Panning time lapse

[alexch]

Hi All,


We went for a short weekend brake to a place near lake Eildon in Victoria and the sky cleared one night for a change.

I wanted to test my motorised Alt-Az mount for panning and set it to turn at the sidereal rate. No matter what direction buttons I pressed on the Synscan handpad it only turned one way. Only the next morning I figured that Synscan simply ignores the direction buttons if the tracking speed is set at 0 and turns according to the configured hemisphere. To make it turn the other way I needed to change S to N in the coordinates.

Although the result is not quite what I had in mind but is nice nonetheless. The first part of the time lapse is illuminated by the gas torches around the house.

Less bandwidth consuming clip on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/18657533)

32MB HD clip (1280x720) in MP4 format (http://users.on.net/%7Eche/Fawlty%20Farm.mp4)


Tech Details: Nikon D700, 14-24mm lens, f/2.8, ISO 3200, 30sec. Orion Teletrack Alt-Az mount.

Thanks for looking,
Alex

[TrevorW]

Nice one Alex well done

[h0ughy]

looks pretty good - i can't beleive you have clear skies? What mount were you using?

EDIT - LOL i finally read it in the post - initially looked over it

[DavidTrap]

I like the effect. Can I just clarify how did you have the tracking set - did you have the mount set in alt-az mode and just let it track an object in the sky? Or is it just swinging in azimuth?

DT

[Mighty_oz]

Very nice, was it using this mount ? http://myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-030K2 or another ?

[alexch]

Thanks, David.
I had it set swinging in azimuth with the arrow locked. It didn't matter though which arrow I pressed it would only move following the stars in azimuth. To change the direction Synscan needs to think I am in the Northern Hemisphere.

[alexch]

Thanks, Trevor.



I can't believe it myself, the seeing was pretty ordinary though.



The mount is this one:
http://www.telescope.com/control/accessories/mounts-and-tripods/orion-teletrack-computerized-goto-altazimuth-telescope-mount

I got it from the USA as it is not available locally. It's the same mount as Skywatcher, just with a different handpad. Orion is considerably cheaper too.

[iceman]

Nice Alex, the panning is going to add an extra dimension to your already brilliant timelapses. Nice work.

[Alchemy]

Lovely, could have watched that for a lot more, music went really well with it too... Just the right ambiance.

[OICURMT]

Not to take anything away from Alex (He is Da'Master), but if you like time-lapse, another great place is http://timescapes.org/ They time-lapse using rails and dollies, giving you an eerie sense of motion.

Simply AWESOME!

[Martin Pugh]

Great stuff!

cheers
Martin

[Paul Haese]

Very nice work Alex. Beautiful colours and well lit foreground. Lovely indeed.

[gregbradley]

Gorgeous. Well thought out and planned and very beautiful.

Greg.

[DavidTrap]

So did you just tape down the arrow key? (Just thinking of how I might achieve a similar effect)

ta
DT

[alexch]

No, I just pushed the key under the plastic cover and it stayed put.

[alexch]

Martin, Paul - thanks heaps for the encouraging comments!



Thanks, Greg.

I had planned something totally different, but had to interrupt the series because the head turned the wrong way, then the lens got dewed although the forecast was for a dry and warm night.

I was surprised that it turned out okay.

[DavidTrap]

Ta, might give this a try sometime

DT

[DCC_028]

Great time lapse Alex! Absolutely amazing!

I just received my Orion Teletrack today. Can you please let me know how you got it to "manually track"? I can't figure it out. Do you have the new "GOTO Mount"?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

[alexch]

Hi Dave,

Mine came with the standard SynScan handpad. You go through the initialisation phase, set your coordinates and skip the alignment process. Tracking is disabled by default. Then press 2 to set slew speed. The speed is from 0 to 9.

0 - sidereal rate (360 degrees in 24 hours). At this rate the handpad ignores which Az direction button you press and turns according to the location coordinates - following the stars if you set S and opposite direction if you set N.

1 - 2x sidereal rate. Direction buttons work as expected

2 - 16x - too fast for night time

Lock the desired Az arrow and it is slewing at the chosen rate. I lock the button by pushing it under the plastic cover.

I don't know how to operate one with a non-goto handpad, but I suspect all you need to do is set the tracking rate and lock the arrow button.

Hope it helps,
Alex

Edit: My instructions were for the Southern Hemisphere and I later noticed you are in Canada. For the Northen Hemisphere it should read:
"Following the stars if you set N and opposite direction if you set S."

[DCC_028]

Thank you so much for the quick response... I feel stupid now! LOL I didn't try it on a fast speed so it never seemed like it was moving. Also, i skipped the set-up part.

Thanks for the help and again, great work. One of the best nighttime time lapses I have seen.

Cheers!

[suma126]

that's magicall Alex well done. :thumbsup:

[OzRob]

I have really liked your timelapses and this is another great one. Have you detailed anywhere how you take them?

[alexch]

Thanks Shane!



Thanks, the info is scattered around various threads. I should put it together as a tutorial one day.

[danielsun]

Stunning work as usual there Alex, the panning effect is awesome!:thumbsup:
Your brilliant work has inspired me and it was only last night that I tried my first go at it.



Cheers Daniel.:)

[Phil Hart]

hey alex

i've been away with camp cooinda (http://campcooinda.asn.au/) for a few weeks but good to see you've been busy in the meantime! glad you've got the panning timelapse working.. there's no turning back now ;) (no pun intended!)

phil

[Jen]

:eyepop: wow Alex i sooo love your work its amazing :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Is there a book for dummies out there somewhere to teach you how to do this :question: i would so love to give it a try one day :D

[Jen]

Jen nods her head yes yes please :D i will be a very good student :D a step by step guide would be lovely :thumbsup:

[DavidTrap]

Sounds like a sterling idea!

DT

[alexch]

I've been planning to do that for some time now, but been inundated with work lately. I'll try my best :)

[Garyh]

Nicely done Alex! Been wanting to try this for ages! Must pull my finger out!
cheers Gary

[Bassnut]

Being in the middle of a timelapse project myself, that is very cool Alex, well done indeed, inspirational.

[Bassnut]

BTW, how many exposures in total?.

[alexch]

Thanks!

614 x 30 sec

[alexch]

An update for those that might find this thread later:


Looks like it was a bug in Synscan AZ firmware 3.04. I upgraded my handpad to firmware version 3.08 and the problem disappeared. The mount moves in line with the directional arrow button at every speed including sidereal (Rate 0)