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luigis
super member
Reged: 07/27/10
Loc: Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: fetoma]
#5199037 - 04/30/12 08:41 PM
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From the specs It doesn't look like it can be guided. It's a nice new product but I wonder if the mount is compatible with a photography tripod. The very nice thing of the Polarie and the AT is that you can do your daytime photography with your tripod and DSLR and then add the tracking unit for the night session. The SmartEQ doesn't look as portable as the AT or the Polarie but it has Goto, so it's probably a nice thing for widefields with a small scope. Very cheap goto, I like!
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ghataa
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/20/11
Loc: Central, NJ
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: luigis]
#5199056 - 04/30/12 08:50 PM
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Luis,
The Polarie is compatible with a standard tripod. I too am intrigued by he SmartEQ. Could be a nice light eq mount with Goto. Thinking I could get this by the CFO as this could be a nice mount for the kids too!
George
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mrturtle
sage
Reged: 08/06/10
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: ChrisBeere]
#5199714 - 05/01/12 09:06 AM
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I own an Astrotrac and its been extensively field tested with excellent results. Its very stable under heavy load (this is more a factor of the tripod you mount it on) and most importantly the polar scope enables you to get a very good alignment. Once setup it tracks with practically zero periodic error.
For focal lengths of upto 50mm you can expect perfect 10-15 minute subs with a basic polar alignment.
If you intend to shoot with longer focal length lenses you will really need to spend time getting a critical polar alignment. This requires a really good geared head, proper polar scope collimation and a lot of practice drift aligning.
With regards to getting the camera modded. Unmodded is fine to start with but you will eventually want to get it modded to get the H-Alpha response you need for the big nebulas.
The most important factor for getting good astrophotographical images is shooting from a really dark site with favourable climactic conditions. Deserts cant be beaten :]
ChrisBeere,
Thank you very much for the firsthand review! 10 to 15 mins on wide sounds amazing for this class of instrument! It sounds like it will be a fun way for me to get my feet wet with AP.
As far as deserts go... well, we don't have them in Pennsylvania, but with a couple hours drive (or more) we have a couple nice areas.
I also appreciate the feedback about the Halpha mods. I will need to work on something longer term for that. My eos 7D is just too big of an investment and my primary for our national park vacations, baby pics, etc..... I guess I'll have to play with the unmodded for a little while till I see just how hard the AP bug bites me and take it from there.
Sincere thanks...
Pete
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DeanS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/12/05
Loc: Central Kentucky
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: ghataa]
#5199734 - 05/01/12 09:18 AM
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I picked up the Polarie with tripod at TSP, the tripod seems stable enough for its intended purpose. Got the polar scope at NEAF for $219. Have never tried a DSLR so will be a newbie to this.
John Davis, Neutronman on this group, has both. He also picked up the Polarie at TSP. He did post a few images with it on a different thread. Perhaps he will respond to this.
A friend that has 2 AT's now, liked the polarie polar scope better and is going to figure a way to mount it to the AT. He spends a lot of time drift aligning his.
A word about service on the AT. He had to send his back for something and it cost him $100 just to get it back to England, and a long wait. Now it has play in the head somewhere and was going to take a couple months to get it back again! He was hoping the rep might exchange it for the demo after the show but he would not, although he did offer to take it back with him to save shipping.
He has to do a review soon for a small 50mm telescope for a magazine and needs a small mount. So he bought a brand new one from a vendor so he had one to do the review while he waited for the other to get fixed, which he will sell later on.
Even after telling the AT guy that he would mention using this mount in the review it did not help. He was not impressed with this level of service although he does like the mount overall.
Have no idea how the service would be for Vixen in the event it needs repair.
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ChrisBeere
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/20/10
Loc: London, UK
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: mrturtle]
#5200044 - 05/01/12 12:25 PM
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Glad to help 
Here is a montage of my 2 weeks in Namibia at Farm Tivoli in the southern Kalahari. All shot with the Astrotrac and a modded Canon 60D
And here are some shots from Kimworthy in Devon, England when the camera was unmodded. First time out in the field at a proper dark site with the Astrotrac.
http://www.astroadventures.co.uk/Pics/Guests/Chris%20Beere/Chris%20Beere.htm
With the unmodded shots i used brute photoshop selective color to enhance the red nebulosity.
You can see the difference in the H-Alpha response between the modded camera and the unmodded camera.
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Sonya
super member
Reged: 06/27/08
Loc: South Texas
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: ChrisBeere]
#5200693 - 05/01/12 07:11 PM
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mrturtle
sage
Reged: 08/06/10
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: Sonya]
#5201735 - 05/02/12 12:21 PM
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I have to agree with Sonya's comments... dang Chris. Those are some perdy pics!!!
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mrturtle
sage
Reged: 08/06/10
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Re: Polarie or Astrotrac???
[Re: DeanS]
#5201770 - 05/02/12 12:35 PM
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I picked up the Polarie with tripod at TSP, the tripod seems stable enough for its intended purpose. Got the polar scope at NEAF for $219. Have never tried a DSLR so will be a newbie to this.
John Davis, Neutronman on this group, has both. He also picked up the Polarie at TSP. He did post a few images with it on a different thread. Perhaps he will respond to this.
A friend that has 2 AT's now, liked the polarie polar scope better and is going to figure a way to mount it to the AT. He spends a lot of time drift aligning his.
A word about service on the AT. He had to send his back for something and it cost him $100 just to get it back to England, and a long wait. Now it has play in the head somewhere and was going to take a couple months to get it back again! He was hoping the rep might exchange it for the demo after the show but he would not, although he did offer to take it back with him to save shipping.
He has to do a review soon for a small 50mm telescope for a magazine and needs a small mount. So he bought a brand new one from a vendor so he had one to do the review while he waited for the other to get fixed, which he will sell later on.
Even after telling the AT guy that he would mention using this mount in the review it did not help. He was not impressed with this level of service although he does like the mount overall.
Have no idea how the service would be for Vixen in the event it needs repair.
Thanks a lot DeanS for sharing your friends experience. Customer support is definitely a factor. And I'm actually a bit surprised. This is such a relatively small hobby that word of mouth is still such a huge factor in equipment purchases.
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