· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar Equipment Discussions >> Mounts Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland New compact camera tracking mount       #5362945 - 08/11/12 07:43 AM Attachment (205 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Most of us have probably started doing astrophotography with a barn door tracker or with some SLR Piggy backed on a larger mount. Since the Atrotrac came out I was intersted in something that could be used for starfield pictures, compact enough to be taken on a holiday trip. However the size and the price seemed not suitable for this. During the total solar eclipse in Turkey 2006 I would have been happy to have a simple tracking device to make my life easier. At that time I did not want to haul my GEM to Turkey for the eclipse and shot the images using a normal tripod which was quite painfull. Fast forward to 2012 there are now several choices for compact tracking mounts: - Astrotrac - Vixen Polarie - Unitec SWAT-200 But all of them have a price tag that is in the 500 dollar range or even higher... Recently I discovered a new product sold here in Japan that is more compact and priced at 19'800 Yen (250$) that looks really attractive. I went to the shop to check it out today and was surprised that the housing feels really solid and still the weight and size are reasonable. The name of the manufacturer is Sightron and they named the device the "nano Tracker" Here is a link to some online information (Japanese so you may use Google to translate): http://www.kyoei-osaka.jp/SHOP/sightronjpn-nano-tracker.html I hope to make some real life tests in the comming weeks. So far it looks solid and easy to use. best regards Chris Post Extras:       Hikari scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 01/05/11 Loc: Maine, USA Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5363806 - 08/11/12 07:25 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I look forward to seeing your results. Post Extras:       deepskyguy member Reged: 12/16/09 Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: Hikari]       #5364274 - 08/12/12 03:38 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   How about one of these? Celestron AllView Post Extras:       TALK2KEV sage Reged: 03/08/06 Loc: Oklahoma Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: deepskyguy]       #5364552 - 08/12/12 10:55 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Chris looking forward to seeing the pic with thing cool small great for travel easy to carry on a motorcycle Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: TALK2KEV]       #5365941 - 08/13/12 06:42 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   @Deepskyguy That single arm Alt-Az is not really suited in the shown configuration for astrophotography, you will get field rotation.... Furthermore the size of this including tripod is too large and heavy in any case. Images wil not happen soon, the weather is way unstable. As usual when a new toy arrives. regards Chris Post Extras:       SomeDoSomeDont super member Reged: 01/17/10 Loc: deathRay, Michigan Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: deepskyguy]       #5366319 - 08/13/12 12:03 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Celestron ALLVIEW I'd buy it in a heartbeat if they sold it without the tripod. The last thing I want to buy is yet another tripod taking up space. OK so I put in CN classified. Another hassle. Just knock the price by 50$ and I guarantee a sales jump. But for a really inexpensive solution I would consider an armless Meade ETX 70-90 base drive pointed at polaris. Saw one sold like that on the other astroM in 2011. Cheap and no field rotation. But it is a bit heavy. Post Extras:       Ed Wiley professor emeritus Reged: 05/18/05 Loc: Kansas, USA Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: SomeDoSomeDont]       #5367469 - 08/13/12 10:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I like my SkyMemo. Not cheap but well made. The tripod is good for traveling, but I got crazy and put it on my G-11 tripod. Slightly more stable. Ed Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: Ed Wiley]       #5367768 - 08/14/12 05:47 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Ed The Sky Memo is very nicely made, they had it in the store too to get my hands on. But the size and weight is just too much, then you could almost get a CG-5 type mount and only be a little bit larger and heavier... Here in Japan the Sky Memo is offered without tripod for around 68'000 Yen. So about 3.5x as expensive as the NanoTracker. I think it just depends on what you expect from your single axis mount. regards Chris Post Extras:       Pedestal Post Laureate Reged: 03/11/06 Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5368827 - 08/14/12 06:20 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Sightron has been in the riflescope business for many years. Mostly low end stuff, but some good ones also. I would not be afraid of any of their products. Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: Pedestal]       #5421875 - 09/15/12 03:19 AM Attachment (128 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Here a short update regarding the Sightron Nano Tracker. Unfortunately I was not able to produce any photos so far due to time and weather restrictions. But I had a chance to check the tracking ability in an extreme way, that the small device was certainly not built for. I decided to combine the Nano Tracker with a small Borg Alt-AZ mount and put my Takahashi FS-60Q on top. The long lever created with this construction leads to some vibrations when focusing or moving by hand that needs about 3 seconds to stop. However when tracking, the image at the eyepiece show a steady image with no visible vibration which is a pleasant surprise at 40x magnification. No question with just a ball head and a camera on top this tracking platform should perform very well for exposure of several minutes in duration. I am waiting for a chance to test this modular "Frankenmount" on the Moon and Jupiter to see how it performs at higher magnifications. best regards Chris Post Extras:       jmiele Patron Saint? Reged: 12/04/10 Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5422071 - 09/15/12 09:44 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Very cool setup. Interested in how it performs. Joe Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: jmiele]       #5423223 - 09/16/12 02:31 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Just found a link on the Borg blog here in Japan. Seems they sell this combination already since end of June so my idea was not so original... as long as it works I am happy. Here is the link to the Borg site: http://www.tomytec.co.jp/borg/world/blog/2012/06/20120628.html regards Chris Post Extras:       Traveler Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/19/07 Loc: The Netherlands Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5423357 - 09/16/12 08:21 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks for the link Chris. Looks very compact. Post Extras:       hottr6 Pooh-Bah Reged: 06/28/09 Loc: 7,500', Magdalena Mtns, NM Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5423393 - 09/16/12 08:54 AM Attachment (87 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Maybe not very compact (though it does not need a tripod), and a whole lot cheaper, a ETX90 mount can be picked up and modified with a ball-head for less than $50. Post Extras:       jmiele Patron Saint? Reged: 12/04/10 Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: hottr6]       #5423429 - 09/16/12 09:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   That's a darn good idea there. Nice work hottr6! Joe Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: jmiele]       #5425001 - 09/17/12 08:48 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Jepp this will certainly work and for small money. Just a bit big for transport. How heavy is the ETX 90 base? regards Chris Post Extras:       TONGKW scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 01/16/07 Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5425055 - 09/17/12 09:26 AM Attachment (98 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   When traveling I often take my Vixen Polarie star tracker and leaving other heavy stuffs behind. Besides taking pictures of the star field, herewith my Polarie is outfitted for occasional observation of the moon and planets with a mini Borg 50 refractor OTA and a photo tripod. K W TONG C8+CG5 GT, TSA102+HEQ5 PRO, MK67+Voyager, NexStar 6SE, C5+Mizar K, WO ZS80FD+Kenko NES, Megrez 72FD+Kenko KDS, Mini Borg 50, PST Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: TONGKW]       #5426103 - 09/17/12 07:47 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Nice KW basically the same idea! Is this setup stable enough so a camera can be used at the scope for solar eclipse work? regards Chris Post Extras:       Whichwayisnorth professor emeritus Reged: 07/04/11 Loc: Southern California Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: chboss]       #5426454 - 09/17/12 11:00 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I like the Vixen Polarie. I've written a letter to Santa asking for it this Christmas. Hopefully I've been good. Post Extras:       chboss professor emeritus Reged: 03/24/08 Loc: Zurich Switzerland Re: New compact camera tracking mount [Re: Whichwayisnorth]       #5426516 - 09/18/12 12:02 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The Vixen Polarie is well made with a range of accessories such as the tool to adjust angle and direction called "Polariemeter": http://www.vixenoptics.com/mounts/35511.html Santa will certainly agree with your wish. But size, weight and price have finally steered me to the Sightron Nano. regards Chris Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 12 registered and 24 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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