazing work. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Cheers Bruno, I appreciate it mate
Absolutely stunning and very educational, thank you
My pleasure mate 👍
Great tips John, hopefully when we great break in the weather here in Sydney I can get back out again and put some of those things in to practice 👍
Thanks Paul, it's definitely been a cloudy start to the year, let's hope we get clear skies soon
Came straight from the MSM Facebook group post and it was worth it. You sure have a sub from me. Waiting for more uploads and the opportunity to learn more. Thanks.
Thanks Rajan I appreciate the support
I did my first tracked Pano last weekend up at Eildon, only a simple 5 panel vertical. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome mate, how did it turn out?
Thanks. I've been tryign to wrap my head around this for ages now, I think I finally understood it :'D
Awesome, glad it helped
@@johnrutterphotography The Z brackets you mentioned, what are they called? I can't seem to find them anywhere
Well done mate well presented and easy to follow.
Cheers mate
Great video my friend. I just did my first pano last night of the Milky way. That was alot of fun. Today your talking about tracking pianos. You just blew my mind, your photo are total major league. The one that has Orion and Milky Way in the same photo. Amazing. Keep doing what your doing your channel will friggin go Super Nova.
Thanks Sean, shooting large panoramas are a lot of fun hey,
This is a great video! I definitely have been wanting to change my setup but my only concern is the v platform attached to the ballhead attachment. I get I could polar align then attach the rest above like you do here but, I don't want to risk knocking off my alignment and then not knowing until after I photograph if I have a good alignment. I'd rather be able to see through the polar scope to double check after I have my camera attached. Of course this would only be a concern for me when shooting with a 50mm where it counts a little more than lets say a 14mm.
Thanks. All this does my head in but you’ve made it a lot easier for me to understand.
Thanks so much! Very much appreciated 🙏
Great tutorial, John. All the best from Canada.
Cheers Brian
Great video mate. Always wondered what the correct method for milky way panoramas is with a tracker. Will have to give it a go next new moon.
Cheers Dean, good luck
Valuable content and info here! Thanks
Thanks mate
Amazing video’ the outcome is outstanding
Thanks so much 🙏
Just found your channel. Getting a tracker next month. Subbed!
Thanks for the support 👍👍
Great info!!
Hey John, nice video, it is really interesting seeing someone put a video together that is almost exactly the same as the process I figured out myself. I always had a problem with olde cheaper z brackets and have just solved the problem the same way with the MSM v and z brackets purchased a couple of months ago. Just waiting for Milky Way season to get underway here in Canada!
Thanks Jimmy, I'm super impressed with the MSM brackets. Definitely simplifies the whole rig.
@@johnrutterphotography Thank Alyn Wallace :-)
@@SteveP_2426 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Nicely done!
Thankyou 👍
Amazing video. Thanks so much John for sharing. I was struggling to find good advice on how to shoot tracked panos but you've absolutely nailed it. Agree too that for panos ballheads seem like a nightmare of imprecision. I've just bought another z bracket so that I can have a similar setup to what you've got.
I also have a nodal slide rail and wonder whether that will be useful or not? (I'm still waiting for my gear to arrive in the post and to get a chance to put it to the test).
Cheers Brendan, I appreciate the comment mate 👍
This is the best video to show how to use the Z brackets. Now I get it. This looks far superior to using a ball head on top of the Z bracket. Your keeping the center of gravity over the middle of the tracker with this method. When I'm shooting with my ball head on top of the Z bracket and shooting to the east or west I have too much weight off center which is pulling against the tracker.
They definitely work great. I won't go back to a ball head.
my favourite little chapel in the Hunter
In the UK, we get max 2 hours of mw, I used to do r to l and bk to the start, but they often didn't match, so I find zigzag helps me keep it overlapped enough. If I'm doing stack track I do 3 images approx 1 min each, and if using a longer focal length like a 35 mm, it takes much longer because of the overlap, so will probably only manage one composition single or possibly a double row pano in on night...... And that depends on if my intervalometers play ball, or go off on their own agenda
It must be hard living there with the limited night, the way I do my panos works for where I live but it totally makes sense to mix it up to suit the location.
I too only normally get one image per night doing big panos at longer focal lengths... the price we pay
Unreal! I'm hoping I can take a large pano before its permanent twilight here in Northern Ireland in a few weeks! thanks!
My pleasure Andrew. Hope you nail it
Hi John,
Love your video mate! .. One of the best videos to show how to do tracked panos ..
Needed a link to purchase that z platform (the same exact model in your video) if you don't mind .. I'm in Sydney NSW
Thanks mate, here is the link www.moveshootmove.com/collections/move-shoot-move-rotator/products/z-v-platform-designed-with-alyn-wallace-preorder
Great video and super informative mate keep it up, would love to get some info on what gear you use just to have a look around at what may or may not work for myself cheers 👍🤙🏼
I have a couple of videos on my channel that talk about the gear I use 👍
Alyn Wallace gotta be sending you some love!
Haha dunno about that
Hi John, thanks for the precious advices! I didn't understand one thing: should I reset the position of the camera and set it on level after every shot for a multi row panorama like you are doing in a single row?
Hey rick, yes that's correct, keep levelling the base after each exposure on all the rows you do
Great video. Thanks for sharing these tips, which most of the time are not clarified by astrophotographers. Do you intend to test the Benro Polaris? A hug from Brazil.
Hi Jorge, your welcome mate, I'd like to test the polaris when I can get my hands on one
Hi John, nice meeting you at Catho last night. That is one great instructional video I'll go back to again and again. Hope you got something nice at Catho 😁
Hey David, hope it helps you out.
The only thing I got was a bunch of lip off old mate when I left 🤣
@@johnrutterphotography We both copped a serve then........at least he shared it around. 😂😂
Appreciate the video. Gives me ideas but not sure if I have the time. Might have to stick to a gigapan I think.
Cheers man, it's not for everyone. Each person will have to figure out what works for them and how they enjoy shooting the most
Awesome videos!🤩 I have a similar setup with the tracker, do you use the counter weight? If so, any tips on balance?
Thanks David, I don't use the counter weight for general milkyway images, I've had no issues with tracking without it
Rewatching this vid again & again trying to prep for the upcoming season…can I ask, what arca Swiss adaptor plate do u use between the z-bracket & the l-bracket of ur camera. It looks very solid & sturdy & everything I’ve purchased thus far just makes me nervous because it’s always coming loose….this is an awesome vid & would love more like this to better understand in the field how to do tracked panos 👍
Thanks mate, I just use one from Amazon. And it works great, I am planning on doing a few updated videos on tracked panos.
Hi John, awesome video. First question, do you turn the tracker off each time you level for the next shot? Secondly, what clamp is that you use to secure the camera? Thanks
Great video Mate! Was wondering how to do Panos with a tracker like that! Was the foreground also a pano? Do you incorporate the foreground in the pano shooting process or just blend it separately in post?
Excellent video, thanks for such a clear explanation. I already have a V bracket, do you think I can combine V + Z or would you believe Z + Z is better?
Thanks mate, you can combine either and it will work well, I did z and v
Richard Tatti of nightscape images recommended me to watch your videos as I like shooting panos
Thanks for checking out my videos!
Thank you big bro
Great video, what do you have between the tracker and z mount?
Thanks mate, just the standard skywatcher adapter that comes with the tracker
Apart from your awesome video.
I have problem with my L Bracket comes loose (unscrewed) while my camera is tracking star on Protrait orientation.
Could you tell me what is the model of your L bracket you are using in combination with star tracker?
Thanks
The L bracket I'm using is just a cheap amazon one, I use an arca Swiss adapter on top of the z bracket to attach the camera
Nice presentation for shooting MW panos! I am using 2L brackets with pano head under camera for leveling and rotator heads with degrees index for rotating camera left-right, up-down...in this way i am much faster and dont need to contantly look on my lcd for good overlaping...Also found that my setup is more stable then with MSM z bracket...i only
have one question for you. Do you relevel your tracker after each exposure, or do you leave tracker and camera untuched...because, lately i do not relevel tracker ( if i am shooting without stacking multiple-exposure ) and in this way i capture still night sky image. What is your way? Thank you, and keep uploading video, nice start!🤟✨
Thanks mate, If I'm shooting a large panorama I will level the camera after every 1 or 2 exposures so when I pan across it stays level
Excellent Video! Do you use two Z brackets or the Z and V combo? Thanks.
Thanks mate, I use 2 z brackets but one of each would still work
@@johnrutterphotography Do you have a photo representation of one z mount (instead of 2) in demonstration on this tracker?
Just 3 videos but I'm totally hooked on your channel John! Quick question; when you show how you level your setup after each shot, you move the Star-tracker clutch and relevel from there. Do you turn the tracker off every time you want to relevel? Also, later in the video you show how you can use the base Z bracket sideways to level your camera. Is there any reason to level using the tracker instead of the Z bracket? Thanks mate and keep more videos like this coming please!
You can either loosen the clutch and level with the tracker, or of you have a Z bracket you can use that too. I would just say if you use the clutch, don't tighten it up so much that you struggle to undo it, that's a sure wat to knock your mount off alignment.
@@johnrutterphotography That's one of the reasons why I was asking. I haven't tried the 2 Z brackets method but, on paper it'd make more sense to me to relevel directly from the Z bracket. That way you don't have to turn the tracker off or risk throwing off your polar alignment when you need to level. Did you find any advantage of adjusting the level loosening the clutch?
Hey John, thank you so much for the info! I need to level up the camera after very shot! (sound dumb isn't it? I am pretty new to the tracker 'MSM' please excuse me.)
Good stuff John. How long did it take you to get that MSM Z bracket . .?? I ordered one but not here yet.
Cheers Richard. It did take a few weeks to come in. They are worth the wait.
@@johnrutterphotography I got mine eventually
Hi! Great tutorial! Thank you for providing! I have a question though.. Do you shoot multiple exposures for the same frame with a tracker, or just one? Does it help stacking tracked images even shot at low iso? Can you get more detail with multiple exposures stacked? Thanks again! :)
Hi mate, I only take one image per frame, of course it's possible to stack multiple frames per panel, but when shooting 3 minute exposures and needing 50+ images you can see that it would take a really really long time if stacking per frame, and I have found 1x3 minute exposures per panel better than 3x1 minute exposures stackes
@@johnrutterphotography Thank you for clearing this up :) Will keep an eye out for more of your videos!
Thanks for the video, well done. I have a question with 3,4 min exposures and iso around 800, have you shot at lower than F2.8, like 1.4-2.0, keen on your thoughts when tracked? Cheer
Hey Alan, I haven't shot wide open, as one of the benefits of tracking is having the ability to stop the lens down to improve its performance. I won't shoot wider than 2.8
@@johnrutterphotography thanks John :) I might try 2.8, I have been shooting more around the f4. Thanks again
Thanks for this video and the previous one. I was shooting stacked panoramas last year and want to try tracked panos this year. Regarding your comments on where to begin: in the Northern hemisphere the MW is low and horizontal at the beginning of the core season so do you recommend I begin shooting at the top right (East) panel? Cheers
Hi Craig, where are you located? Il jump on stelerium and have a look at the movement of the core where you are and let you know how I would shoot it.
@@johnrutterphotography I’m in Thailand John. The western side of the MW rises up and the eastern end stays planted. Normally I start top left and zig zag but I won’t zig zag next time. Coordinates of my next shoot are these: 15.8000999, 105.3945819. Cheers for your help mate!
I had a look at the movement if I was shooting it, I would start top left (north east) so your not chasing the core. the milkyway will rise as you shoot down
@@johnrutterphotography cheers. That’s what I usually do but zigzag. I’ll do it the way you suggest next time and shoot each row from the left. Cheers again 🍻
Aloha John......thanks for an informative video. I've ordered the Z and V plates and been waiting a few weeks.....still waiting. What star tracker are you using? Mahalo and Aloha.
Hey, its definitely worth the wait. I'm using the skywatcher star adventurer 🤙
What brand arca-swiss baseplate are you using to attach your camera to the top z mount?
Just a cheap ebay one
It wasn’t clear but I presume you are also shooting a separate panorama of the ground with the tracker turned off to prevent the ground from blurring, then layering and masking it in later. Look forward to seeing your processing tutorial. Cheers, from Canada.
Sorry for the confusion, but that's correct, I include lots of foreground in the tracked sky shots so I can line up the untracked foreground and mask it in.
THANKYOU...
Your welcome 🙏
As soon as you mentioned 4,5,6 houes , I had to pause the vid & check Photo Pills for my area. Ithought it was about 3- 3 -1/2 hrs the MW would be showing. It is about 5 hrs. Great . Gives lots to think about. I'm going to watch your editing vid but, am guessing it takes a while to blend all the images. Hope my computer doesn't sieze up on me.
It will depend on where you are but I'm lucky to have all night to view the core.
I hope it doesn't either.
@@johnrutterphotography Near the new moon this month & last month on the days a I had available to do so was cloudy & rainy. I never shot the MW before. Expecting rainy off & on T-storms for the next 3 days starting tomorrow. See what the sky looks like tonight. The only place maybe dark enough near me is abaout2hrs south from where I live. Happy shooting.
One more question. I just bought to Z brackets but then realized I don;'t have any way to attach my camera's L-bracket. What is the area-type clamp you have mounted on top of your upper Z bracket? Without that I must use a Ball hard, which I don't want to do. Thanks.
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so you use 2 z brackets? what type of fitting are you using to connect the z bracket to the swiss L chest of the camera?
I'm connecting the z to the camera with an area Swiss quick release adapter plate, in my video at the lost city I show this part
Would you recommend doing a 4-5 shot pano with a 20mm or 24mm of the sky and then switching lenses to do another 4 shot pano of the ground with a 14mm, and then combining both those panoramas? Or would that be too complicated to do?
You can definitely do that, I have done that before to speed up the time it takes to do the foreground, you will just have ro get the scale right in photoshop so they match back up
Nice! I can't wait to get my 24mm. thanks for the reply@@johnrutterphotography
When you level back up your camera after tracking one after another , How you know your camera is back levelled? Use the levelling line built in the camera?
Thanks
You can use the level in the camera or the z bracket I use has a bubble level on it too.
When we pan up or down for pano , we just do the oppisite direction of thr Milky Way. For example, Milky way is rising up , so we can start pan down from the top of the sky to the bottom, That means we gonna get at least more than 50% overlap, which is not a problem when stitching , Am I right?
Just for you to clarify my thoght
Cheers
When I start a new row, I refer to the first image from the previous row and get a 50% overlap using a bright star or part of the milkyway for reference
Could you potentially use the long exposure timelape setting on the tracker? Would it automatically bring it back to level after each shot?
Unfortunately it's just gotta be done manually, there are some different mounts il be getting my hands on soon that may help with automation
@@johnrutterphotography all good, just thought that setting on the star adventurer might automatically recentre it after each shot
Hi
can you show me the links of your material to attach the machine to the tracker?
I use the Skywatcher Star Adventurer mini, a sigma 14mm f1.8 art and a canon EOS R &, my equipment is heavy
Hi John,
I just come back to see this video again.
“As the camera has moved due to the tracker , we can level it back up “
How often do we have the level the camera back up while we are shooting?
Every single shot? Or Once a row ?
Thanks
Hey mate, every few minutes I re level. So if I'm shooting 3 minute exposures I re level after each frame, if I were shooting 1 minute exposures I'd re level after 3 or 4 images
@@johnrutterphotography thanks for useful advice
your welcome mate 👍
Hi John . I wanna star shooting panaramas with the tracker but theres is one thing that I still dont understand. I have to set de camera in a horizontal position shoot and track and then re frame every single shot?
Depending on how long each exposure is, I normally shoot 2-3 minutes so il re level after every 2nd shot
@@johnrutterphotography perfect. Thanks. So shoot, releve in the horizontal plane and keep ok shooting. Now the other question is, it's better estar from right to left? Thinking in the case that the western part of the sky goes down earlier. Am I right?. Thanks again budy.
Hi john, is possibile use move shot move to shot panorama milky way, or sky watcher is bettet? Thanks
Hi mate, it is possible to shoot Panoramas with the MSM or any tracker for that matter.
@@johnrutterphotography thank you john
How much do you pan across? 15 degrees or more?
That totally depends on the focal length, jump on photopills and find the field of view of the focal length, then pan half that distance
I don't understand, if you align the tracker with the North, in this Z-shaped shoe you will have the machine towards the North too, so how do you turn the machine to start making the milky way panorama?
I would be grateful if you could tell me the links for me to buy your material, Z bracket and which shoe to put on top that you use? How do you put the Z shoe on the skywatcher? any piece?
The z bracket swivels so you can shoot any direction, I got it off the move shoot move website. It attaches to the tracker with the ball head adapter that comes with the skywatcher
@@johnrutterphotography so you use 2 z brackets?
Yep
Couldn't you just create a mosaic to be your panorama, and have it all controlled by NINA framing assistant or ASIAIR etc. That way its all automatic, just like doing deep sky?
The issue you run into is plate solving such a wide field of view, I've found anything wider than 85mm won't plate solve so it can't be done like deep sky
is that a V and a Z or two Zs? been looking round for something for tracked panos this looks like the best solution i've seen yet
Its 2 z brackets, its definitely the best solution I've seen to date
John, if you want to make things even easier, you should also add a indexing rotator under the camera. Also, new video when? :)
Agreed, I have recently added one to my setup. Hopefully in the near future
@@johnrutterphotography Interesting. So you could use just one z-bracket and one indexing rotator, right?
how is this effected by paralax?
I have never had any issues with Paralax using this method
You say you're using "two Z Brackets" but it looks like you have a V bracket connected to the tracker, then a Z bracket connected to the V bracket with the camera attached to the Z bracket? Am I seeing that correctly?
It is 2 z brackets, one is just in a v orientation
Awesome video and wonderful results! I do have a question, what kind of hardware are you using in your PC? Ram, CPU, GPU and disks? My images are getting into the few GIG size and my machine dies!! LOL Any advice would be great! Thanks again and keep 'em coming!
My computer is getting old now, and I'm no tech guru but, i7, 32gb 2TB