Indeed. The tutorial included in the package for this device is just absolute garbage.Not even sure why the manufacturer itself hasn't made any videos for this matter.
18 mins very well spent, straight to the point and filled with great useful information. Got much more out of this video than about 2hrs I wasted watching other videos and trying to understand the manual. Awesome work!
After an hour with the manual, struggling with jargon and out of order/context information i turned to TH-cam. Your videos had me educated and up and running just in time for the cloud cover to come through. lol. no worries. i took notes and am confident after two of your videos on what to do tomorrow night!
I agree! I haven’t got a star tracker but I always thought polar alignment was very difficult. But after watching this video I’m more confident. It’s really useful that Kamil showed images of the reticle inside the Star Adventurer
Very nicely done and one of the better tutorials I've seen. A few of my tips: (1) It isn't critical that the tripod be level. It is only necessary that it be centered on the NCP (ie. Polaris is in the correct position on the reticle). But it is *easier* if it is level. Imagine a very unloved tripod (suppose it's 15° out of level) then when you adjust the Altitude, you'll see the star also shifts in Azimuth (and vice versa). This means you may have to iterate a few times and that's why I say it is *easier* if it is level (or at least pretty close). (2) If possible load all the weight on the mount *before* aligning the NCP. This is because the tripod and mount may flex when weight is added ... changing the accuracy of the alignment. Shortening the tripod legs and/or center-post will result in a stiffer mount / less flexure. (3) To make sure the "0" is at the top of the reticle, place Polaris anywhere along the vertical axis (cross-hair) that runs from the 0 to the 6 on the reticle. Manually adjust the altitude on the equatorial base while watching Polaris along that reticle line. If Polaris travels straight up/down along that line without drifting off to one side, then the reticle is properly aligned. You can proceed to adjust the equatorial head to put Polaris in the proper location along the reticle. (4) The closer the camera is to the axis of rotation, the less torque needed to move it (and the closer the counterweight can be as well). When you used the counterweight in this video, you naturally slide the camera in toward the axis (along the mounting rail that clamps to the Star Adventurer's RA axis) -- which is good -- but I would mention why it's important. (5) Any mount that uses gears will have a tiny bit of play in the gear mesh. It's not much. But if there were no play then the gears would bind. For this reason, it is technically possible for a mount to "float" in that amount of play. I *balance* the mount... then *very* slightly unbalance the counterweight a tiny bit (perhaps a centimeter in or out) to make the mount heavier on the "east" side of the mount. This causes the gear to always rest on just one side of the play so the camera wont "float" while imaging (resulting in non-round stars). (6) If you end up with non-round stars, there's a trick to debug why it happens. Orient the camera so that North is "up" in your frame. In other words, if you watch the live-view screen, release the RA clutch, and rotate the RA back and forth a bit... the stars should move horizontally (left/right) along your live-view screen. If they do this then you've rotated the camera into a "North Up" orientation. It isn't essential for normal imaging, but it does help if you have problems and want to debug them. In this orientation (and with everything aligned) take some long exposure images. If the stars are non-round in a vertical direction (along the declination axis) then it means you didn't really have a precise polar alignment. Re-align with care. If the stars are non-round in the Horizontal direction, it means either your tracking rate is wrong (e.g. not using Sidereal (Star) speed and/or possibly gear play or even flexure issues.
Great tips Tim, thanks for the input! I agree on pretty much all those points but just wanted to add my two cents on some: (2) I think it's a good idea to align preliminarily before adding everything because if you are way off in the azimuth you will have to lift up the tripod and move it, level again shortening/extending legs which with a heavy load will be cumbersome. Definitely check and correct alignment before starting to take shots for sure! (3) There is actually only one combination of the dials on the back that should always yield a reticle with 0 directly on the top. I talk about this in that video of mine: th-cam.com/video/OeqTTgDei7I/w-d-xo.html (4) Well if it's balanced perfectly than it wouldn't matter how the mass is distributed but if it's not (balanced 100%) which is hard in practice then the imbalance will result in a smaller torque needed when stuff is closer. In other words if you're not balanced perfectly then it's like having an imaginary point mass in some distance from the axis - the further that point ends up to be the more torque will be needed so it's a good idea to keep the overall mass as close to the axis as possible. (5) That is a great tip that I haven't though about before - thanks for that!!
I just purchased one and I have to say that your 19 minute video made things much more clear. This video is now officially bookmarked on my computer...Thank you too much
I’m a complete novice to this having never used any of this equipment before. Thank you for taking the mystery out of this and more a less enabling me to skip the manual to get setup and understand what the various controls do. Great stuff!
Single most helpful video for the Star Adventurer out there!! I was scared the title was click-bait at first, but this is truly the ultimate guide. Super easy to follow, very well reasoned and easy to follow! Thank you so much!
Hey Kamil!! You rock man, I've been teaching myself about this tracker about a year and a half now, and finally my tracker arrived, things is I live in Bolivia and it's been a journey to get this thing down here....I'm so excited and happy and you've been a huge part of my learning, thank you so much for sharing all this knowledge. I'm setting up this thing today and testing it out tomorrow on the field. Peace bro! 🌌😃👌
You helped me with my Benro Polaris, now you have also helped with my SWSA! I did not know until today that the polar scope needed focusing--that's why I could never see anything through it! Only took a bit more than a year to learn this... Thanks!
Just purchased the Skywatcher and have been trawling the Internet for a comprehensive, informative and easy to follow set-up guide...I have just found it with your video! Thank you so much, this was excellent! Keep up the great work and all the best from Scotland! :)
Thanks, I really appreciate that 😊 Wow, Scotland is soo one of the places on my bucket list! I would love to do some astrophotography in the Highlands. Where are you located?
great tip about the small adjustment knobs and the position of the screws on the mount plate. I was running into some issues making small adjustments and couldn't figure out why but it turns out my plate had shifted entirely to one side, and you pointed out why. Thanks!
This is such a good video.. mine hasn’t even arrived yet but I’m feeling confident already now thanks to your guidance 🙏🏻 will probably watch this 10 more times to get it drilled in 😂
Excellent...you did a fine job of teaching the basic setup of the Star Adventurer. I look forward to seeing how you can shoot the Milky Way without use of a ballhead.
Tip for finding Polaris: looking at the big dipper, the two outer stars of the bowl form a line. Follow the line upwards from the bowl - Polaris is about 5x the distance between these two stars. (Merak --> 1x --> Dubhe --> 5x --> Polaris). Thanks Kamil, great video!
Thank you Kamil. I just ordered one and it should be in Wednesday. I have a lot to learn and you have pointed me in the correct direction. Thanks again.
I am just about to purchase this, the questions I 'had' - you have answered. Excellent content. subbed :-). (North Celestial Pole - oh no! now I'm saying it)
I have just ordered the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Pro Pack here in Australia and doing some research on how to set it up etc..Your Video is really on point and I thank you for making it. I will be checking out the other ones on your channel as well. Once again thanks mate.
One of the best videos about polar alignemnt. Loved it! And yes, this totally cleared all my doubts about buying this setup. Thank you for the guide. Subscribed! :)
Thank you,... very informative and great job for taking the time to demonstrate and giving us a lesson. I recently bought the SW ED80 scope. I’m looking forward in taking some nice pictures in the near future, but right now I just want to enjoy and learn more
You did a great job, useful for beginners. Every little step is important. I always have difficulty to align polar. Still need more trail. Look forward your coming videos
Thank you for including details most others others skip over. I wasn't sure if I could actually focus the polar scope. I just got my tracker a few days ago. Today I noticed that the image in the polar scope is upside down. The sky is below and the ground above. No one that I've watched has mentioned that. Adjustments have to be in the opposite direction.
Cheers Kamil, I just discovered you through PP. I am so lucky! I have had the astro tracker that you demonstrate here for 2 years and felt I didn't have it mastered and would be reluctant to use it in the dark bc there are way to many knobs to tighten which made it a bit inundating to do master in the dark. One thing I learned was the different set ups for wide angle and deep sky astrophotog. Gotta laugh as I was setting up as for the deep sky set up even for wide angle. Things just got simpler! Thank you so much !!!
1kg lenses can be easily mounted on any camera mount (like the 135mm). If the lens comes without a collar attachment it is save to assume that it isn't needed. But I guess it does help out shifting the centre of the weight back onto the gears. Very nice video Kamil, helped me out alot with my star adventure!
OMG - This is the clearest tutorial for the Sky-Watcher set-up I have watched so far. I am new in Astrophotography. I have not started taking any photos yet. I have ordered the Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Kit. Expected to arrive around mid-October. Definitely, your tutorial is the best. I am in the Southern hemisphere. To find the North Star we use the big dipper. How do we find the south Celestial pole, please? Sorry if this is a silly question. I am new to Astronomy
lol lucky i have an Gitzo Systematic mount, and the big circular top plate you can rotate 360 degrees with a knob. Makes it much easier with this Tracker. Hope to get an 72ED and Star Adventurer 2i in February 2022.
it might be worth adding that the Polarscope inverts Polaris relative to the NCP , if you look at a star tracker app which displays NCP then Polaris is on the opposite side of the NCP ! took me a while to work out why
fantastic explanation!..i read page 8,9 of the manual and it wasnt clear whether i needed the equitorial mount or not so it might be useful to discuss that?. only thing you didnt mention, when i got the tracker out the box the 1/4 to 3/8 convert screw adaptor was in the bottom and i had to take out with screwdriver it does tell you on page8 to look for that. also the plate was already in the wedge but the picture in manual makes it look as though its on the tracker and thought it was missing. for 14mm wide lens what attachment do you need to mount? but couldnt have used that manual ...well done!!!
Great tutorial!! Much better than the info that comes with the Star Adventurer. One question... when beginning the alignment step, you loosen the clutch on the main unit, then make the necessary adjustments to move Polaris into position on the reticle. But you do not tighten the clutch after alignment is set. When you subsequently mount the bracket and camera as shown, the clutch rotates all over the place as you balance and position the camera/lens? Does this not affect the alignment. as I assume the reticle rotates along with the clutch? If I were to look through the finder after the camera is balanced or positioned, the alignment would no longer match what is on my app... sooo why is this not a problem? If it isn't, why do you need to tighten the clutch at all, and when would you re-tighten it? Thanks for any assistance you can give, Michael
Thanks for this video. I found the manual sort of confusing. Interesting you simply say to make sure the grid is aligned with 0 at the top and 9 to the left whereas the manual goes through a process of rotating the dials etc.
Thanks very Kamil. Very helpful video. One question though. When you are finished balancing the rig with the counterweight, 1-do you then position the camera at the 12 o'clock position? And 2- do you then🤣tighten the clutch before turning the tracker on to surreal? It seems like you should, but when I tried this, the later pix in a series were all tilted If I leave the clutch loose, the camera migrates some what . What am I missing here? Thanks for advice.
The clutch definitely needs to be tightened (I have a video about it) and as far as the position is concerned - well it depends of the location of my target on the night sky. Most of the time it won’t be exactly at 12 o’clock
Hi Kamil, great video. Thank you very much! In the end you told us to tighten the clutch before taking photos. Does the that mean, the clutch has to be tightened also while the tracking-motor ist running? I hope you undestand what I am trying to ask :) k
Very useful video 👍🏼 Mine always rotate for few mins then stop spinning, and the led kept blinking, i am pretty sure I m not overloaded it, is that because of unbalance ?
Kamil - your videos are awesome! You provide such great detail! Do you have any suggestions for balancing a guide scope with the SA setup? I'm currently using an "L" bracket for my guide scope, but that tends to make the camera top heavy in one direction - do you have any suggestions for mounting a guide scope that makes the weight distribution more even?
Best tutorial on this item I’ve found! Thank you! I just ordered mine and can’t wait to take pictures of the cosmos. I fo have one question though, I can’t seem to find wha is the screw size on that mount to attach a lens or small telescope. Would you be able to tell me?
Excellent video. I have been considering this unit for a while and I think you have help me decide. One question: that light you used to see the cross hairs to align Polaris, is that a separate purchase or does it come in the kit? If separate can you tell me what it is called. Thanks. :)
Excellent. Thank you. I have a question though, when you say to point it north, do you mean magnetic north or geographic north? I assume the latter, but won't most phones and apps give the former unless told otherwise?
hello !! u r the best , i need help, do u have some video that shows , how to use coordenates, how to set them ??? cuz when i want to put some cordenates in star adventurer, there are alot numbers then ... jesus.... help please
Hi, great video. But I have a question. I am new to all this and I was wondering if the tracker has a “home” position? When my 0 position is at 12 o’clock and 6 is at 6 o’clock on the ridicul, my locking knob for the camera is up close to the 12 o’clock position. Thank you for your help.
Still not sure if this has a declination setting. Some comments online say that declination is not easy to set. And what is the difference between declination and azimuth setting?
Amazing tutorial.Thank you very much!May ask something?In order to get polaris in the correct spot according to the star adventurer console mini app we need to move those two screws (for the horizontal axon).How can we move polaris on the vertical axon if we need to?From the latitude screw?
When aligning the reticle by rotating the Ra axis , how do you truly know the cross hairs are vertical and horizontal, other than by eye ? I would think it if we’re off even a little a bit , it would affect polar alignment ? It may not matter for lower focal lengths scopes , but it surely would for higher ones . Thank you
Well, I’m trying to spare time to watch all your videos because they’re excellent for me level as they’re fully explained. Now, the question is that Star Adventurer 2i or SkyGuider Pro, which one I choose?
Yes, when the scope is level, looking through the polar scope, I would expect the horizontal line of the marking (9 to 3 line) to also be level at that time. Can you check yours? I'm just wondering if it's out of alignment from skywatcher.
Nah it’s all good. You just need to rotate the right ascension axis (main rotation) accordingly. I talk about it in this video: th-cam.com/video/OeqTTgDei7I/w-d-xo.html
Hi Kamil, great video. If I may ask a question, when shooting the Milky Way on the tracker with a wide angle lens, do you not have to use the polar scope to align Polaris in order for the Star Adventurer to track accurately? I'm very new to this discipline, and not having to align Polaris is great as I've found it difficult to do. Thank you.
Really helpful videos! I just ordered this tracker. Sadly the supply of the star adventurer is really limited since the demand increased immensely with the covid 19 virus. Let's hope the tracker will be in stock soon because I can't wait to test it out!
Sorry to hear that! When I was ordering mine it was out of stock everywhere in Poland as well. I had to order from B&H Photo Video from New York - it turned out a bit more expensive than buying it locally but I just couldn't wait 😄
I have been trying to just find that one simple step....you have polar alignment, you want to take a picture of Orion, or the Milky Way. How do you find Orion or andromeda,...and once you find them how do you get your camera pointed at your target. How do get the star tracker to start moving appropriately to track it while you photographed?
I learned more in 18 minutes here than several hours with the manual and other videos. You should have written the manual. Great job.
Wow, thanks!
Indeed. The tutorial included in the package for this device is just absolute garbage.Not even sure why the manufacturer itself hasn't made any videos for this matter.
They should just put my videos on their website 😁
18 mins very well spent, straight to the point and filled with great useful information. Got much more out of this video than about 2hrs I wasted watching other videos and trying to understand the manual. Awesome work!
After an hour with the manual, struggling with jargon and out of order/context information i turned to TH-cam. Your videos had me educated and up and running just in time for the cloud cover to come through. lol. no worries. i took notes and am confident after two of your videos on what to do tomorrow night!
The best polar alignment tutorial I ever seen ! Thank you man !!!
Thank you for that comment, I am very glad you feel this way 😊
I agree! I haven’t got a star tracker but I always thought polar alignment was very difficult. But after watching this video I’m more confident. It’s really useful that Kamil showed images of the reticle inside the Star Adventurer
Very nicely done and one of the better tutorials I've seen. A few of my tips:
(1) It isn't critical that the tripod be level. It is only necessary that it be centered on the NCP (ie. Polaris is in the correct position on the reticle). But it is *easier* if it is level. Imagine a very unloved tripod (suppose it's 15° out of level) then when you adjust the Altitude, you'll see the star also shifts in Azimuth (and vice versa). This means you may have to iterate a few times and that's why I say it is *easier* if it is level (or at least pretty close).
(2) If possible load all the weight on the mount *before* aligning the NCP. This is because the tripod and mount may flex when weight is added ... changing the accuracy of the alignment. Shortening the tripod legs and/or center-post will result in a stiffer mount / less flexure.
(3) To make sure the "0" is at the top of the reticle, place Polaris anywhere along the vertical axis (cross-hair) that runs from the 0 to the 6 on the reticle. Manually adjust the altitude on the equatorial base while watching Polaris along that reticle line. If Polaris travels straight up/down along that line without drifting off to one side, then the reticle is properly aligned. You can proceed to adjust the equatorial head to put Polaris in the proper location along the reticle.
(4) The closer the camera is to the axis of rotation, the less torque needed to move it (and the closer the counterweight can be as well). When you used the counterweight in this video, you naturally slide the camera in toward the axis (along the mounting rail that clamps to the Star Adventurer's RA axis) -- which is good -- but I would mention why it's important.
(5) Any mount that uses gears will have a tiny bit of play in the gear mesh. It's not much. But if there were no play then the gears would bind. For this reason, it is technically possible for a mount to "float" in that amount of play. I *balance* the mount... then *very* slightly unbalance the counterweight a tiny bit (perhaps a centimeter in or out) to make the mount heavier on the "east" side of the mount. This causes the gear to always rest on just one side of the play so the camera wont "float" while imaging (resulting in non-round stars).
(6) If you end up with non-round stars, there's a trick to debug why it happens. Orient the camera so that North is "up" in your frame. In other words, if you watch the live-view screen, release the RA clutch, and rotate the RA back and forth a bit... the stars should move horizontally (left/right) along your live-view screen. If they do this then you've rotated the camera into a "North Up" orientation. It isn't essential for normal imaging, but it does help if you have problems and want to debug them. In this orientation (and with everything aligned) take some long exposure images. If the stars are non-round in a vertical direction (along the declination axis) then it means you didn't really have a precise polar alignment. Re-align with care. If the stars are non-round in the Horizontal direction, it means either your tracking rate is wrong (e.g. not using Sidereal (Star) speed and/or possibly gear play or even flexure issues.
Great tips Tim, thanks for the input! I agree on pretty much all those points but just wanted to add my two cents on some:
(2) I think it's a good idea to align preliminarily before adding everything because if you are way off in the azimuth you will have to lift up the tripod and move it, level again shortening/extending legs which with a heavy load will be cumbersome. Definitely check and correct alignment before starting to take shots for sure!
(3) There is actually only one combination of the dials on the back that should always yield a reticle with 0 directly on the top. I talk about this in that video of mine: th-cam.com/video/OeqTTgDei7I/w-d-xo.html
(4) Well if it's balanced perfectly than it wouldn't matter how the mass is distributed but if it's not (balanced 100%) which is hard in practice then the imbalance will result in a smaller torque needed when stuff is closer. In other words if you're not balanced perfectly then it's like having an imaginary point mass in some distance from the axis - the further that point ends up to be the more torque will be needed so it's a good idea to keep the overall mass as close to the axis as possible.
(5) That is a great tip that I haven't though about before - thanks for that!!
Excellent points.
My tracker just arrived last night. I was very glad to find your video! I sure learned more here than I did with the manufacturers "instructions"
I just purchased one and I have to say that your 19 minute video made things much more clear. This video is now officially bookmarked on my computer...Thank you too much
Setting up get up your tracker on tri
Now one video on TH-cam in which the title does not promise too much. Excellent explanations. Very helpful. - Thank you!
Been thinking of getting a Sky-Watcher for my Nikon D780! This is exactly the video I was looking for. Thank you.
You are the ONLY one who mentioned to tighten the clutch before shooting! This is very useful for beginners, thank you!
Thanks for the comment!
I am in the space-based industry (satellites) and this was the first video on my new tracker, and you hit all the points. Thanks.
I’m glad you added the tip to tighten the clutch, something I wasn’t sure about and not in the manual. Thanks!
I borrowed a friends sky watcher. Thanks to your tutorial i was able to get a 3 minute exposures on my first try with no problems! Thank you!
I’m a complete novice to this having never used any of this equipment before. Thank you for taking the mystery out of this and more a less enabling me to skip the manual to get setup and understand what the various controls do. Great stuff!
Single most helpful video for the Star Adventurer out there!! I was scared the title was click-bait at first, but this is truly the ultimate guide. Super easy to follow, very well reasoned and easy to follow! Thank you so much!
Thanks Chris - I appreciate the kind words!
Finally!! A perfect alignment video!
Thank you!!! I'll try it tonight!
Hey Kamil!! You rock man, I've been teaching myself about this tracker about a year and a half now, and finally my tracker arrived, things is I live in Bolivia and it's been a journey to get this thing down here....I'm so excited and happy and you've been a huge part of my learning, thank you so much for sharing all this knowledge. I'm setting up this thing today and testing it out tomorrow on the field. Peace bro! 🌌😃👌
Thanks man! Have fun and good luck!
You helped me with my Benro Polaris, now you have also helped with my SWSA! I did not know until today that the polar scope needed focusing--that's why I could never see anything through it! Only took a bit more than a year to learn this... Thanks!
Thanks!
This was such a good Video, thanks for producing it. So easy to follow
Just purchased the Skywatcher and have been trawling the Internet for a comprehensive, informative and easy to follow set-up guide...I have just found it with your video! Thank you so much, this was excellent! Keep up the great work and all the best from Scotland! :)
Thanks, I really appreciate that 😊 Wow, Scotland is soo one of the places on my bucket list! I would love to do some astrophotography in the Highlands. Where are you located?
great tip about the small adjustment knobs and the position of the screws on the mount plate. I was running into some issues making small adjustments and couldn't figure out why but it turns out my plate had shifted entirely to one side, and you pointed out why. Thanks!
This is such a good video.. mine hasn’t even arrived yet but I’m feeling confident already now thanks to your guidance 🙏🏻 will probably watch this 10 more times to get it drilled in 😂
Hey mate, thanks so much for posting this! After 4 or so weeks of owning the Star Adventurer I feel like I finally know what I’m doing.
Excellent...you did a fine job of teaching the basic setup of the Star Adventurer. I look forward to seeing how you can shoot the Milky Way without use of a ballhead.
Coming up early next week - I’ve literally just finished filming it 😉
It’s already published on my channel now! Check it out here: th-cam.com/video/D-l_SSirq2E/w-d-xo.html
I appreciate you taking the time to explain all this.
Tip for finding Polaris: looking at the big dipper, the two outer stars of the bowl form a line. Follow the line upwards from the bowl - Polaris is about 5x the distance between these two stars. (Merak --> 1x --> Dubhe --> 5x --> Polaris). Thanks Kamil, great video!
Thank you Kamil. I just ordered one and it should be in Wednesday. I have a lot to learn and you have pointed me in the correct direction. Thanks again.
Brilliant video well done Kamil - take a bow Sir.
Thank you so much for making this video! It is so incredibly helpful. And you explained everything so well.
Wielkie dzięki Kamil za ten film. Teraz trzeba przelecieć przez resztę twoich fimów.
Trochę się ich już nazbierało :)
WOW i could not believe it! easy and good explanation just 18 minutes Thank you a lot!
Very good job sir! Working my way to this point, thank you for this video, very instructional and informative.
I am just about to purchase this, the questions I 'had' - you have answered. Excellent content. subbed :-).
(North Celestial Pole - oh no! now I'm saying it)
Yeah, I enjoyed the keep it simple approach. Nicely done Kamil
There is actually a little hole in the casing parallel to the polar scope axis. It helps for rough alignment with polaris.
Awesome learning video. Truly covered it all. Thanks
You’re welcome. Thanks for the comment!
I have just ordered the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer Pro Pack here in Australia and doing some research on how to set it up etc..Your Video is really on point and I thank you for making it. I will be checking out the other ones on your channel as well. Once again thanks mate.
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the great explanation!
I cant wait to get my StarWatcher :)
This was so helpful that I bought your Lightroom Preset Pack. Thank you so much!!
Awesome! Glad to hear that!
The best tutorial for the Star Adventurer, thanks!
One of the best videos about polar alignemnt. Loved it! And yes, this totally cleared all my doubts about buying this setup. Thank you for the guide. Subscribed! :)
Thanks Ivan! 😊
Thank you so much for making this video. You literally saved my night!🤗
This was great, thank you. I bought the Sky Watcher based on your video
Awesome! Good luck and clear skies - take some beautiful photos!
Thank you,... very informative and great job for taking the time to demonstrate and giving us a lesson. I recently bought the SW ED80 scope. I’m looking forward in taking some nice pictures in the near future, but right now I just want to enjoy and learn more
You did a great job, useful for beginners.
Every little step is important. I always have difficulty to align polar.
Still need more trail.
Look forward your coming videos
Thanks! Look out for the one I will publish next week - you’ll definitely find it interesting (it’s a vlog from doing all that stuff out in the field)
Thank you for including details most others others skip over. I wasn't sure if I could actually focus the polar scope. I just got my tracker a few days ago. Today I noticed that the image in the polar scope is upside down. The sky is below and the ground above. No one that I've watched has mentioned that. Adjustments have to be in the opposite direction.
Thanks for the great guide
Great video. I’ve stumbled my through polar alignment with mixed results. Looking forward to putting your tut to good use! Clear skies
Super instrukcja Kamil. Szukam obecnie tego trackera za dobra cene. Ale przekonalem sie ze ten bedzie mi najbardziej odpowiadal.
Dzięki - ja jestem z niego bardzo zadowolony!
That was excellent. I’m going out this out this week with. Y new star tracker.
i just dont know how to thank you i like the way how do you explain the hard things and making it easy.
Thanks! I’m glad to hear that 😊
Cheers Kamil, I just discovered you through PP. I am so lucky! I have had the astro tracker that you demonstrate here for 2 years and felt I didn't have it mastered and would be reluctant to use it in the dark bc there are way to many knobs to tighten which made it a bit inundating to do master in the dark. One thing I learned was the different set ups for wide angle and deep sky astrophotog. Gotta laugh as I was setting up as for the deep sky set up even for wide angle. Things just got simpler! Thank you so much !!!
Great to hear that, I’m glad you found it helpful! Stay tuned for future videos 😊
1kg lenses can be easily mounted on any camera mount (like the 135mm). If the lens comes without a collar attachment it is save to assume that it isn't needed. But I guess it does help out shifting the centre of the weight back onto the gears. Very nice video Kamil, helped me out alot with my star adventure!
OMG - This is the clearest tutorial for the Sky-Watcher set-up I have watched so far. I am new in Astrophotography. I have not started taking any photos yet. I have ordered the Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Kit. Expected to arrive around mid-October. Definitely, your tutorial is the best. I am in the Southern hemisphere. To find the North Star we use the big dipper. How do we find the south Celestial pole, please? Sorry if this is a silly question. I am new to Astronomy
Thanks! For southern celestial pole check out this article: earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/how-to-use-southern-cross-to-find-south-celestial-pole
@@kamilkp Thank you very much
Great explanations.
Great job on this tutorial... thanks for posting!
Excellent tutorial, it's great to see what's involved in setting one of these trackers up before committing to buying one.
Thank you! Yeah it’s quite a process and really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting to the final image 😅
Dude... I'm subscribing. This tutorial is so good.
Thanks! 😊
lol lucky i have an Gitzo Systematic mount, and the big circular top plate you can rotate 360 degrees with a knob. Makes it much easier with this Tracker. Hope to get an 72ED and Star Adventurer 2i in February 2022.
it might be worth adding that the Polarscope inverts Polaris relative to the NCP , if you look at a star tracker app which displays NCP then Polaris is on the opposite side of the NCP ! took me a while to work out why
Excellent vidéo - Very relevant and useful information - Thank you very much
Thanks!
fantastic explanation!..i read page 8,9 of the manual and it wasnt clear whether i needed the equitorial mount or not so it might be useful to discuss that?. only thing you didnt mention, when i got the tracker out the box the 1/4 to 3/8 convert screw adaptor was in the bottom and i had to take out with screwdriver it does tell you on page8 to look for that. also the plate was already in the wedge but the picture in manual makes it look as though its on the tracker and thought it was missing. for 14mm wide lens what attachment do you need to mount? but couldnt have used that manual ...well done!!!
Great tutorial, thanks buddy 👍
Great tutorial!! Much better than the info that comes with the Star Adventurer. One question... when beginning the alignment step, you loosen the clutch on the main unit, then make the necessary adjustments to move Polaris into position on the reticle. But you do not tighten the clutch after alignment is set. When you subsequently mount the bracket and camera as shown, the clutch rotates all over the place as you balance and position the camera/lens? Does this not affect the alignment. as I assume the reticle rotates along with the clutch? If I were to look through the finder after the camera is balanced or positioned, the alignment would no longer match what is on my app... sooo why is this not a problem? If it isn't, why do you need to tighten the clutch at all, and when would you re-tighten it?
Thanks for any assistance you can give,
Michael
Thanks for this video. I found the manual sort of confusing. Interesting you simply say to make sure the grid is aligned with 0 at the top and 9 to the left whereas the manual goes through a process of rotating the dials etc.
Great video Kamil. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for your great video. With the polar scope aligned, what do you do with the dial (calendar and latitude’
Thanks
I talk about it more in this video: th-cam.com/video/OeqTTgDei7I/w-d-xo.html
Great Video!!!!
Thanks very Kamil. Very helpful video. One question though. When you are finished balancing the rig with the counterweight, 1-do you then position the camera at the 12 o'clock position? And 2- do you then🤣tighten the clutch before turning the tracker on to surreal?
It seems like you should, but when I tried this, the later pix in a series were all tilted
If I leave the clutch loose, the camera migrates some what .
What am I missing here?
Thanks for advice.
The clutch definitely needs to be tightened (I have a video about it) and as far as the position is concerned - well it depends of the location of my target on the night sky. Most of the time it won’t be exactly at 12 o’clock
Great video, thank you :)
Excellent, clear and concise. Thank you.
Nice video! May I know if I need to tighten the clutch before I start to use it? I use wide angle lens. Thank you very much!
Cheers Kamil, just grabbed a SAM and this has helped tremendously. Looking forward to your next vid with the SA deepsky stuff.
Awesome! I’m glad you found it helpful - clear skies!
Hi Kamil, great video. Thank you very much!
In the end you told us to tighten the clutch before taking photos.
Does the that mean, the clutch has to be tightened also while the tracking-motor ist running?
I hope you undestand what I am trying to ask :)
k
Yeah the clutch needs to be tightened for tracking. Chech out this: th-cam.com/video/qbtUOR4EaFs/w-d-xo.html
@@kamilkp Wow thanks for the fast response!
@@kamilkp Haha ok, you made a whole video about this question.
You're great.
Very useful video 👍🏼
Mine always rotate for few mins then stop spinning, and the led kept blinking, i am pretty sure I m not overloaded it, is that because of unbalance ?
Thanks! Perfect job. 🙏
Kamil - your videos are awesome! You provide such great detail! Do you have any suggestions for balancing a guide scope with the SA setup? I'm currently using an "L" bracket for my guide scope, but that tends to make the camera top heavy in one direction - do you have any suggestions for mounting a guide scope that makes the weight distribution more even?
Thanks! You can check out this video to see how I mount my guidescope: th-cam.com/video/uCW-TMxLUZo/w-d-xo.html
@@kamilkp - Thanks! - so my next question is - does the guide scope have to be in alignment with the lens to work properly?
It doesn’t have to be perfectly aligned but it’s best to keep it close enough. Make sure you don’t point it at the celestial pole though
Best tutorial on this item I’ve found! Thank you! I just ordered mine and can’t wait to take pictures of the cosmos. I fo have one question though, I can’t seem to find wha is the screw size on that mount to attach a lens or small telescope. Would you be able to tell me?
The one on the declination bracket?
Excellent video. I have been considering this unit for a while and I think you have help me decide.
One question: that light you used to see the cross hairs to align Polaris, is that a separate purchase or does it come in the kit? If separate can you tell me what it is called. Thanks. :)
It comes with the kit
Terrific video. Thank you!
świetne wideo, właśnie zamówiłem Star Adventure 2i
Very informative video, thanks! How do we align to NCP during day time, that is if I want to use it to track the Sun?
In daytime you can only do rough alignment like this: th-cam.com/video/X2jagTiDZ6k/w-d-xo.html
Excellent. Thank you. I have a question though, when you say to point it north, do you mean magnetic north or geographic north? I assume the latter, but won't most phones and apps give the former unless told otherwise?
hello !! u r the best ,
i need help, do u have some video that shows , how to use coordenates, how to set them ??? cuz when i want to put some cordenates in star adventurer, there are alot numbers then ... jesus.... help please
Hi, great video. But I have a question. I am new to all this and I was wondering if the tracker has a “home” position? When my 0 position is at 12 o’clock and 6 is at 6 o’clock on the ridicul, my locking knob for the camera is up close to the 12 o’clock position. Thank you for your help.
Still not sure if this has a declination setting. Some comments online say that declination is not easy to set. And what is the difference between declination and azimuth setting?
Outstanding tutorial! Thank you.
Amazing tutorial.Thank you very much!May ask something?In order to get polaris in the correct spot according to the star adventurer console mini app we need to move those two screws (for the horizontal axon).How can we move polaris on the vertical axon if we need to?From the latitude screw?
Correct! That’s what it’s for.
When aligning the reticle by rotating the Ra axis , how do you truly know the cross hairs are vertical and horizontal, other than by eye ?
I would think it if we’re off even a little a bit , it would affect polar alignment ?
It may not matter for lower focal lengths scopes , but it surely would for higher ones .
Thank you
Well, I’m trying to spare time to watch all your videos because they’re excellent for me level as they’re fully explained.
Now, the question is that Star Adventurer 2i or SkyGuider Pro, which one I choose?
I haven’t used the skyguider personally but I think the SA has better ergonomics and price
Perfect Video!
👌🏼
Excellent tutorial! Thank you! When looking through my polar scope with the mount level, the horizontal markings are not level. Shouldn't they be?
Glad it helped! What do you mean that "the horizontal markings are not level"? You mean it's tilted/rotated?
Yes, when the scope is level, looking through the polar scope, I would expect the horizontal line of the marking (9 to 3 line) to also be level at that time. Can you check yours? I'm just wondering if it's out of alignment from skywatcher.
Nah it’s all good. You just need to rotate the right ascension axis (main rotation) accordingly. I talk about it in this video: th-cam.com/video/OeqTTgDei7I/w-d-xo.html
Bardzo przydatny i przejrzysty materiał. Dzięki
How do you know when the crosshairs are vertical? What do we measure with?
You can use the date and time graduation circles for it. I talk about it
in this video: th-cam.com/video/OeqTTgDei7I/w-d-xo.html
Hi Kamil, great video. If I may ask a question, when shooting the Milky Way on the tracker with a wide angle lens, do you not have to use the polar scope to align Polaris in order for the Star Adventurer to track accurately? I'm very new to this discipline, and not having to align Polaris is great as I've found it difficult to do. Thank you.
Thanks man! Very helpful!
Really helpful videos! I just ordered this tracker. Sadly the supply of the star adventurer is really limited since the demand increased immensely with the covid 19 virus. Let's hope the tracker will be in stock soon because I can't wait to test it out!
Sorry to hear that! When I was ordering mine it was out of stock everywhere in Poland as well. I had to order from B&H Photo Video from New York - it turned out a bit more expensive than buying it locally but I just couldn't wait 😄
I have been trying to just find that one simple step....you have polar alignment, you want to take a picture of Orion, or the Milky Way. How do you find Orion or andromeda,...and once you find them how do you get your camera pointed at your target. How do get the star tracker to start moving appropriately to track it while you photographed?