Hi Peter. This is a great Video. Thank you for all your help and efforts. Could you please help us with a work flow for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse with AM5 / ASI Air
Nice video. One question: why are you taking full exposures for the position centering, and the focus? It makes that process look super slow. I usually jump into video mode, hit 1080p, and then center and focus from there. Since the frame rate is so much higher, it I can usually do each of these in a few seconds. If you have space for it, I like to run the actual eclipse faster than your 30 second frames. If you got at 10 seconds, for instance, you’ll have a lot more options to eliminate bad frames with birds, bugs, small clouds, etc when you select your final frames. And with an annular, a higher frame rate will also give you better odds of hitting it *exactly* at the center of annularity (if your site is on the centerline).
Thanks so much for this video Peter. I have a pile of hair next to my new AM5 Mount and the 256 ASIAir Plus. Virtually no videos on Solar ASIAir. No manuals on the solar stacking feature either. The focusing issue is impossible compared to SharpCap. I will be using the AM5 mount likely using ONLY the AM5 Mount App which has the built in star catalog and I able to slew and track the sun from that app. I’ve used your recommended PS Pro polar align app with mixed success. Using the old compass and latitude method put my old iOptron mount easily in the Sol Ranger finder scope on my Meade Solar Max II 60mm. I’m shooting with a solar filtered Canon R5, RF 100-500 with 1.4x to get 700mm. I’ll be using a Canon TC80-N3 intervalometer. I like how I can set the interval and then override it pressing the button on the TC80 to snap all the moment of totality peak picks. For April in full totality I wonder when the filter comes off and what exposure values to set! Nice thing about the TC80 it wakes up one minute before the shot to check focus and tracking. And stays on a minute after. I trust the Canon focus over the ASIair focus. Regarding PA alignment. I level the AM5 tripod, open app slew to sun, then I adjust the RA and Dec to get sun centered. It’s a physical sync that’s easy on the AM5. Tracks spot on after that. Your tip on turning OFF the (auto) on the histogram was the golden key to get my exposure down to see the sun to be able to focus. With a helical focuser it’s a pain and I think the video focusing is the better way to go. I like using the hand controller as in the bright sunlight the buttons are so small, and the speed scale is impossible to read. They really need to rewrite this app for solar use. Maybe by April I’ll trust the ASIAir to work with Solar but for now, Canon will have to do it. I’ll be in Texas or New Mexico depending on the weather. Clear skies! Keep up the good Solar work. 👍😎
I've got a few more tips that didn't make it into the video: * Even though I'll be taking 360 photos, I'll only need ~12 or so images. The rest will be deleted once I get home. Alternatively, I could turn those photos into a quick timelapse. * If the sun starts to drift from the center of the frame after an hour or so, pause the Auto-Run, go back to Preview, use the Slew controls to re-center the sun. Then return to Auto-Run and resume the shooting schedule. * The longer your focal length, the more precise the polar alignment needs to be for the sun to show up in the frame after the go-to. If you have a smaller optic with a wider field of view, that could help to find the sun. An auto-guider and guide scope could work here, or possibly attaching a DSLR with a short zoom lens. (70-200mm maybe). Just be sure you've got a solar filter for whatever other optic you use. Once the sun is centered up, remove the smaller optic and camera, and reattach your main shooting rig. Continue on as normal. * The Plan feature in the ASIAir has the ability to start at a specific time, which could be helpful. However, there was no Interval option to pick. I may have missed it, so you'll want to investigate further if you like the Plan feature. I'll be sticking with the Auto-Run most likely. * If you have any other filters in your image train, perhaps a narrowband filter like the L-Enhance, you should remove it. They likely won't provide any benefit, and may actually cause some problems. * If you're planning to use a monochrome camera and take separate photos for each filter (R,G,B), that may be much more difficult. I had a rough time with my 533MM and filters earlier this year. Based on that experience, I would say a color camera is required for this workflow.
Another way to polar align: install a compass app that gives you both true north (which will be our azimuth adjustment) and inclination (which will be our declination/elevation adjustment). Calibrate your phone or tablet magnetometer (the figure 8 waving around we all know and love). Be sure to remove the phone/tablet from its protective case first if that case has a magnet in it. Then, similar as in the video: lay it flat against the mount platten, adjust azimuth until you're pointed at true north (not magnetic north!), and adjust the elevation until the inclination angle to the horizon matches your latitude. Voila! This is what the iPad/iPhone app is actually doing. You can do the exact same thing but with a compass app. I tried it today on the Sun with my iOptron Star Guider Pro and my massive Sigma 60-600mm lens at 600mm. Worked like a charm! Alignment was almost spot on -- drift at 600mm totaled only about 1/10 the diameter of the sun on my APS-C mirrorless camera over the course of ~20 minutes.
Pro tip for finding son is to just check the shadow of the telescope on the floor and make it as small as possible. That will ensure you are close to the sun. Usually find it dead on. I am also using my ASI2600MC Pro Duo but am still working on the best imaging settings for totality. I want to capture as much of the corona as possible. Ive seen write ups of people who have imaged a solar eclipse but with a DSLR and used a combination of 1/1600 and 1/13 @ ISO 640. Not sure what that translates to for dedicated astro cameras. I am using a Sigma 150-600MM Contemporary lens attached to the ASI2600. We'll see how the event goes. Less than 2 months now!
You are the only person I have found on YT really trying to help folks w a dedicated Astro camera for the eclipses. Please, would you consider running an update w just how you would setup and execute an auto run for the C2 to C3 totality of the 8April Total eclipse? There is like no info on how to set up the auto run properly. Everything is dslr and iso/shutter speeds…not zwo specific. Many would really appreciate your guidance. Cheers!
This video reflects my frustration, when I tried using my 533MC Pro and 360mm OTA, tracking with the SW SA GTI. I couldn't find the sun. Once I did, I couldn't see it. Tried different exposure times, gain settings. Wasn't sure if sun was blown out or out of focus. Next day I put my DSLR and Tamron 150-600 together with asiair mini. Other than losing connection between DSLR and asiair, it was reasonably easy to get things working. Your explanation of setting up the interval and exposure time, and clearing drive really helps. I guess not using a guide camera frees up a USB port on asiair mini for flash drive. When I'm usind a DSLR with the guide camera on the mini I don't have enough USB ports. The SW SA GTI requires 2 USB ports. The Narrowband Channel eluded to using the mico SD slot to expand memory. I must try this.
when centering the sun on the asiair, just use a faster BIN and select continuous shooting in the main camera advanced settings panel. Another option is to frame in focus mode or even video mode.
Any solar filter you could recommend? I know there are some cheap filters, but I don’t want to save money and have my eyes or my equipment burned instead. Thank you!
LOL, shooting the eclipse with my Vespera, and starting about 10 minutes before maximum, I took more than 2700 pictures and stacked them into a 92 second video at 30 fps. I had to move location twice, AFTER the eclipse started, in order to avoid the clouds. If I had to setup a EQ tripod and do a polar alignment it would of been hopeless. ruclips.net/video/cAdgkyrJ31Q/видео.htmlsi=EqQWpnHpyB3IZlXw
I like your content, but I have a request… I mostly watch RUclips on tv and hi-fi speakers and my ears tend to get tired of your audio. There is a bit too much deep tones that be easily fixed with high pass filter and maybe too much compressor. To me the result is like you are talking close to my ear and often I get enough and have to stop your video. I don’t have this problem with other RUclips channels.
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Always the best and most thorough tutorials - Thanks for the efforts Peter 🥰
Hi Peter. This is a great Video. Thank you for all your help and efforts. Could you please help us with a work flow for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse with AM5 / ASI Air
I just want to say I always love your videos. They are detailed..
It helps to move your iPhone/iPad away from the mount(metal) to recalibrate it sometimes while using the daytime polar alignment tool.
Nice video. One question: why are you taking full exposures for the position centering, and the focus? It makes that process look super slow. I usually jump into video mode, hit 1080p, and then center and focus from there. Since the frame rate is so much higher, it I can usually do each of these in a few seconds.
If you have space for it, I like to run the actual eclipse faster than your 30 second frames. If you got at 10 seconds, for instance, you’ll have a lot more options to eliminate bad frames with birds, bugs, small clouds, etc when you select your final frames. And with an annular, a higher frame rate will also give you better odds of hitting it *exactly* at the center of annularity (if your site is on the centerline).
Thanks so much for this video Peter. I have a pile of hair next to my new AM5 Mount and the 256 ASIAir Plus. Virtually no videos on Solar ASIAir. No manuals on the solar stacking feature either. The focusing issue is impossible compared to SharpCap. I will be using the AM5 mount likely using ONLY the AM5 Mount App which has the built in star catalog and I able to slew and track the sun from that app.
I’ve used your recommended PS Pro polar align app with mixed success. Using the old compass and latitude method put my old iOptron mount easily in the Sol Ranger finder scope on my Meade Solar Max II 60mm.
I’m shooting with a solar filtered Canon R5, RF 100-500 with 1.4x to get 700mm. I’ll be using a Canon TC80-N3 intervalometer. I like how I can set the interval and then override it pressing the button on the TC80 to snap all the moment of totality peak picks. For April in full totality I wonder when the filter comes off and what exposure values to set! Nice thing about the TC80 it wakes up one minute before the shot to check focus and tracking. And stays on a minute after. I trust the Canon focus over the ASIair focus.
Regarding PA alignment. I level the AM5 tripod, open app slew to sun, then I adjust the RA and Dec to get sun centered. It’s a physical sync that’s easy on the AM5. Tracks spot on after that.
Your tip on turning OFF the (auto) on the histogram was the golden key to get my exposure down to see the sun to be able to focus. With a helical focuser it’s a pain and I think the video focusing is the better way to go. I like using the hand controller as in the bright sunlight the buttons are so small, and the speed scale is impossible to read. They really need to rewrite this app for solar use.
Maybe by April I’ll trust the ASIAir to work with Solar but for now, Canon will have to do it. I’ll be in Texas or New Mexico depending on the weather. Clear skies! Keep up the good Solar work. 👍😎
I've got a few more tips that didn't make it into the video:
* Even though I'll be taking 360 photos, I'll only need ~12 or so images. The rest will be deleted once I get home. Alternatively, I could turn those photos into a quick timelapse.
* If the sun starts to drift from the center of the frame after an hour or so, pause the Auto-Run, go back to Preview, use the Slew controls to re-center the sun. Then return to Auto-Run and resume the shooting schedule.
* The longer your focal length, the more precise the polar alignment needs to be for the sun to show up in the frame after the go-to. If you have a smaller optic with a wider field of view, that could help to find the sun. An auto-guider and guide scope could work here, or possibly attaching a DSLR with a short zoom lens. (70-200mm maybe). Just be sure you've got a solar filter for whatever other optic you use. Once the sun is centered up, remove the smaller optic and camera, and reattach your main shooting rig. Continue on as normal.
* The Plan feature in the ASIAir has the ability to start at a specific time, which could be helpful. However, there was no Interval option to pick. I may have missed it, so you'll want to investigate further if you like the Plan feature. I'll be sticking with the Auto-Run most likely.
* If you have any other filters in your image train, perhaps a narrowband filter like the L-Enhance, you should remove it. They likely won't provide any benefit, and may actually cause some problems.
* If you're planning to use a monochrome camera and take separate photos for each filter (R,G,B), that may be much more difficult. I had a rough time with my 533MM and filters earlier this year. Based on that experience, I would say a color camera is required for this workflow.
Another way to polar align: install a compass app that gives you both true north (which will be our azimuth adjustment) and inclination (which will be our declination/elevation adjustment). Calibrate your phone or tablet magnetometer (the figure 8 waving around we all know and love). Be sure to remove the phone/tablet from its protective case first if that case has a magnet in it. Then, similar as in the video: lay it flat against the mount platten, adjust azimuth until you're pointed at true north (not magnetic north!), and adjust the elevation until the inclination angle to the horizon matches your latitude. Voila! This is what the iPad/iPhone app is actually doing. You can do the exact same thing but with a compass app.
I tried it today on the Sun with my iOptron Star Guider Pro and my massive Sigma 60-600mm lens at 600mm. Worked like a charm! Alignment was almost spot on -- drift at 600mm totaled only about 1/10 the diameter of the sun on my APS-C mirrorless camera over the course of ~20 minutes.
Please recommend such an app
@@rmf11699 any compass app that also gives you tilt angle.
Pro tip for finding son is to just check the shadow of the telescope on the floor and make it as small as possible. That will ensure you are close to the sun. Usually find it dead on. I am also using my ASI2600MC Pro Duo but am still working on the best imaging settings for totality. I want to capture as much of the corona as possible. Ive seen write ups of people who have imaged a solar eclipse but with a DSLR and used a combination of 1/1600 and 1/13 @ ISO 640. Not sure what that translates to for dedicated astro cameras. I am using a Sigma 150-600MM Contemporary lens attached to the ASI2600. We'll see how the event goes. Less than 2 months now!
Hi, bracket exposure settings for the corona?
You are the only person I have found on YT really trying to help folks w a dedicated Astro camera for the eclipses. Please, would you consider running an update w just how you would setup and execute an auto run for the C2 to C3 totality of the 8April Total eclipse? There is like no info on how to set up the auto run properly. Everything is dslr and iso/shutter speeds…not zwo specific.
Many would really appreciate your guidance. Cheers!
Can you do a video on the upcoming total eclipse?
This video reflects my frustration, when I tried using my 533MC Pro and 360mm OTA, tracking with the SW SA GTI. I couldn't find the sun. Once I did, I couldn't see it. Tried different exposure times, gain settings. Wasn't sure if sun was blown out or out of focus. Next day I put my DSLR and Tamron 150-600 together with asiair mini. Other than losing connection between DSLR and asiair, it was reasonably easy to get things working. Your explanation of setting up the interval and exposure time, and clearing drive really helps. I guess not using a guide camera frees up a USB port on asiair mini for flash drive. When I'm usind a DSLR with the guide camera on the mini I don't have enough USB ports. The SW SA GTI requires 2 USB ports.
The Narrowband Channel eluded to using the mico SD slot to expand memory. I must try this.
You can 3D print a holder for your phone that sits in the saddle
Thanks Peter!
when centering the sun on the asiair, just use a faster BIN and select continuous shooting in the main camera advanced settings panel.
Another option is to frame in focus mode or even video mode.
I have used the video mode for focusing and it works for me.
Peter, as the eclipse proceeds and the brightness of the image decreases will you need to change the length of exposure?
Any solar filter you could recommend? I know there are some cheap filters, but I don’t want to save money and have my eyes or my equipment burned instead. Thank you!
Btw, I’m planning to use my Sky watcher 72ED
After I get all the fit files I'm still stuck on how to create a time lapse, which program?
If you're still stuck convert the fit file to jpg
LOL, shooting the eclipse with my Vespera, and starting about 10 minutes before maximum, I took more than 2700 pictures and stacked them into a 92 second video at 30 fps. I had to move location twice, AFTER the eclipse started, in order to avoid the clouds. If I had to setup a EQ tripod and do a polar alignment it would of been hopeless.
ruclips.net/video/cAdgkyrJ31Q/видео.htmlsi=EqQWpnHpyB3IZlXw
I like your content, but I have a request… I mostly watch RUclips on tv and hi-fi speakers and my ears tend to get tired of your audio. There is a bit too much deep tones that be easily fixed with high pass filter and maybe too much compressor. To me the result is like you are talking close to my ear and often I get enough and have to stop your video. I don’t have this problem with other RUclips channels.
The white light filters are the most boring.