Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | General Gear-talk | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2013 · Polarie Astrophotography

  
 
kodakeos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Polarie Astrophotography


I saw this in Outdoor photographer and thought it sounded cool -
http://shop.vixenoptics.com/p/polarie-astrophotography-mount

Seems pretty 'cheap' compared to the older stuff I was aware of. I could build my own i guess, but easier / better to buy at this price.

Anything else I should investigate or is this pretty good? Thinking of using it On my Markins Q10, with 5D (without grip to save weight) and 35 1.4, 14 2.8, and maybe 135 F2.

Thoughts?



Apr 23, 2013 at 10:18 AM
Sunny Sra
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Polarie Astrophotography


https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1192050


Apr 23, 2013 at 10:40 AM
dgdg
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Polarie Astrophotography


there is a big astrotrac thread in the landscape section you should read. You can compare the two. It comes down to how large of a rig you can accept and how long of a focal length you wish to use. The main downside to the Polarie is the polar scope goes where you attach the camera - you can't confirm precise polar alignment once you point your camera (there is the small port hole on the side for rough alignment), and payload limit is around 6 pounds.

If you have to travel light and do wide field astro landscapes - Polarie will make you happy. If you can pack a bit heavier, want super sharp tracking on a 200-500 mm lens (heavy) - Astrotrac. The Polarie has too much periodic error for the longer focal lengths - stars not as sharp and round.
There is also the Ioptron star/sky tracker which includes a polar scope for the price, but I have not read any comparative reviews vs the Polarie.

I have the polarie and love it. With wide field photography and not too long of an exposure, you should not even need the additional polarie polar scope. Your 135 would probably benefit from the polar scope so you can have 2-5 minute exposures. The Polarie polar scope is well made and extremely accurate for even 600mm fov exposures which are fun to do at times.

I confess, I have the astrotrac now too. I do enjoy using my 400mm lens as an option if I want to image some large astro objects, particularly if there is no appealing landscape before me. It's a matter of preferences. I kluged my polarie scope onto the astrotrac and it is amazing.

Your lenses - It is not unusual to need to stop down the aperture a bit to improve coma
the 35 1.4 has pretty bad coma wide open on full frame, and still some even on crop sensors. stop it down to 2.8 and it should be acceptable to you.
the 14 2.8 II has ok coma - bad on FF wide open but ok on crop. If you stop it down to f4, the coma will show very little on your full frame sensor.
the 135mm has no coma wide open.
So needing a longer exposure with your stopped down lenses will not be an issue with the Polarie! You'll have less noise, less coma and more detail.
Consider Manfrotto geared ball head in order to polar align your Polarie. Ballheads for alignment are very frustrating if not impossible to do accurately except for very wide and relatively short exposures. I am sure someone can do it without ripping their hair out.
You need cable release that allows you to program in your exposures.
Download and play with deep sky stacker once you are comfortable with single exposures and want multiple subs.
You'll need a downsizing stud adapter to screw into your ball head base in order to attach it to the smaller polarie screw stud. I forget the size but the polarie attachment stud is smaller than the standard tripod.
Sturdy tripod is a must.
Your 5DIII is an excellent camera body of course - live view focusing is a breeze, and low noise is wonderful.

In the end, it is the wide astro landscape that I find the most pleasing. The Polarie can do this well.






Apr 23, 2013 at 10:55 AM
kodakeos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Polarie Astrophotography


I ended up going with the ioptron instead of the polarie, as it comes with the polar scope, holds more, and has an app that will help align the north star. Also, same price. Only downside is the rotation of the device has to be done through tripod movement, but you only need to do it once, i think. If not, ill try my leveling base, should be good enough.
plus, its small!



Apr 23, 2013 at 12:47 PM
dgdg
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Polarie Astrophotography


I am eager to hear your results. Some have not liked the included wedge, others no complaints.
You'll want a cheap leveling and panning base combo for this setup. rotating your tripod to align azimuth is probably too crude of a way to do things precisely.

Edited on Apr 23, 2013 at 02:50 PM · View previous versions



Apr 23, 2013 at 02:48 PM
kodakeos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Polarie Astrophotography


I have this one : It rotates well enough. http://bayimages.net/blog/reviews/acratech-leveling-base/


Apr 23, 2013 at 02:50 PM
EB-1
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Polarie Astrophotography


I prefer this one though the usable tripods are limited to RRS and some Gitzos.

EBH



May 02, 2013 at 09:00 PM
EB-1
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Polarie Astrophotography


I prefer this one though the usable tripods are limited to RRS and some Gitzos.

EBH



May 02, 2013 at 09:00 PM





FM Forums | General Gear-talk | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.