This is really useful for us in the Southern Hemisphere! However, I suggest using the night RA feature in the Spot Stars menu of PhotoPills. That includes a little + reticle in the middle of the screen that makes alignment easier. Thanks for sharing!

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

YES! this helps so much. I think i'm going to do a follow up video, cuz that's a game changer. thank you!

@santiagodemiguel5107

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance Yes, it's really useful! So far, I've only managed to use the MSM in the SH thanks to phone alignment.

@StefanoCiurleo

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance good! Because I cannot find the reticle in PhotoPills 😂😂😂😂😂

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Lol, I'll probably make a short video tomorrow

@yohanchoi2418

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance please do!

I use the AR in the “spot stars” menu of Photopills because it actually gives you a cross on the centre of phone screen…it’s much easier to align your MSM/camera to this cross than guesstimating the centre of phone screen..I also take a white card with me to hold in front of phone camera lens as the cross in photopills is black and can get lot in the dark.

Hello pal!!! I always aligned like that, but JUST resting the phone to the MSM... Love it

@chasingluminance

4 ай бұрын

Glad that has been working for you!

@moisescugat3948

4 ай бұрын

@@chasingluminance Hey... I would like to thank you for all your videos. I am an Olympus ambassador in Spain and your article in the OMSystem webpage and your videos have been a lot helpful to explain how to properly use the OMsystem cameras to people. Following you closely!!

You're a very gifted educator! The phone mount with Photo Pils app Spot Stars "nailed" the Milky Way here in Tennessee extremely well. I used the LiveComp for shots upwards of 5 minutes and no...nadda...single star trace! thank you!!!😁

@chasingluminance

Жыл бұрын

So glad it's working!

Thanks Alex for this video. I am from Australia and I am waiting for the delivery of the MSM rotator and Phone mount.

@chasingluminance

2 жыл бұрын

Hope it works for you... remember to be patient.... I'm currently working with a new set up that is frustrating me.... but gotta keep trying

Alex, this video is very interesting. I reached the best precision with the polar scope, but only after recalibration of the reticle because it was a bit off-center. Your experiment helps to understand the size of the variables in the game of star tracking...priceless...great job! Sorry for my terrible english...

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

your english is just fine! and thank you

Thankyou Alex for all your advice.Hoping to get out soon once all this High cloud disappears in this Northern Hemisphere in the UK.

Thank you, dude. You're awesome.

Thanks for the info, just got my MSM and I have a lot to learn.

Thanks! I really love these types of videos. Keep them coming.

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

You got it

I have watched both of your phone mount videos and think your coverage is great. I do milky way photography in NE Florida Jacksonville that has a lot of sky glow so stars are not that visible with the scope to well and there are two airfields here and in southeast Georgia at Jekyll Island and with air traffic over the atlantic ocean going from south florida to Atlanta (yes the multiple vapor trails show them). If I might add one reason for your star trails is you changed your millimeter to 70mm which will change the SS, maybe a little, from 24mm when you look at the EV's from a starting point to count EV's from. The longer the MM the faster the SS is. Just a thought. Using Spot Stars even the faster the lens like f/1.4 or 1.8 your SS has to be faster the one reason for adjusting to f/4 or 5.6 in Spot Stars like if you used an old f/4 lens to start. Counting EV's from every SS, f# and ISO up and down.

Thanks - that was a very useful video. I love the way you edit to add in the actual photos etc - must take ages! I have previously used a tablet computer just held up against the side of the MSM to achieve the same alignment when I was at the side of the house where I couldn’t see Polaris. I was able to track Orion across the sky for several hours of time lapse.

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

That's an awesome result. I think the idea behind the phone mount is to get the phone away from the body so the electronics don't mess with the phone's magnet... but if it works for you then that's great!

GREAT timing..I just ordered the MSM and phone adapter. I’ll let you know how it goes..you have an awesome channel..THANK YOU!

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Hope it works for you

Great stuff. I have a small back garden area and Polaris is not visible from it, so this could be a real help.

I live in Brazil and started doing the first tests with MSM using Smartphone alignment. Using my Canon 6D and the 24-105mm at 70mm I achieved quite acceptable results with 2 minutes of exposure. The impression I got is that there was a little movement in the stars, which I think were caused by some vibration and not necessarily by incorrect alignment.

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

That's awesome!

That s what I am looking for. Thanks Alex

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Hope it helps, let me know if you have any questions.

I've been speaking with hanna through PM.. I had this all wrong...didn't watch this video when I bought the phone mount, however after watching this I'm now advised lol...I had thought it was to use my phone as a monitor not to align with polaris...thanks Alex.

@chasingluminance

2 жыл бұрын

It can be confusing, but I'm glad this helped

Thx for more tips….probably going to purchase the MSM

@chasingluminance

2 жыл бұрын

Great to hear! Have you seen my buying guide?

Was waiting for this!!

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Sorry it took so long!

Well done. Another useful video 👍🏻

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

Great tips love the Chanel Will try tonight 👌🏻

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Hope you enjoy

You really need to do a test with polar scope align pro. Your setup has to be different as you don't use the middle of the phone screen for alignment. You actually point the top of the phone towards Polaris. You don't need any moon or other visual objects for alignment and using the wedge for fine adjustments works great. When using the polar scope align pro app for best results I believe attaching the phone mount to the side of the MSM will provide the best results.

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

That could be an interesting comparison

Thanks for the video! I happen to have a cell phone mount that I am going to try tonight. I have been shooting Orion from my driveway where Polaris is not visible. Now I can try the MSM.

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

how did it go?

@TonyLazzari

3 жыл бұрын

2nd attempt was better. Getting bogged down in processing but sharpness of a 15 image stack was good. facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10223403346087159&set=pb.1092228965.-2207520000..&type=3 Bernie was an afterthought....

In Photopills, if you go to the “Spot Stars” pill and then to the AR you will get a nice X type target for the polar alignment.

@chasingluminance

2 жыл бұрын

Check out my follow up video

Great idea! Why not use a few small elastic bands or clamps holding the phone to the MSM? This will bring the phone flat to the tracer for more precise aligning using PhotoPills...

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

There's a worry that the electronics in the msm will interfere with the phones GPS if it's that close

@bddsgn

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance ah... or the metal disturbing. Didn't think about that! Thanks... ;-)

I am thinking that one critical element would be, whether or not the phone is perfectly parallel with the move shoot move? In other words, the ball on the adapter would make it difficult to know if you were perfectly parallel. It seems that you are visually verifying that the phone is parallel with the most shoot move. I think that there could be a slight error as to whether they are exactly parallel, which would cause the polar alignment to be off, ever so slightly. This is also maybe why there was a difference in your laser sight alignment, Compared to your phone alignment.. What are your thoughts on having a precise parallel phone/rotator alignment?

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

I have a few thoughts for a follow up video on how to make this a bit more precise. I'll do some measurements and see if the bullhead really is parallel.

ok so when ordering the msm what kit should one get? Great video. I am getting closer.

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

if you want the phone mount they offer the phone kit pro... other than that i usually suggest the pro kit b

Did you level your tripod and just not show that part, as this will account for the stars trailing slightly

Great stuff. However, if using another app like Polar Scope Align Pro instead of PhotoPills which requires the top of the phone to be pointing towards polaris i.e. have the iPhone in line with the top of the MSM (as opposed to in front/pararell with it) is it easy to rotate the ballhead 90º and lock it in place so that the phone is pointing in the same direction as the MSM and in line with the extension arm?

@chasingluminance

Жыл бұрын

Good point. I think that should work with thos, I'll have to check

I like the band-aid

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

It's super

You haven’t said what wired Remote Timer you used please Alex.J

What is the name of the application on your mobile, please? Thank you

I just got my Nomad with the phone mount, and I'm unable to figure out how to make the phone mount parallel to the nomad? The ball head stops short of parallel when I move it into little notch on the side of the socket that holds the ball.

@chasingluminance

3 ай бұрын

Saw your post on Facebook. Seems like things worked out?

@russellbrunet3924

3 ай бұрын

@@chasingluminance actually no. I thought it was straight but it's only parallel side to side. In the other direction it's still out of alignment.

Hey man, can you do an experiment for me? Very slightly loosen your laser so it will spin in the holder and rotate it. See if it stays straight or it moves in a circle. Mine has a giant arc. It's crazy how far off it can be on mine. I guess msm sells a laser now that you can align. I've had mixed results with the cellphone holder too but I never did that visual alignment. Thanks for that tip!

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that laser issue is a real thing... the adjustable laser is much much better kzread.info/dash/bejne/iamMsNWAiJmnqcY.html

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

That's a video I made about the laser issue

@daytimetravel

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance That's perfect, thanks! Also, I love the timelapse at the end of that video. I'm going to search your videos for how you did that.

@StefanoCiurleo

3 жыл бұрын

I had the same problem with the polar scope reticle. I recalibrated it and now the tracking is almost perfect!

@ChrisandNancyTravel

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your video. I like seeing how to calibrate photo pills as well. I have a question regarding the alignment of the cell phone with the body of the move should move rotator. Is it possible the angle of the cell phone could be not exactly parallel with the body of the move shoot move rotator? If so, how could one resolve a potential source of variation?

Alex, if you align but don't immediately start the tracker, won't you be (slightly) out of alignment once you've finished faffing around with the camera?

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

No. Aligned is aligned. You could technically leave it for days before starting

@davidturner5608

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance Of course. Silly Q

Hi Alex, How many mega pixels of your camera? Thanks

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

45... so i probably should have been shooting a bit shorter than 15 seconds

@akkarparkiamopas3401

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasingluminance That is what I am thinking . Cheers

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I was used to the 20meg 6d... kinda went into auto pilot

I didn't see you level your tripod, is it not much of an issue ?

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

Saw the FB comment. it's not as important as I used to think it was,,, as long as the MSM is aligned properly to the pole that's all that really matters

@PortraitsNI

3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking that too as it's aligned to polar

can't do this if there is no sun or moon in the sky right?

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

I've had success calibrating during the day to the sun then waiting until night, but yes, you need somthing in the sky

@zhaooskar3178

3 жыл бұрын

try searching Vixen Optics 35511 on amazon.

Everyone read the pinned comment

I'm sorry, but I don't think your test is valid. You yourself admitted you were "kind of cheating" because you could see Polaris. Do the test when you can't see Polaris and then you will have something..

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

I'm planning a follow up video from my back yard .. can't see Polaris

What is the name of the application on your mobile, please? Thank you

@chasingluminance

3 жыл бұрын

PhotoPills

@shanefns

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks