Barn Door Tracker

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Not yet. I went to set it up a couple of nights ago outside, was nice and clear and just wanted to polar align it and give it a few minutes run. Went to get it out and by the time I was ready it was pissing down :evil:
 


Should be clear in spells tonight and all tomoz night. Moon will be big so you won't get anything decent from long exposures, but you should be able to spot any drift by tracing a star over half an hour or so.
 
Anyone fancy a dodge up ???[DOUBLEPOST=1392580795][/DOUBLEPOST]Quick test tonight in the back garden to test the tracking of this thing. Well pleased with the results. Tried a quick focus and made a mess of that but that wasn't really important this time around.
Iso 800
F5.6
300mm with the sigma 120-400
amazed at how much light pollution shows up in the images, it was almost pitch black.
Unedited, straight out the camera.

1 min
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2 min
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k3na1/12571008295/

3 min
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k3na1/12571007955/

I was going to try a wide shot with my 24-70L but I caught the tripod with my foot in the dark, I know CLUMSY c**t, and I couldn't be bothered to re-align it.
 
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Where you getting the clear skies from Ken?

Tracking is a smidge off there, but I fancy it will be OK at 100mm and below. Also, you might need to spend some time practicing focusing - use live view on a bright star, zoom in and focus so the star is as small as possible.
 
smoker said:
Where you getting the clear skies from Ken?

Tracking is a smidge off there, but I fancy it will be OK at 100mm and below. Also, you might need to spend some time practicing focusing - use live view on a bright star, zoom in and focus so the star is as small as possible.
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???
These were taken in my back garden, I haven't really thought about where to go yet, just wanted to make sure that the thing worked before venturing out.
It was a quick test so I wasn't too bothered about spending loads of time focusing. I thought the tracking was ok. The movement of those star was probably about 45 deg vertical and I can't see any movement or stretching in that direction. I did a shot with my 24-70 but it wasn't aligned correctly, after catching the tripod. Was for 1 min and the star trail was very significant.
 
I mean it was clouded out just 20 miles west! You might need to venture out for best results, looking at that orange. :(
 
Yeah I know what you mean. It was almost pitch black in the garden so I was very surprise to see all that orange light pollution.
The sky was quite clear here although looking west I could see the bank of cloud. I live in Ryhope, not far from B&Q.
I had one or two problems with the tracker last night so may do a minor mods to it today.
 
K3NA said:
Yeah I know what you mean. It was almost pitch black in the garden so I was very surprise to see all that orange light pollution.
The sky was quite clear here although looking west I could see the bank of cloud. I live in Ryhope, not far from B&Q.
I had one or two problems with the tracker last night so may do a minor mods to it today.
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Aye, a light pollution filter is pretty essential for long exposure photography from urban areas I'm afraid. In fact, orange crud will even ruin a 3 minute+ exposure from Kielder. I use the Astronomik CLS filter on all my shots, it has a cyan cast but that can be processed out.
 
How do these filters attach. Can you get them that attach to the lens as in normal landscape photography.
I had a bit play in photoshop last night, using some techniques that I have read up on, and managed to get rid of most of the pollution but I did lose some of the fainter stars.
 
K3NA said:
How do these filters attach. Can you get them that attach to the lens as in normal landscape photography.
I had a bit play in photoshop last night, using some techniques that I have read up on, and managed to get rid of most of the pollution but I did lose some of the fainter stars.
Click to expand...

Aye that's the risk. It's a lot easier to remove at source (Sodium emission is quite narrow) than in PP.

Re filter mount - yes, you get them in standard filter thread sizes, but the 77mm is over 300 quid! EOS clip fitting is really nifty - uses a spring clip to fit in the flange in the body, in front of the mirror. I've got a feeling they don't fit pro cameras though, just consumer and prosumer.
 
HebburnMackem said:
I thought this thread had something to do with Altidore when I first glanced at it :lol:
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He couldn't track like this little baby ;)[DOUBLEPOST=1392932617][/DOUBLEPOST]Couple from tonight, same location as previously. Used the 24-70L F2.8 this time. Managed to get better focus also. Again it was just to test the tracking capabilities. Edited these 2 in photoshop.

The Plough/Ursor major
2 min exposure at 35mm, Iso 800, F5.6
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Cassiopaei (in there somewhere )
5 min exposure at 35mm, Iso 800, F5.6
Some very slight trailing in this image when zoomed in.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/k3na1/12662776153/
 
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Tracking and focus look good there. Its a lot easier the shorter you go.

I took a spin up to edmundbyers to try and catch the Aurora. Static tripod for 30s 14mm iso1600:
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smoker said:
2:00am! Should have gone out earlier, seems to have peaked around 11.30-1.30. Wasn't keeping my eye on the websites and typical lack of alert from Aurorawatch.
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I randomly got one the middle of last week?

A few days too early it seems. :lol:
 
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