couldnt help myself - got a polarie

[h0ughy (David)]

i got my polarie today from myastroshop via my shippment controller (Al) and tried it out tonight. it seems well worth it. had a 60D with the sigma 18-200IS lens and a battery pack so it wasnt lightweight. it seems to go quite well. i roughtly pointed it to the south pole and took some 45 second shots. focus may have been off but this is a little ripper of a setup which can be deployed at a moments notice. i got the polarie, tripod and the polar finder scope (havent used that bit yet) and a bag.

so pointed at the dogs to see if they would lead me astray, siruis, castor and pupis et al

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Dumb question. What's a polarie?

[h0ughy (David)]

Here it tis

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Ah, cool. So you use a normal tripod and it tracks in RA for you?

[Adelastro1 (Wayne England)]

Thanks for posting this! It looks interesting. I wonder how it compares to the Astrotrac (besides price). The Astrotrac has the limitation of only being able to track for 2 hours before you have to wind the worm gear back to the start which isn't good for time lapses, but I assume that the Polarie has no limitation??

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by troypiggo

Ah, cool. So you use a normal tripod and it tracks in RA for you?

yes

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Adelastro1

Thanks for posting this! It looks interesting. I wonder how it compares to the Astrotrac (besides price). The Astrotrac has the limitation of only being able to track for 2 hours before you have to wind the worm gear back to the start which isn't good for time lapses, but I assume that the Polarie has no limitation??

i will be honest - the astrotrac is better for weight handling and tracking but this unit is a real pack and go job. well worth having it on the shelf..

[iceman (Mike)]

Wow, does it work on a normal tripod?

How much was it?

[iceman (Mike)]

Looks great.

I guess you can point it in 'any' direction if you want to use it for timelapse and not to track in RA?

Did you get the package or just the unit?

[iceman (Mike)]

What are the pros/cons vs the AstroTrac?

[Octane (Humayun)]

Bugger, it supports up to 2 kg load. With a lot of our big cameras, equipped with grip and fast chunky primes, we're looking at 3+ kg at a minimum. D'oh!

I was thinking this might be a perfect lightweight solution to take to NZ with me. Guess not. It was just the right amount of money, too. D'oh!

H

[h0ughy (David)]

will call and discuss

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Bugger, it supports up to 2 kg load. With a lot of our big cameras, equipped with grip and fast chunky primes, we're looking at 3+ kg at a minimum. D'oh!

I was thinking this might be a perfect lightweight solution to take to NZ with me. Guess not. It was just the right amount of money, too. D'oh!

H

it seemed to work with what i had on which would have been about 2.5kg but it needs to weigh down the tripod with sand or a weight. it needs bigger ball joints but will work well with most normal cameras

[iceman (Mike)]

ordered

Will be good out in the Kimberley's

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by iceman

ordered

Will be good out in the Kimberley's

we expect some great shots now

[h0ughy (David)]

oh Mike did you get the package or just the unit?

[iceman (Mike)]

Just the unit.

[alan meehan (Alan)]

Nice shots Dave ,this unit has a lot of potential ,gave mine a try last night as well just getting the hang of how to use it ,i will try again tonight,you were right could use a larger ball mount, perfect for some solar work.
AL

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Looks like one of these might be comming my way for my birthday .
Such a simple design that looks to work very well .
Brian.

Originally Posted by h0ughy

Here it tis

[naskies (Dave)]

Very interesting! I look forward to seeing your results. I think the Polarie may be preferable to an Astrotrac for landscape and casual photographers who just want to capture a "nice" wide field Milky Way without getting too serious into astro?