is that the L lens? when using my 70-200 f2.8 - I often use my skywatcher, but will run a test on the MSM - I have the more updated MSM - which is supposed to be more accurate. The Canon 6d with a tamron 15-30 (1.1kg for the lens) - total of about 4lb - was fine. But it's a bit different between wide and long focal lengths
thx for the review! recently got a msm tracker myself. the manual says to mount the rotary base to the tripod and the camera to the other side (i.e. so the whole unit rotates together with the camera), which doesn't make much sense to me... any input?
sounds counter intuitive - but it doesn't really patter just as long as the camera is rotating. I have got a new unit myself so will also be checking it out.
Loved your review. I'm looking forward to your southern hemisphere alignment video, to see how easy it is to set up. I'm in New South Wales, Australia and very new to astrophotography. I would be interested to see some images captured with this device, before getting one. Just to know what to expect.
Hi Michael. I have a Canon EOS 200D and the SIFO rotator. In the manual it says that if you want to do a timelapse panorama, you need to deactivate the camera’s silent shutter and avoid live view. But to do a timelapse, my camera starts live view automatically and I do not have the option of disabling the silent shutter. Do I need another camera? Thank you.
Hi Thomas - I don't think so. If you "automate" a timelapse with the camera, it's different to manually assembling it. Generally - most cameras do timelapses by taking lots of photos and then you assemble the timelapse movie in post processing rather than internally processing it together. You can still do that with the 200d, but you just don't automate it. You may need an external intervelometer though.
Michel, I'm just getting into star shooting. Probably will be using a 50mm lens on a Nikon D750. Question, and maybe a stupid one, is about settings. I would think I would assume you would set you lens on infinity and you shutter on bulb. Would you aperture then be set at high at f22? Thanks in advance
Hi - generally I still use a live view on the stars for focus (preferably a faint star). Aperture wise - you want to get in as much light as possible so you go down to the more open end - like F2.8, 1.4 etc - noting that with lenses like the 50mm - the wider you go, you will also have some of the lens faults show - so closing it down a little bit may be recommended.
Here's a fun idea: mounting a Nodal Ninja to the top do you can do multi row panos. Great review. I'm looking at pulling the trigger on one for the astrophotography tracking and the pano elements.
well ... actually I do often use a panorama mount on the trackers. I have been using a sirui pb-10 ;). The sirui only has a few settings, so is great for the wide angle panoramas, but not so good with long focal lengths . Every few frames I reset the rotation on ball head that the pano head attaches to - to level it again.
@@michaelgoh2884 THat would be a video to see. I have a nodal ninja and often wondered if I could use that with a star tracker to make some amazing 360s? I usually just do 24sec exposures on the nodal ninja but somtimes that's just not enough (in truely dark skies).
for this device or any? using the skywatcher star adventurer I've been fine doing 60s and sometimes even up to 4 minutes at 200mm. It's all about getting the alignment correct. I think you should be fine with the MSM with 85 and even 135 if you can get it aligned. But I have not tested it beyond 50mm I think.
@@michaelgoh2884 thank you so much. I was looking at MSM's website and they have a polar scope like the Vixen polarie. Just letting you know just incase u didnt know. So with the polar scope i think i should be ok
Michael, hear me out, you maybe could mention this to MSM. I would be nice if it could track stars and return to a predefined start position and begin the tracking process again for as many shots as needed. That way you can get a Milky Way time lapse while keeping the same fore ground composition for every shot and have like 60 second shutter speeds. Not to sure I am explaining this clearly. Lol Basically track, shoot, return to start position, track, shoot, return, repeat.
@@maxvain for the adventurer 1 it's advanced firmware that has to be installed and the 2 is accessible via wifi. Now the interesting thing (subject of a future video) is actually using the MSM with the skywatcher - so you can have panning or tilting motion timelapse at the same time. The way the MSM triggers for timelapsing is via the hotshoe - so is remote from the astro tracking
it does both - it does star tracking (at a single speed) and also move between shots for timelapsing. The reason why I said single speed is that some star trackers will do half speed or double etc. I know that since I did this review that they have done a hardware update to improve the device.
Hey Michael, I bought this tracker and the laser pointer for astro photos. Do you have any tips for alignment with Polaris ? or any other video you can recommend I watch which teaches how to ? Thanks!
Hi - I'm in the southern hemisphere so we don't have Polaris :/ - from what I understand with the laser pointer, you point it to Polaris and you should be good. I'm meaning to do a video of how I align since we don't have something as defined as Polaris in the southern hemisphere. I think I mentioned it briefly in the video - I angle it up based on the latitude and have it pointed to south (or north) based on an adjustment for declination (for my location it's only about 1-2 degrees so is not material).
@@michaelgoh2884 thanks for your photos - you must be up there with the best astrophotographers on the planet (IMHO). What exactly do you mean by "n adjustment for declination" above? I understand pointing south and latitude based angle.
@@ArdashMuradian Hi Ardash - thanks muchly. Declination is the difference between the celestial pole and the magnetic pole. It's only -1.6 degrees at the location that I'm at, so hasn't been an issue, however some locations is much higher. I have an app PS Align Pro (PS for polar scope) that has the information, but you can look it up online as well at places like www.magnetic-declination.com/
Hey Tanmay - I just got my unit. I cannot find a way to attach the laser pointer so that it aligns with the arrows on the unit! Have you figured it out yet?
@@ArdashMuradian Hi Ardash - I got your image. The location is fine, but it's back to front. The laser is put into the larger hole and faces upwards towards the sky (ie the laser goes through the big hole and the beam goes up through the small hole). The laser pointer doesn't actually have to align with any pointers on the unit - it just needs to point up at the sky in the same angle as the ball head is attached.
Thank you Mr Bear, great review, I am looking for a Tracker at the moment and the SkyWatcher star Adventurer, is wining so far. Oh and I am in Cairns so good to see southern hemisphere Astrophotograpy on utube. Cheers
Hi Tanmay - I would recommend it. It appears to be accurate, compact and the price point at the moment (there is a sale this month August 2018) with the discount, is very appealing.
Check out reviews by Alyn Wallace, he has a great channel, hasa used this and the sky optron and has pretty good tips. Here is a link to his website: alynwallacephotography.com/
Hi Michael, i've read on website www.moveshootmove.com/collections/sifo-rotator/products/motorized-time-lapse-motion-control-head-ysf-move-shoot-move-mode-pan-tilt-motion-control-system-plug-and-play-for-panorama-photography-with-built-in-battery that is an upgraded version of the star tracker...do you know what are these upgrade?Do you think can be possible to use a red-dot finder instead of the laser to align with polaris?
Sounds like an alignment issue, but I don't know what you're doing. I'm still using mine both personally and when running workshops and it's been fine. Have you used other trackers?
@@michaelgoh2884 no this is the only version. I have everything leveled and a laser pointed on polaris. I use a 15mm irix lens. What more can I do to proper alignment? Hope you have some idea? And with a 15mm alignment isn't that critical.
at the longer zoom - I think it may struggle. Wide it is certainly fine. I think they improved the accuracy of it after I got mine, but the alignment has to be spot on for the longer zoom.
Some more example photos would've been good
Certainly interested in the video on polar alignment in the Sthn Hemisphere.
I don't see any kind of counterweight system. Any chance it can handle a Canon 6D and 70-300 lens at roughly 4.25 pounds together?
is that the L lens? when using my 70-200 f2.8 - I often use my skywatcher, but will run a test on the MSM - I have the more updated MSM - which is supposed to be more accurate. The Canon 6d with a tamron 15-30 (1.1kg for the lens) - total of about 4lb - was fine. But it's a bit different between wide and long focal lengths
@@michaelgoh2884 Yes, 4-5.6 L. My favorite lens. I also have the 24-70 4 L.
thx for the review! recently got a msm tracker myself. the manual says to mount the rotary base to the tripod and the camera to the other side (i.e. so the whole unit rotates together with the camera), which doesn't make much sense to me... any input?
sounds counter intuitive - but it doesn't really patter just as long as the camera is rotating. I have got a new unit myself so will also be checking it out.
Loved your review. I'm looking forward to your southern hemisphere alignment video, to see how easy it is to set up. I'm in New South Wales, Australia and very new to astrophotography. I would be interested to see some images captured with this device, before getting one. Just to know what to expect.
Just what I am looking for ..Is the alignment video out yet ?? I would hate to miss it
Hi Michael. I have a Canon EOS 200D and the SIFO rotator. In the manual it says that if you want to do a timelapse panorama, you need to deactivate the camera’s silent shutter and avoid live view. But to do a timelapse, my camera starts live view automatically and I do not have the option of disabling the silent shutter. Do I need another camera? Thank you.
Hi Thomas - I don't think so. If you "automate" a timelapse with the camera, it's different to manually assembling it. Generally - most cameras do timelapses by taking lots of photos and then you assemble the timelapse movie in post processing rather than internally processing it together. You can still do that with the 200d, but you just don't automate it. You may need an external intervelometer though.
Will hotshoe connection work for Sony full frame cameras, i.e., A7R3? Thanks....
Have you tried this with their polar scope? It has the octans marked on it, so that in theory should make alignment easier.
Michel, I'm just getting into star shooting. Probably will be using a 50mm lens on a Nikon D750. Question, and maybe a stupid one, is about settings. I would think I would assume you would set you lens on infinity and you shutter on bulb. Would you aperture then be set at high at f22? Thanks in advance
Hi - generally I still use a live view on the stars for focus (preferably a faint star). Aperture wise - you want to get in as much light as possible so you go down to the more open end - like F2.8, 1.4 etc - noting that with lenses like the 50mm - the wider you go, you will also have some of the lens faults show - so closing it down a little bit may be recommended.
@@michaelgoh2884 Thank you
did you ever do a video on polar alignment in the Southern Hemisphere?
unfortunately I haven't - it wouldn't actually take me much time to do. Just been very tied up
@@michaelgoh2884 iv just ordered one. iv found a couple of different way to aline it .and doesnt seem that critical when using wide lenses.
Here's a fun idea: mounting a Nodal Ninja to the top do you can do multi row panos. Great review. I'm looking at pulling the trigger on one for the astrophotography tracking and the pano elements.
well ... actually I do often use a panorama mount on the trackers. I have been using a sirui pb-10 ;). The sirui only has a few settings, so is great for the wide angle panoramas, but not so good with long focal lengths . Every few frames I reset the rotation on ball head that the pano head attaches to - to level it again.
@@michaelgoh2884 THat would be a video to see. I have a nodal ninja and often wondered if I could use that with a star tracker to make some amazing 360s? I usually just do 24sec exposures on the nodal ninja but somtimes that's just not enough (in truely dark skies).
@@PsytastikTunes I have used a star tracker to do 360 panoramas for google maps
What do u think would be the maximum focal length i could use for star tracking? Like a 85 or 135?
for this device or any? using the skywatcher star adventurer I've been fine doing 60s and sometimes even up to 4 minutes at 200mm. It's all about getting the alignment correct. I think you should be fine with the MSM with 85 and even 135 if you can get it aligned. But I have not tested it beyond 50mm I think.
@@michaelgoh2884 thank you so much. I was looking at MSM's website and they have a polar scope like the Vixen polarie. Just letting you know just incase u didnt know. So with the polar scope i think i should be ok
Hi Sir, where can i set the latitude in the device ? thank you ))
hi - sorry on delay. You find out the latitude just with the GPS coordinates - either by using a phone or pre locating or using a handheld device
Michael, hear me out, you maybe could mention this to MSM.
I would be nice if it could track stars and return to a predefined start position and begin the tracking process again for as many shots as needed.
That way you can get a Milky Way time lapse while keeping the same fore ground composition for every shot and have like 60 second shutter speeds.
Not to sure I am explaining this clearly. Lol
Basically track, shoot, return to start position, track, shoot, return, repeat.
yes you're clear. I have mentioned this to MSM ;) because I know it's available on the Skywatcher Star Adventurer
@@michaelgoh2884 oh its possible on the Skywatcher! Nice thanks man... Will check it out now, that's the feature I was looking for
@@maxvain for the adventurer 1 it's advanced firmware that has to be installed and the 2 is accessible via wifi. Now the interesting thing (subject of a future video) is actually using the MSM with the skywatcher - so you can have panning or tilting motion timelapse at the same time. The way the MSM triggers for timelapsing is via the hotshoe - so is remote from the astro tracking
Hi, I'm very interested in buying this start tracker. Does it work like a vixen polarie? in constant very slow move or does it move between each shot?
it does both - it does star tracking (at a single speed) and also move between shots for timelapsing. The reason why I said single speed is that some star trackers will do half speed or double etc. I know that since I did this review that they have done a hardware update to improve the device.
@@michaelgoh2884 Many thanks for your fast answer!!
Hey Michael, I bought this tracker and the laser pointer for astro photos. Do you have any tips for alignment with Polaris ? or any other video you can recommend I watch which teaches how to ?
Thanks!
Hi - I'm in the southern hemisphere so we don't have Polaris :/ - from what I understand with the laser pointer, you point it to Polaris and you should be good. I'm meaning to do a video of how I align since we don't have something as defined as Polaris in the southern hemisphere. I think I mentioned it briefly in the video - I angle it up based on the latitude and have it pointed to south (or north) based on an adjustment for declination (for my location it's only about 1-2 degrees so is not material).
@@michaelgoh2884 thanks for your photos - you must be up there with the best astrophotographers on the planet (IMHO). What exactly do you mean by "n adjustment for declination" above? I understand pointing south and latitude based angle.
@@ArdashMuradian Hi Ardash - thanks muchly. Declination is the difference between the celestial pole and the magnetic pole. It's only -1.6 degrees at the location that I'm at, so hasn't been an issue, however some locations is much higher. I have an app PS Align Pro (PS for polar scope) that has the information, but you can look it up online as well at places like www.magnetic-declination.com/
Hey Tanmay - I just got my unit. I cannot find a way to attach the laser pointer so that it aligns with the arrows on the unit! Have you figured it out yet?
@@ArdashMuradian Hi Ardash - I got your image. The location is fine, but it's back to front. The laser is put into the larger hole and faces upwards towards the sky (ie the laser goes through the big hole and the beam goes up through the small hole). The laser pointer doesn't actually have to align with any pointers on the unit - it just needs to point up at the sky in the same angle as the ball head is attached.
Hi Michael. Would you say that this tracker can hold a Canon 6D + Sigma 14mm 1.8?
yes - I've used the canon 6d and tamron 15-30. Collectively they weigh
@@michaelgoh2884 once again, thank you Michael!
Thank you Mr Bear, great review,
I am looking for a Tracker at the moment and the SkyWatcher star Adventurer, is wining so far.
Oh and I am in Cairns so good to see southern hemisphere Astrophotograpy on utube.
Cheers
stew stapleton bought one too.. problem for me i have no hotshoe.
I have a star adventurer, but boy is it cumbersome aligning. I was debating about switching to ioptron and then ran across this MSM. Hmmm.
Thanks for the review Michael.
Would you buy this just for star tracking ? or do you recommend something else ?
Hi Tanmay - I would recommend it. It appears to be accurate, compact and the price point at the moment (there is a sale this month August 2018) with the discount, is very appealing.
Check out reviews by Alyn Wallace, he has a great channel, hasa used this and the sky optron and has pretty good tips. Here is a link to his website: alynwallacephotography.com/
Hi Michael, i've read on website www.moveshootmove.com/collections/sifo-rotator/products/motorized-time-lapse-motion-control-head-ysf-move-shoot-move-mode-pan-tilt-motion-control-system-plug-and-play-for-panorama-photography-with-built-in-battery that is an upgraded version of the star tracker...do you know what are these upgrade?Do you think can be possible to use a red-dot finder instead of the laser to align with polaris?
Thanks for the review. How did you find getting the right angle for star tracking? Was it difficult?
hi - the right angle isn't too difficult. I know/can find out my latitude and just angle it to that using an app on my phone.
Michael Goh thanks Michael. Appreciate it.
This thing sucks. The first version stopped working it has always startrailing. The new version startrailing terrible device.
Sounds like an alignment issue, but I don't know what you're doing. I'm still using mine both personally and when running workshops and it's been fine. Have you used other trackers?
@@michaelgoh2884 no this is the only version. I have everything leveled and a laser pointed on polaris. I use a 15mm irix lens. What more can I do to proper alignment? Hope you have some idea? And with a 15mm alignment isn't that critical.
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Hi Michel, would this be good to use with the Nikon P1000?
at the longer zoom - I think it may struggle. Wide it is certainly fine. I think they improved the accuracy of it after I got mine, but the alignment has to be spot on for the longer zoom.
@@MichaelGoh333 okey dokey, thankyou.
@@MichaelGoh333 what about the new Nikon P950 coming out in Feb 😃
lol - same I think wide/zoom. I note that this tracker doesn't have a moon tracking setting
@@MichaelGoh333 shame that.