Losmandy Starlapse arrives!

[mithrandir]

The postie had a box for me. :):):)

Now to see if my 190XPROB tripod can cope with the weight.

[blink138]

arr.... it looks like a baby g11!
pat

[Larryp]

Nice bit of gear!

[mithrandir]

Engineered like a G11. I have one of those too.

It's more or less half a G8. It just has the RA motor. The Dec motor is extra.

A quick 60 sec image at 50mm with really rough polar align (yeah, south is around there somewhere and a digital level says something near the right inclination) and almost in focus has round stars. :)

[h0ughy]

how you going for balance there. looks a bit on one side. does the tripod want to topple?

[adman]

Mine should (might) arrive tomorrow. :D

I was worried about my tripod - it's a 055CXPRO3 (http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod3324.htm). It's light and strong, and does a good job of damping vibrations but I think I might feel better with something heftier.

[Octane]

Do want.

How long was the wait, Andrew/Adam?

H

[Omaroo]

Haven't heard diddly about mine yet ... ordered weeks ago. :shrug:

[mithrandir]

David, it does seem a bit one sided, so I pointed one of the tripod legs south, just like you should do with any GEM. The tripod legs have two extension sections and even with only the top one extended it was quite stable. I will see if the 804RC2 head is easier to adjust than the ball head on it today.

The camera is on a short dovetail to allow dec balance and the camera mount slides along the rail to balance RA.

These were taken with my 16-50mm at 50mm, f3.2, 45 sec ISO400 (DSC00381s) and 500mm Samyang Cat (very hard to focus, might have to get the Sony one - ~$1450 ouch), f6.3, 58 secs, ISO800 (DSC00393s), both with pretty poor polar align. No processing other than resize. Hate the Sydney light pollution.

[mithrandir]

I think it was about 3 weeks. Most of that was for Scott to make them. There was no stock at HGM or here.
I got an email from Peter that they arrived Friday, EFTPOS'd the same day (which probably would not appear in ATS' account until Monday), no-one was home to accept delivery Wednesday, picked up from the P/O Thursday.

No complaints. Except from SWMBO about more astro toys.

[Omaroo]

Humayun - I missed out on this batch after having my order in for several weeks. I've cancelled it because all I can get is a commitment to now try and supply another one before the eclipse - maybe. Pity. Vixen Polarie - here I come. I want some time with any unit well before it comes to have to use it to capture a rare event.

[mithrandir]

Chris, I first asked about getting one in about March. The answer then was none available and no date on Losmandy making any. Remember astro gear is a sideline, so they get made when there is a lull in movie gear production. I asked again every couple of months, until I was told probably mid Sep, so getting the invoice last week was a nice surprise.

[Omaroo]

Cheers Andrew. I really appreciate my Losmandy gear. It's beautifully built, is rock-solid, well finished and absolutely reliable. I just wish that Scott would recognise its value to users and produce it with a little more interest. It's almost as though he's asking us to believe that he sits there on the lathe himself. If the astro gear manufacture has to wait until the HGM gear is done, get another damned CNC! LOL

Anyway - A Vixen Polarie has been ordered and will arrive Monday/Tuesday. It's not what I wanted but I can't physically left my G-11 any more. I need to get out into the field and photograph, otherwise I may as well just give the sport away. :shrug:

[multiweb]

I'm also tired of lugging the G11 around. I got a polarie a month ago after talking to Alex Cherney. I used it a couple of times already and it's perfect. I considered the Losmandy alternative but it's still a mount and too heavy. The polarie fits in your pocket and it's set up in 1mn or so. I'm taking it to the eclipse with me as I'll be flying in.

[Omaroo]

Brilliant Marc - that's just what I wanted to hear. Good decision then. :thumbsup: I spoke to Mike this morning as well, and he's very happy with his too. It has a 3.5kg payload limit, and my OM-D plus Tak FS60-C with camera angle adjuster and flattener/reducer weighs in at 2.7kg. Perfect. With lenses - less than half that - around 1.1kg with grip.

Sorry to divert your thread Andrew - it wasn't the intention.

[h0ughy]

well i have all three now - each has a place and use;) Astrotrac, polarie and the Starlapse

[Omaroo]

So what different places do they have David? All I want is to spin a camera around for a few minutes - or to keep an object in basic view for a couple of hours. What specific feature of each isn't available from the others?

[h0ughy]

load , capacity and rotation - you guessed it. as too portability and flexibility;) for different needs.

[Omaroo]

Yep, I would have guessed that. I was after specifics. I'll try and have a chat to you about it in Cairns if we cross paths.

[Peter Ward]

Just curious, as I will be seeing Scott in a couple of weeks. Would starlapse owners and would be owners be interested in a Losmandy tripod dedicated to starlapse heads? How much would you pay? Or is the current use of a photo tripod enough?

BTW Scott did not want to make the product. I hassled him for years, but given his very clever implementation and subsequent popularity of the end product I'm very pleased he capitulated :)
.

[mithrandir]

Peter, my 190XPROB copes with the StarLapse and a DSLR and 500mm lens.

I just switched the 498RC2 ball head for an 804RC2 and that is more stable, but less convenient for terrestrial shooting. I guess that means take both heads and a screwdriver.

Getting the mount dovetail the right way round (put the end with the mount screw closest to the camera so it protrudes further in the other direction) helps the balance. I'm yet to try it with the ST80.

Once you go past that grade of tripod the price goes up quickly, so I'd consider a dedicated mount.

The 190XPROB fits in my usual checked luggage, with room left for a week's clothes. If the mount was much bigger it would mean the StarLapse had to go in my airline maximum size cabin bag and that will be pushing the weight limit. It already has a DSLR with one lens and a camera bag that takes a couple more lenses.

[h0ughy]

well to be honest no more than $500 max - and thats in AUS dollars delivered. I think it rather silly he didnt look at it:P

to answer chris:

the weight limitation for the polarie is spot on, unless you run lithium batteries or a usb battery pack your limited to 2hrs. need a polar scope but extremely portable and you get a great result
the astrotrack can take a substantially larger load better tracking but you are limited to 1h50m then reset but will run all night on a fresh set of batteries, still very portable. also need a polar scope but it has single axis guiding control but has a great mount and is easy to use

only just got the starlapse - yet to put it together but i bought it for the load carrying capacity. i bought it to carry the lunt and the 60D with 200mm lens for the eclipse - no counterweights

[adman]

I asked Peter about them back in May or so. There was a hold up with production due to lack of motors or something...then got an email last week to say they were here. Paid early this week, arrived today.

Only had a quick chance to open the box today at work, but looks great. I am wondering about the tripod though. I will probably make some kind of adapter to fit the tripod of my GSO alt/az mount. I think it will cope with the off centre load a bit better.

In answer to your question about dedicated tripod, Peter, my preference would be for an adapter to fit the GM8 tripod. Other than that I am on the lookout for a beefy pan/tilt head for my camera tripod, as I only have one (slightly dodgy) ball head at the moment.

Adam

[adman]

here's what I did to get mine attached to the top of my GSO alt/az mount.

The wedge is set to 27 degrees altitude - I figure I can vary a few degrees either side without affecting stability too much by lengthening the northern legs or by putting shims under the southern leg. Then I use the mounts azimuth adjustment.

Looking forward to getting it out side and seeing what the 5D3 can do.

Adam