Dear Mr. Zelinka, a common misunderstanding-for a correct polar alignment it is not necessary that the tripod (or base) is level. It just makes some things easier, so the degree numbers of the geo latitude are then right. But for a correct polar alignment it is only necessary, that the right ascension axis is pointing towards one of the celestial poles. If you want, you can screw the tripod legs on to a wall, as long as the ra axis is pointing to the celestial pole, everything is fine.😉
Peter, i think that you misunderstand the use of counterweight kit. i think that the tracker can move by itself a max weight that stress its internal components (gears an motor) for about 6.6 lbs , so the counterweight kit allow you to compensate the total weight of your camera setup and the tracker can "feel" a weight that is below the max weight limit, so it can works fine. (you can check it when you balance the counterweight and your camera, you can push any side with a lot less force to move it, is the same force that the tracker need to push the gears) think about it! great channel BTW! Congrats from Chile!!
Great points, thank you! If the counterweight system is installed, and properly balanced, it will put less strain on the motor. Therefore, you can use a bit more weight than normal and still get great results. Later on in this series, I show how to effectively use a telephoto lens with the SAM, declination bracket, and counterweight kit. It's a shame the star tracker companies are so bad at explaining all this! It's up to us to actually show how to set everything up properly, and explain the best ways to do things.
Indeed, the declination piece and the counterweight balance the ensemble camera-lens or small telescope. They don't count at the total payload. So, if you use a 3 kilos camera w/o counterweight, you will stress more the gears. On the contrary, if the ensemble is balanced, the full weight will only stress the bearings, but not the gears. Sorry for my poor english.
Agreed. Dec. bracket really taking the weight and presure on the motor. Only thing with the dec. bracket I can move it to side to side for fine tuning but I can't move the camera up and down. I don't know how to tilt the camera up when I am only using the bracket
I would like to make one correction about the counterweight and gear strain. For heavier systems it actually relieves the strain on the gears, as the system becomes more balanced. There will be more strain on the bearings, but let's assume it has been properly designed for that. With the counterweight accessory it will be more like an equatorial mount.
Nice video. I have the SAmini and find I can use the tilt on a strong video tripod instead of the wedge. I use a digital inclinometer (nice cheap ones on Aliexpress) to get my 47deg N. Also worth knowing is that with my iPhone I needed to turn off the mobile data in order to get wifi connection. Finally it is useful to know that the SAmini cannot operate without a smartphone connection.
Why has no one produced a small sky tracker that has built in gps and star info so it aligns precisely to Polaris (and a choice of other stars) with the press of a button?
@@blekfut5763 www.ioptron.com/product-p/3550a.htm This does exactly that. The issue is that in addition to GPS (which is fairly easy to integrate), the angle of the mount to the tripod and the ground level has to be perfect enough so that it tracks the earth's rotation. So, ioptron uses a camera in the polar scope to check and align using the starfield near the pole star, and it doesn't come cheap.
That setting on the WiFi that's screwing you over is "use LTE on slow connections" or similar. Basically it's seeing no internet is available via the WiFi and routing everything over LTE because it feels that's the right thing to do. You can turn that setting off though.
I purchased the Star Adventurer 2i. Does anyone have a usable workflow to do photography using the SAM Console? The only way I can get my rig to setup the Wi-Fi is in APP mode. Unfortunately, the tracker does not track in APP mode unless it is actually taking photos. As soon as it finishes, the tracker motor shuts off. I tried sending the console fire settings to the tracker in APP, and the switching the tracker dial to sidereal. By then, my nebula target was completely off the screen. Frustrating. SW support said I was the first to complain about not tracking in APP dial position. I can get the tracker to cooperate using a external intervalometer in sidereal mode, but the dithering feature looks interesting. If anyone has a good workflow or workaround I'd love to see it.
staradventurer version DIY V2 based on ARDUINO microcontroler & 3D printed parts: ruclips.net/video/riM_LpRXPT8/видео.html first proto version for concept validation: ruclips.net/video/uSWVflUNAm8/видео.html first test of the proto version: ruclips.net/video/czv3pbEDn60/видео.html
Great video Peter, my question is regarding the snap cable, I cannot find one for my Panasonic Lumix G9 so cannot operate my camera through the SAM app. Can I set the SAM setting for a really long exposure time then press run, im thinking I could then operate my G9 through my Panasonic app. Will this work??
Hi Peter. I am having troubles with the wifi pairing of my tracker. Wonder if you can assist me. I am new in this and just received my SAM so trying to follow the manual for my first static time lapse. I use an Iphone X, installed the SAm console app and I have paired the tracker and the phone in the configuration mode. Everything seems ok. I went to the app control window and set the parameters for the time lapse. When everything is set y press Run, and the SAM and phone disconnect from each other. I am doing this at home, so my phone reconnects to the house internet wifi. Do you have any advise for me? Thanks a lot.
Hi Peter, I recently picked up one of these and have been looking at which ball head to get next to go with my setup. Have you had any experience using something like the Manfrotto 327RC2 joystick ball head or would you recommend a ‘normal’ ball head instead? Would appreciate any advice/assistance you could offer! Many thanks
Great review. Could you possibly recommend a mount for a total beginner, I'd like to track and shoot the sun, moon and planets. For the Nikon P1000. Thankyou in advance.
Hi Peter! I’m very new to having trackers and I got this one for Christmas. When I’m setting it up for Astrophotography do I need to loosen the screw type thing you’re holding in your left hand at 3:07? If it's loose the camera swings down because I'm using the declanation bracket but if it's tight I don't know if it will be able to turn to track? Thanks for the Great Video!
Yes, those should always be tightened down, unless you need to rotate everything. The tracker can still turn even with the screws tightened down. (I was confused by that too when I first got my star tracker)
No, the camera mount will block the polar scope whole if you are using the standard mounting option. When you have the declination bracket attached, it has a hole in the middle which will allow you to see through the polar scope, even while your gear is attached.
Hi, Peter! Thank you for the video! I'm trying to decide between this tracker and iOptron SkyTracker Pro. What do you think about quality of Alt-Az Base mount and Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Equatorial Wedge Base? What is the more precise and sturdy instrument? Thank you!
The Sky-Watcher latitude base is much higher quality than the iOptron one. It allows you to go from 0 to 90 degrees and the movement is noticeably smoother. However, due to the lack of manual buttons on the Star Adventurer Mini, I personally prefer the SkyTracker Pro. With that said, you can configure the Mini to run automatically via the app. You also have a lot of useful features for timelapses on the Mini, by using the app. Realistically, both star trackers should perform the same at a wide angle. You don't even need to be that precise with your polar alignment. If you're planning to shoot with a telephoto lens, I would look into the Star Adventurer or SkyGuider Pro instead. The Mini and SkyTracker Pro are mainly for wide angle shooting with smaller cameras.
@@PeterZelinka I have an Olympus Em1 Mark III and the 300mm f4 pro. Together they weigh under 4.5 lbs so that should be enough to keep it under the weight max. So do you think that the mini would still perform well with this telephoto setup? What I am trying to understand is if there are issues besides just gear weight to consider for deep-sky photography?
Hello Peter, I have a Sony A7r3 and a 100-400 GM lens with the ball head the total weight comes to 2.6kg, would you advise the mini or the regular star tracker adventurer for my gear. Thanks
You can use a ballhead to substitiute the latitude base with perfection level up. As long as your camera-counter weight assembly and tracker whole weights is in your ballhead's competence, which barely is impossible.
I know some of the big tracking mounts, for telescopes, have GPS capabilities to help out with tracking. But as far as I know, you still have to do your polar alignment manually first. Some of the alt-az style mounts, for telescopes, can do a rough alignment just by pointing the telescope north, and making sure it's flat. Then it looks for stars in its internal database to determine its position. But usually alt-az mounts aren't recommend for Astrophotography. Frankly, it's somewhat surprising how far behind Astrophotography tech is. You'd think one of these companies would have developed more smart tech by now. I expect in the next few years the DSLR star tracker products will have some really nice improvements
Dear Mr. Zelinka, a common misunderstanding-for a correct polar alignment it is not necessary that the tripod (or base) is level. It just makes some things easier, so the degree numbers of the geo latitude are then right. But for a correct polar alignment it is only necessary, that the right ascension axis is pointing towards one of the celestial poles. If you want, you can screw the tripod legs on to a wall, as long as the ra axis is pointing to the celestial pole, everything is fine.😉
Thanks for the correction!
Peter, i think that you misunderstand the use of counterweight kit. i think that the tracker can move by itself a max weight that stress its internal components (gears an motor) for about 6.6 lbs , so the counterweight kit allow you to compensate the total weight of your camera setup and the tracker can "feel" a weight that is below the max weight limit, so it can works fine. (you can check it when you balance the counterweight and your camera, you can push any side with a lot less force to move it, is the same force that the tracker need to push the gears)
think about it! great channel BTW! Congrats from Chile!!
Great points, thank you!
If the counterweight system is installed, and properly balanced, it will put less strain on the motor. Therefore, you can use a bit more weight than normal and still get great results.
Later on in this series, I show how to effectively use a telephoto lens with the SAM, declination bracket, and counterweight kit.
It's a shame the star tracker companies are so bad at explaining all this! It's up to us to actually show how to set everything up properly, and explain the best ways to do things.
@@PeterZelinka It's why why my SAM of astrophoto I added counterweight....
Indeed, the declination piece and the counterweight balance the ensemble camera-lens or small telescope. They don't count at the total payload. So, if you use a 3 kilos camera w/o counterweight, you will stress more the gears. On the contrary, if the ensemble is balanced, the full weight will only stress the bearings, but not the gears. Sorry for my poor english.
Agreed. Dec. bracket really taking the weight and presure on the motor. Only thing with the dec. bracket I can move it to side to side for fine tuning but I can't move the camera up and down. I don't know how to tilt the camera up when I am only using the bracket
I would like to make one correction about the counterweight and gear strain. For heavier systems it actually relieves the strain on the gears, as the system becomes more balanced. There will be more strain on the bearings, but let's assume it has been properly designed for that. With the counterweight accessory it will be more like an equatorial mount.
Nice video. I have the SAmini and find I can use the tilt on a strong video tripod instead of the wedge. I use a digital inclinometer (nice cheap ones on Aliexpress) to get my 47deg N. Also worth knowing is that with my iPhone I needed to turn off the mobile data in order to get wifi connection. Finally it is useful to know that the SAmini cannot operate without a smartphone connection.
Why has no one produced a small sky tracker that has built in gps and star info so it aligns precisely to Polaris (and a choice of other stars) with the press of a button?
Agreed. That's exactly what my wife asked me.
There's many features could be adopted, but the price would be higher too.
@@blekfut5763 www.ioptron.com/product-p/3550a.htm This does exactly that. The issue is that in addition to GPS (which is fairly easy to integrate), the angle of the mount to the tripod and the ground level has to be perfect enough so that it tracks the earth's rotation. So, ioptron uses a camera in the polar scope to check and align using the starfield near the pole star, and it doesn't come cheap.
Finally! Thank you so much for this video!
That setting on the WiFi that's screwing you over is "use LTE on slow connections" or similar. Basically it's seeing no internet is available via the WiFi and routing everything over LTE because it feels that's the right thing to do. You can turn that setting off though.
great! but wheres the next video on the sam?
These 2 notches is very useful if you have enough creativity. Use it for mounting a little laser pointer that will help in the polar alignment ;)
I purchased the Star Adventurer 2i. Does anyone have a usable workflow to do photography using the SAM Console? The only way I can get my rig to setup the Wi-Fi is in APP mode. Unfortunately, the tracker does not track in APP mode unless it is actually taking photos. As soon as it finishes, the tracker motor shuts off.
I tried sending the console fire settings to the tracker in APP, and the switching the tracker dial to sidereal. By then, my nebula target was completely off the screen. Frustrating.
SW support said I was the first to complain about not tracking in APP dial position.
I can get the tracker to cooperate using a external intervalometer in sidereal mode, but the dithering feature looks interesting.
If anyone has a good workflow or workaround I'd love to see it.
staradventurer version DIY V2 based on ARDUINO microcontroler & 3D printed parts: ruclips.net/video/riM_LpRXPT8/видео.html
first proto version for concept validation: ruclips.net/video/uSWVflUNAm8/видео.html
first test of the proto version: ruclips.net/video/czv3pbEDn60/видео.html
What is the difference between the latitude and equatorial wedge? Which do you recommend with the skywatcher mini?
Great video Peter, my question is regarding the snap cable, I cannot find one for my Panasonic Lumix G9 so cannot operate my camera through the SAM app. Can I set the SAM setting for a really long exposure time then press run, im thinking I could then operate my G9 through my Panasonic app. Will this work??
Hi Peter. I am having troubles with the wifi pairing of my tracker. Wonder if you can assist me. I am new in this and just received my SAM so trying to follow the manual for my first static time lapse. I use an Iphone X, installed the SAm console app and I have paired the tracker and the phone in the configuration mode. Everything seems ok. I went to the app control window and set the parameters for the time lapse. When everything is set y press Run, and the SAM and phone disconnect from each other. I am doing this at home, so my phone reconnects to the house internet wifi. Do you have any advise for me? Thanks a lot.
Hi Peter, I recently picked up one of these and have been looking at which ball head to get next to go with my setup. Have you had any experience using something like the Manfrotto 327RC2 joystick ball head or would you recommend a ‘normal’ ball head instead?
Would appreciate any advice/assistance you could offer!
Many thanks
Hi do you think the skywatcher mini can be used with the Nikon cool pix p 1000.pete
Great review. Could you possibly recommend a mount for a total beginner, I'd like to track and shoot the sun, moon and planets. For the Nikon P1000. Thankyou in advance.
Hi Peter!
I’m very new to having trackers and I got this one for Christmas. When I’m setting it up for Astrophotography do I need to loosen the screw type thing you’re holding in your left hand at 3:07? If it's loose the camera swings down because I'm using the declanation bracket but if it's tight I don't know if it will be able to turn to track?
Thanks for the Great Video!
Yes, those should always be tightened down, unless you need to rotate everything. The tracker can still turn even with the screws tightened down. (I was confused by that too when I first got my star tracker)
Is it possible to attach the polar scope and align it while the camera / ballhead is already attached without using the declination bracket?
No, the camera mount will block the polar scope whole if you are using the standard mounting option.
When you have the declination bracket attached, it has a hole in the middle which will allow you to see through the polar scope, even while your gear is attached.
Hi, Peter! Thank you for the video! I'm trying to decide between this tracker and iOptron SkyTracker Pro. What do you think about quality of Alt-Az Base mount and Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Equatorial Wedge Base? What is the more precise and sturdy instrument? Thank you!
The Sky-Watcher latitude base is much higher quality than the iOptron one. It allows you to go from 0 to 90 degrees and the movement is noticeably smoother.
However, due to the lack of manual buttons on the Star Adventurer Mini, I personally prefer the SkyTracker Pro.
With that said, you can configure the Mini to run automatically via the app. You also have a lot of useful features for timelapses on the Mini, by using the app.
Realistically, both star trackers should perform the same at a wide angle. You don't even need to be that precise with your polar alignment. If you're planning to shoot with a telephoto lens, I would look into the Star Adventurer or SkyGuider Pro instead.
The Mini and SkyTracker Pro are mainly for wide angle shooting with smaller cameras.
@@PeterZelinka I have an Olympus Em1 Mark III and the 300mm f4 pro. Together they weigh under 4.5 lbs so that should be enough to keep it under the weight max. So do you think that the mini would still perform well with this telephoto setup? What I am trying to understand is if there are issues besides just gear weight to consider for deep-sky photography?
Very nice!
Will you do the same for the SAM's bigger brother? For the Star Adventurer
Yeah! I'll have a basic overview for the Star Adventurer coming sometime next week
Hello Peter, I have a Sony A7r3 and a 100-400 GM lens with the ball head the total weight comes to 2.6kg, would you advise the mini or the regular star tracker adventurer for my gear. Thanks
Vikram Prabhakar the mini is rated for 3kg
@Peter Zelinka is it possible to use it without Star adventure latitude base???????
You can use a ballhead to substitiute the latitude base with perfection level up. As long as your camera-counter weight assembly and tracker whole weights is in your ballhead's competence, which barely is impossible.
@@zhuoyanghan5323 Therefore, i need to purchase counter weights. Thy.
when is the next video?
Is there a star tracker that uses GPU to align itself ? or stuff like that. I'm curious.
I know some of the big tracking mounts, for telescopes, have GPS capabilities to help out with tracking. But as far as I know, you still have to do your polar alignment manually first.
Some of the alt-az style mounts, for telescopes, can do a rough alignment just by pointing the telescope north, and making sure it's flat. Then it looks for stars in its internal database to determine its position. But usually alt-az mounts aren't recommend for Astrophotography.
Frankly, it's somewhat surprising how far behind Astrophotography tech is. You'd think one of these companies would have developed more smart tech by now.
I expect in the next few years the DSLR star tracker products will have some really nice improvements
You sound like a commercial for accessories to me...!
how about you explain it for free