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View Full Version here: : Best portable DSLR mount


gregbradley
24-07-2012, 09:23 AM
There are a few very portable DSLR mounts.

The 3 I am aware of are:

The Vixen Polarie About US$400 + Shipping has a weight limit of what it can take.
The Losmandy Star Lapse system US$695 + Shipping more professional looking and robust.
The Sywatcher multi tracker $559 its Alt Az, comes with 2 hand controllers and a tripod.

Of these the Skywatcher one comes with a tripod and 2 hand controllers. Its a bit unclear in the marketing if it does panning for time lapses. It implies it will but its unclear. Alt Az mounts typically are not great for tracking but the use of this for me would be up to 5 minute exposures with a DSLR using widefield DSLR lenses like 14-24mm range.
Also to do panning effects whilst doing a time lapse.

Has anyone used the above and can comment about best performance?

My main concern about the Skywatcher is that it will not track well enough for round stars 5 minutes at 50mm.

Greg.

UniPol
24-07-2012, 10:15 AM
Tak Sky Patrol III, no contest.

leon
24-07-2012, 10:23 AM
OooW, I like that Steve, must check it out.

Leon

Steffen
24-07-2012, 10:43 AM
Where does the AstroTrac fit into this field? I notice that it is very expensive.

Cheers
Steffen.

gregbradley
24-07-2012, 10:44 AM
It sounds good for astrophotography but its US$1315 + shipping + GST= close to AUD$1900 and it does not do panning for time lapse which is another thing I would like the mount to do.

So its really the Losmandy versus the Skywatcher.

From what I have read the Polarie is good but very light weight. I am using a Nikon D800E and 14-24 lens (quite heavy, camera is about same or slightly less than 5D3).

Skywaycher used to be called Merlin pano head from what I gather.

I read some complaints about it slipping. But if it has a pole aligning routine in the latest Skyscan that could make it very good.

Greg.

Steffen
24-07-2012, 10:56 AM
Those prices are getting pretty close to the SkyWatcher EQ3Pro goto mount, $900 from Andrews incl tripod and SynScan controller. Only pans in RA or Dec, though… :)

Cheers
Steffen.

beren
24-07-2012, 10:57 AM
:) Like the Tak Sky patrol as well, handles some reasonable weight and I'm sure you can configure to pan, expensive yes but I'm sure you could pick up a used one on AM for a good price.
Takahashi has the new PM-1 coming out that looks good and has a multi-functional role :) costly though.

gregbradley
24-07-2012, 01:07 PM
The Tak looks good. 3 cameras at once!

It looks a bit heavy though. I already have high end mounts and looking for something very airline portable that could be taken overseas or interstate.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Greg.

gregbradley
24-07-2012, 01:08 PM
Yes I saw that. It looks a little heavy though?

Greg.

Steffen
24-07-2012, 01:42 PM
Yes, probably. I haven't seen one in the flesh, but they carry 7kg so they're not going to be ultra-portable.

Cheers
Steffen.

JB80
24-07-2012, 09:23 PM
[QUOTE=gregbradley;877250]
From what I have read the Polarie is good but very light weight. I am using a Nikon D800E and 14-24 lens (quite heavy, camera is about same or slightly less than 5D3).

[QUOTE]


The D800 is about 2.3 lbs loaded with battery?
Unless your 14-24 lens is really heavy your well in the clear with the Polarie.
It will take the PST no worries and most lens combinations unless you want to go overboard in which case you'd likely be better off with a EQ mount anyway with proper lens support.

It is extremely airline portable too. It really takes up next to no space.

DavidTrap
24-07-2012, 10:05 PM
I saw a Polarie on the weekend. My gut instinct was that it would be OK for a small DSLR, but would struggle with a bigger DSLR. Don't really think it's what you're after Greg

DT

Adelastro1
24-07-2012, 10:39 PM
Alex Cherney was using a Polarie the night of the Malin Awards at the Dish and he had a Nikon D3s + 14-24 sitting on it, albeit only using it for Az panning that night so therefore not straining it at all. I think it might struggle with that weight though doing polar tracking because of the angles involved. So it depends what you want to use it for. After seeing it in action I think I'll get a Polarie for panning then maybe another EQ mount system to take the heavy equipment for polar tracking. The Polarie is so small it will be great for travelling. I'll get one for my possible round the world trip next year! ;)

If Alex doesn't reply to this send him a message and ask him for his thoughts. I'd be interested to know more from him about it too!
What do other award winning animators use, such as Phil Hart and Colin Legg?

DavidTrap
24-07-2012, 10:44 PM
Happy to stand corrected from someone who has used one, but I agree with your thoughts that the "RA bearing" might struggle under load. There's nothing to counterbalance the camera's weight.

DT

JB80
24-07-2012, 11:15 PM
I would disagree with that slightly. Sure it has it's limits but as a purely widefield accessory it will take any modern dslr and shorter length lens.
I can't test it's max load out myself or at least haven't thought of a way of testing it's capacity but I'm willing to bet it's a bit over the weight listed.

There is even this guy in Japan who is making up various systems and even with counter balances, with varying success.


http://telescodeliver.blogzine.jp/kousakukoubou/2011/12/vixen-polarieni.html

http://telescodeliver.blogzine.jp/kousakukoubou/2011/12/vixen_polarie_1.html

And there are other bigger setups too.

http://www.singastro.org/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10473

Look for madjohns post on page 2
http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/133868-m45-using-the-new-vixen-polarie-travel-mount/page__st__20
Not to mention the images in his threads speak for them selves.


So I guess depending on what you exactly want it could be perfect for it. If you want to loads lots of things on it then probably not.
It's a solid little unit. It will make light work of any dslr and 18-24mm lens.

I'm not saying that is what Greg should purchase as it may not be for him just I wouldn't write the polarie off because of minor weight concerns.

gregbradley
25-07-2012, 07:25 AM
[QUOTE=JB80;877461][QUOTE=gregbradley;877250]
From what I have read the Polarie is good but very light weight. I am using a Nikon D800E and 14-24 lens (quite heavy, camera is about same or slightly less than 5D3).



I just weighed my D800E, 14-24 lens, grip with 2 batteries total = 5.2lbs.

Camera with body is about 2.25lbs, lens is about 2lbs, grip is about 1lb.

I suppose I could take the grip off and run off a power supply or only use freshly charged batteries. That would take it down to about 4.2lbs which is under the Polarie's limit of 4.4 lbs.

Greg.

gregbradley
25-07-2012, 07:29 AM
[QUOTE=JB80;877461][QUOTE=gregbradley;877250]
From what I have read the Polarie is good but very light weight. I am using a Nikon D800E and 14-24 lens (quite heavy, camera is about same or slightly less than 5D3).



Yes that is a huge plus, the fact it is so small. I really am only after the ability to do 5 minute subs with round stars at 50mm. Anything more than that and I put the camera on my PMX mount.



That's good to know. I'll send him a PM.



Or the Losmandy system which can handle more weight, has less PE (Polarie is about 15arc sec and Losamandy 8). Its a bit more expensive but looks like it can handle the load.

Sywatcher multi function tracker sounds on paper to be good but what little reviews I could find made it sound like it can slip under load.

JB80
25-07-2012, 09:54 AM
[QUOTE=gregbradley;877553]

Minus the grip you would be laughing, but taking a power supply increases what you need to carry so I guess the is always a trade off.
I feel it has more in it than the 4.4 lb limit though but cannot be certain until I find something to load it up with.



Given that if I'm taking my camera with me I'm generally taking a tripod too it can fit real easy in any gap the tripod creates in the luggage, it really is like carrying a vhs around, two if you leave it in the box.

5 min subs may be stretching it though at 50mm. It depends on your latitude though, the higher you go the longer the subs you can take. I'm not sure if that's reversed in the south though.

That said this was a 1 minute sub I took tonight at 300mm and I know that alignment was not perfect and zoomed in there is slight trailing but for 300mm and out of whack it's pretty good.
Mind you the pic itself isn't great due to the LP here and I have only shrunk it's size nothing else.

Waxing_Gibbous
25-07-2012, 12:28 PM
FWIW, Oceanside Phot. & Telescope (OPT) in San Diego seems to have four or five Astro-Trac TT320Xs (used) at aroud the US $500 mark.
I would think shipping would be around US $100.
I've not used the Astro-Trac myself, but a local pro-tographer I know loves his.

Adelastro1
25-07-2012, 09:23 PM
I was looking at this too a while ago but after 2 hours you have to stop it and wind the worm gear back and start it again! No good for long timelapses of several hours! It's fine for single shots though. But it can carry up to 15kg supposedly and is accurate to 5 arcseconds over 5 mins.

gregbradley
26-07-2012, 12:42 PM
The other mount that is interesting is the Skywatcher multi function mount. This also comes with a tripod, has a Synscan controller with a polar align routine. But will an alt az mount allow 5 minute round stars at 50mm???

It also works with the Dynamic Perception dolly system and controller.

But I don't know how well it would work as a tracker for longer exposures with a DSLR.

I suspect all of these mounts are only as good as their polar alignment so the one that makes that the easiest is probably the best one.

I agree the 2 hour limit is a major flunk for the Astrotrac. What a major design flaw! It sounds great apart from that.

Greg.

Bassnut
26-07-2012, 05:39 PM
Check this (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/207087339/radian-a-motion-time-lapse-device-for-everyone)

gregbradley
26-07-2012, 09:56 PM
I've seen that before. Very unusual to be asking for funding for something not available for sale and take it on trust.

Its probably above board but its unusual.

Greg.

RickS
26-07-2012, 10:07 PM
Seems like these devices are flavour of the month on Kickstarter. Here are a couple more:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530895202/astro-time-lapse-motion-control

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/syrp/genie-motion-control-time-lapse-device?ref=live

I'm a backer of the Genie project.

Cheers,
Rick.

MrB
26-07-2012, 10:19 PM
Don't know that I would call it a flaw. It's just different.
Is having to deal with a meridian flip on a GEM a major design flaw? :shrug:

Poita
27-07-2012, 08:56 AM
I wouldn't call a 2 hour limit a flunk, it isn't designed for time-lapse, it is for getting long subs, and 2hours is not an issue there. It has better tracking accuracy than the polarie and a higher weight capacity, that outweighs the rewind issue for the photography I do.

I would look for a different system for time-lapse, (although two hours still is quite usable for a single time-lapse shot).

The Radian on kickstarter looks promising, a pair gives you pan and tilt, the video here is fairly detailed, it looks like they should be able to knock them out for that money.
http://timelapse.org/2012/07/radian-motion-timelapse/

Though you can pick up celestron nexstar refractors for under $300, remove the OTA and pop your camera on there for a computer controlled cheap Alt/Az mount for a camera.

Bassnut
27-07-2012, 10:51 AM
Greg, the kick starter site is for budding entrepreneurs to get public funding for projects. The investor takes a risk and gets in early hopefully cheaper than a commercial product. It's pretty cool, projects don't start till a min amount is raised, and sometimes funding is many times expected, as with the above examples. I invested once. It can take a long time, a year in my case for the project to finish.

gregbradley
27-07-2012, 01:46 PM
It depends on your use. True you do have to do a meridian flip on a GEM but if the object is in the right position you have probably 4 hours of useable tracking for imaging. But 2 hours is a little short for time lapse.

I read an article about time lapse and they suggest going for 300 images. At 30 second exposures and say 10 second gap between images that is 2 hours I suppose. I see Phil Hart and Alex often do much longer.



A flunk may be a bit harsh but my point was it was not well suited for time lapse. I don't know why it has a 2 hour limit - why is that? It seems odd as no other mount has a 2 hour time limit.

I wondered about the Alt Az mounts but I am sceptical that they will track accurately enough. My LX90 would give 30 second shots at 50mm before trailing started. That is pretty pathetic when you think about it. You can get 10 second no tracking round star shots at 50mm so its not doing much.

I am coming to the conclusion the Losmandy system is the best on the market. No time limit, it can handle a decent payload, its upgradeable to autoguiding if you wish and its still very portable and relatively affordable
plus it does both long exposure DSLR imaging and time lapse panning.

Greg.

gregbradley
27-07-2012, 01:48 PM
Thanks for the explanation. Its a good idea to enable some brightspark to get their ideas off the ground.

I am really wanting to do something now though so I'll look for something ready now.

Have you looked at Dynamic Perception Dolly, MX 2 controller and Skywatcher Multi Function mount? They work together and you get dolly panning, the mount panning and tilt so it could be a very good setup.

Greg.

Bassnut
27-07-2012, 01:59 PM
I've only used gear I made, but Phil Hart has a Dyn perception dolly, ask him.

Poita
27-07-2012, 02:03 PM
For me a two hour time-lapse is more than enough before I would want to cut to another angle anyway, for others it wouldn't be. I find a 12.5 second shot (300 frames at 24fps) without a cut would be about as long as I would sustain interest.

The rewind time is about 80 seconds which is not too onerous. The reason for it is just because it is a scissor mount, it is inherent in the design. The autoguiding works well too and the tracking is brilliant.

The losmady is a great system, but is bigger and heavier and the base system has worse tracking, but probably close enough to be okay, people get good results with it.

They each have their market space and both are good products.

I wouldn't want to lug any more weight than the AT really, but I'm a wuss.

gregbradley
27-07-2012, 07:11 PM
Yes you have to evaluate in terms of what you would use it for and what those requirements are.

For me I would usually want longer than 2 hours for time lapse. I am basing that on Phil Hart and Alex Cherney's time lapses. Alex in particular seems to do considerably more than 2 hours. I suppose it depends if you have a dynamic environment that you are imaging to create interest.

The Milky Way simply rising or setting against a backdrop of trees may not be interesting enough for longer than 12.5 seconds. But if you have panning it makes it more interesting and if there is something moving in the shot like ships, traffic, a tree, clouds etc it becomes more able to sustain interest.

Greg.

alexch
31-07-2012, 05:38 PM
I had Nikkor 70-200mm with Sony NEX-5 and a 300gm ballhead (about 2kg of total weight) on the Polarie tracking beautifully for 1 minute shots.
I would say that 1.6kg load specifications on Vixen website are quite conservative and it is capable of 2+ kg of load depending how you mount it.

It is a very well engineered unit.

Cheers,
Alex

NCC-2893
31-07-2012, 05:48 PM
I just picked up the latest sky and telescope and see theres a polarie review in there.