To Stack or to Track - Which is better for Astrophotography?

Тәжірибелік нұсқаулар және стиль

This week I work out To Stack or to Track - Which is better for Astrophotography?
I've had the chance to use a star tracker recently and I wanted to know if it was better to track the stars or to stack my images for a better astrophotography image.
Starry landscape stacker (Mac): sites.google.com/site/starryl...
Sequator (PC): sites.google.com/site/sequato...
Arun Instagram: / cheta_stock
Thanks for the tracker dude!
Astrophotography tutorial playlist: • Astrophotography tutor...
Astrophotography basics: • Sony A7iii Astrophotog...
Starry Landscape Stacker tutorial: • How to STACK ASTRO PHO...
4 ways to remove long exposure noise: • 4 ways to get rid of l...
My Equipment list:
Tracker: amzn.to/2Lr4f7W
Big tripod for tracker: amzn.to/2Ye3AN2
Sony A7iii amzn.to/2IIq4fm
Samyang 14mm amzn.to/31yjBw7
Batis 25mm amzn.to/2WDQKb0
Tamron 28-75mm amzn.to/2MLLwWe
Sony 85mm amzn.to/2WK8phd
Manfrotto 055 Tripod amzn.to/2WEkZyC
Manfrotto ball head amzn.to/2IHrNl3
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Thanks
Mike
mike@boxheadmike.com
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Пікірлер: 209

  • @someofthem
    @someofthem5 жыл бұрын

    I even stack tracked photos

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Now that’s an even better option. I’ve got a set of tracked shots that I need to stack...looking forward to editing those images. Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @gregorwatson731

    @gregorwatson731

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography I'm planning on doing stacked and tracked too for sperical photography. Is that something you've ever done?

  • @dougson56

    @dougson56

    4 жыл бұрын

    I stack and track as well, I captured Comet Neowise in 10 x 30sec exp and captured the ion tail , I now want to track and stack the Milky Way as stacking reduces the noise so in theory you get the best of both worlds.

  • @JoeLancaster

    @JoeLancaster

    4 жыл бұрын

    Stacking will increasingly become the choice with more and more satellite pollution.

  • @TopdogPlayz

    @TopdogPlayz

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@CerberusReborn it’s alright pretty soon off-earth astrophotography will be the “thing” lol

  • @JohnMichnowicz
    @JohnMichnowicz5 жыл бұрын

    As usual a fine tutorial. Always look forward to your videos.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    No worries John, I hope it helps! Thanks for watching! 😁👍

  • @JoeSteinerIII
    @JoeSteinerIIIАй бұрын

    You sir are an excellent explainer!! Ty, this is next level 🍻

  • @fouuladvand48
    @fouuladvand48 Жыл бұрын

    Another nice video of you. I really appreciate your down to earth and directly getting to the point tutorials. Not much big Blablabla. I wanna learn something, I find your video and after I found the information that I was looking for. It was the same with the timelapse videos! Thanks! Would be great seeing you doing more advanced tutorials on different things like astrophotography and timelapses.

  • @guitar_hiro
    @guitar_hiro4 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for these videos. I'm looking to get into astrophotography and your videos are so helpful!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Dean, it is so much fun...although you will end up losing a lot of sleep when you get addicted to it!! 😆 Thanks for watching and commenting, much appreciated! 👍

  • @v.4.vanquishl177
    @v.4.vanquishl1775 жыл бұрын

    Awesome vid as always Can't wait for the next one. Keep up.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    No worries, I hope it helps! Thanks for watching! 😁👍

  • @jesseberdinka1335
    @jesseberdinka13354 жыл бұрын

    Just getting into both tracking and stacking. Thanks for the info!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Great to hear Jesse! They're both great techniques and even better when combined. Thanks for watching. 😁👍

  • @patricktoulze1274
    @patricktoulze1274 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the info.

  • @canaanjh
    @canaanjh2 жыл бұрын

    I remember watching this video during the early parts of the pandemic. There was one sentence around the four minute mark, "if you really get into it, you can track nebulas etc." Thousands of dollars later I am a dedicated Deep Sky Object astro nerd. Thanks a lot Mike.... What did you do to me?! Cheers

  • @tony_r_pierce
    @tony_r_pierce5 жыл бұрын

    Mike, this was a nice video! Some of the astrophotographers I follow are now doing stacked and tracked together for really awesome results -- even producing panoramas that are stunning. I have done stacked with great results using Starry Landscape Stacker, and have begun to use the StarWatcher Star Adventurer for tracking. On my next trip to the darkness I hope to combine the two techniques. Thanks for posting!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Tony! That’s definitely the way to go as the next step. I’m hoping to do the same later in the year and I’ll definitely be making some tutorials on it showing how I get on with it. It’s interesting to see the differences between the two and to see what’s better...so combining the two will produce even better results!! Thanks for watching. 👍

  • @jasonlambert8278
    @jasonlambert82784 жыл бұрын

    Under Oklahoma sky's here. I really enjoy your videos. Very informative for some one starting out. Good Day and good luck on your Asto projects Sir. Subscribed.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Jason. I'm glad they're helping. Thanks for watching, commenting and for subscribing, much appreciated. 👍

  • @shazmalik1
    @shazmalik13 жыл бұрын

    Great video Mike. As a beginner intro AP, but someone who has used telescopes and understands equatorial mounts a little bit, I often wondered how you could use a star tracker to get sharp images of foreground as well as sky, but taking multiple separate images of the foreground and stacking, then blending tracked sky + stacked foreground makes complete sense. Very well explained!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad it was helpful Shahzad! Combining these two processes would definitely be the way to do it. Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @craigattig951
    @craigattig9513 жыл бұрын

    Mike, great video, thanks for sharing. Keep in mind that your foreground shot can be thought of as a completely different exposure. Frame up your composition to get the foreground the way you want it, take a long, non-tracking exposure to capture the foreground to get a nice exposure histogram, eg. a frame at 5-min f2.8 ISO 100 (and maybe even multiple shots to *focus* stack and nail those closer compositional elements!), and then refocus on your stars and get your series of tracking shots. I use an older AstroTrac TT320X tracker, virtually unknown these days, but a great piece of portable kit. I still keep my frames down to 2-3 minutes just to keep my stars as pinpoint as possible... polar alignment can be tough with the AstroTrac.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    That's a good point Craig. It's a good way to look at it to get the foreground as one shot and then the sky as a second set of exposures. The astrotrack looks like an interesting tracker... Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @toshy584
    @toshy5842 жыл бұрын

    Foo Fighters rule. I was just about to buy a tracker, will just try stacking for now. Great vid, subscribed.

  • @VitaminVS
    @VitaminVS5 жыл бұрын

    Was waiting for this comparison. Thanks Mike :)

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    No worries dude! I hope it helps!! I really liked using the tracker but it does take time to set up properly. 😁👍

  • @VitaminVS

    @VitaminVS

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography good things take time bro :)

  • @gordonnorman8259
    @gordonnorman82595 жыл бұрын

    Very timely discussion, Mike - was wondering about this myself, having done some stacking and recently purchased an inexpensive tracker - think you nailed the pros/cons for each nicely.. Thanks!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Gordon! They are both really good ways of getting better astrophotography images...and the next step is to track and stack! 😁 Thanks for watching! 👍

  • @SteveMillerhuntingforfood

    @SteveMillerhuntingforfood

    4 жыл бұрын

    Gordon, which inexpensive tracker did you get?

  • @gordonnorman8259

    @gordonnorman8259

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@SteveMillerhuntingforfood Sifo Move Shoot Move tracker at www.moveshootmove.com/?aff=13

  • @Ry311GP
    @Ry311GP5 жыл бұрын

    Wow I was just wondering about this exact same thing and here you are putting out a video. Great video and extremely informative...so much so that I went ahead and ordered a tracker. It should be here day after never because I as I was checking out they announced the new a7Rmark4. I know it doesn't have a flippy screen or 4k60 but the exposure comp dial has A LOCK!!!!! As near as a perfect camera as you can get as far as vegetables and police are concerned. Anyways thanks.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much dude. 😆 I'm going to get two of them in that case!! 😆👍

  • @davidburchettephotography6513
    @davidburchettephotography65135 жыл бұрын

    Also, when using the tracker you don’t simply align Polaris so it is “in the crosshairs”. It’s usually aligned somewhere in the ring around the center crosshairs (if your viewers get into trackers, they’ll quickly see what I’m talking about). So if you’re going for those long exposures (>1-2mins.) you will benefit from a more precise alignment. There are several pieces of software you can use - I think the one I use is called polar scope align. Excellent video! Great info and well presented. Subbed.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Dave. Most definitely. I should have been more precise on the polar alignment but I will be doing a tutorial on that later in the year and I’ll link that in when I do. Thanks so much for the sub, watching the video and commenting, much appreciated! 😁👍

  • @tony_r_pierce

    @tony_r_pierce

    5 жыл бұрын

    Exactly true! The longer the focal length of the lens, the more critical precise polar alignment becomes.

  • @passsacaglia
    @passsacaglia Жыл бұрын

    I’m on Affinity also, great software esp Photo and Designer! 🥂

  • @cmichaelhaugh8517
    @cmichaelhaugh85174 жыл бұрын

    I’ve been stacking for about a year and am very tempted to get a tracker. The hold up revolves around the fact that I live in upstate NY with lots of clouds, humidity and night haze. To get good night skies I have to travel and dealing with the extra size/weight on airlines is daunting. Thanks for helping make the decision even more difficult.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Haha! It is a tricky one...I know all about travelling with that extra weight...trackers are fantastic but they really are a lump of extra weight. I had to sell mine as I've just moved to Thailand...I couldn't get it all in my hand luggage and my checked baggage was already over... There is a company called shoot move shoot (I think) that makes a really small tracker...if you google them, that might be a solution...🤔

  • @bobtaylor3194

    @bobtaylor3194

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography I came across your video after checking out "Move Shoot Move" and their system looks really cool, and really lightweight. I'm just getting into astro and your video was really helpful. Thx!

  • @bobtaylor3194

    @bobtaylor3194

    3 жыл бұрын

    take a look at "Move Shoot Move". A really small and lightweight tracker. Looks very cool.

  • @stephenwoodburn2970
    @stephenwoodburn29705 жыл бұрын

    I love your astro photography videos, Mike. This one was another great one. I got the starry landscape stacker and was really impressed at how easy it is and how good a job it does. I tried stacking in photoshop once and there is no comparison as far as ease of use goes. I am looking forward to my next Milky Way shoot with the Sony 24mm F1.4. Tracking seems cool. I would love to try it sometime. I really like the colors that you are able to get. Keep up the great work. Cheers!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Stephen! I really enjoyed making this one...I even got approached by another camel spider again...and I have footage of me trying to give it a hefty boot...after which it retreated!! 😆 I was really impressed by the colours I was able to get with the tracker...and when you get your alignment right, it’s amazing how much longer you can keep your shutter open for. The 24mm GM will be a fantastic lens...been trying to get my hands on that for a while!! 😁👍

  • @tony_r_pierce

    @tony_r_pierce

    5 жыл бұрын

    Stephen, if you would like to see a comparison of trackers, check out Peter Zelinka's channel. I have the Star Adventurer, but I think Pete overall prefers the iOptron SkyGuider Pro.

  • @SteveMillerhuntingforfood

    @SteveMillerhuntingforfood

    5 жыл бұрын

    I've been using the Move-shoot-Move tracker. It's really compact, and inexpensive. East to align, using a bright, green laser. www.moveshootmove.com/products/sifo-rotator-for-star-tracking-time-lapse-panorama-photography

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Interesting! How is the polar alignment with that system? Is it pretty straight forward or does it take a while?

  • @stephenwoodburn2970

    @stephenwoodburn2970

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@tony_r_pierce Thanks for the info, Tony. I will check out his channel..

  • @paulfox4636
    @paulfox46363 жыл бұрын

    I bought an iOptron SkyGuider Pro + Ball head attachment a last year and found that the base was terrible. A lot of the KZreadrs recommend upgrading to the William Optics base. After doing that I ended up with a tracker that tracked in RA well enough. I then picked a lens that wouldn't exceed the limits of the tracker. More recently I upgraded my mount to the SkyWatcher HEQ5, which is a much better solution (tracks RA and DEC) to the tracking, and it has a GOTO feature. The HEQ5 cost about AUD$300 less than the SkyGuider Pro with the upgraded base. So I wish I'd just gone with that mount in the first place. If I had gone with the HEQ5 I could have also been less restrictive with the lens. If you're thinking of doing astrophotography... and portability is your main concern, then perhaps one of these trackers is good. If you are not worried about portability, then save your self some time and money and just do it right. I think the rule is "buy the best you can afford", not just what suits you right now because that will change more quickly than you can change your gear, especially if you're on a budget.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Great advice Paul! Buying the best you can afford is always a good approach! Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @Fine_art_aerial
    @Fine_art_aerial3 жыл бұрын

    Dope shirt bro!! I used to have the same one

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks very much!! 😁👍

  • @patrickl3140
    @patrickl31405 жыл бұрын

    Hello Mike, good presentation as usual !! :o) I use small tracking setup (Ioptron) for longer focals than 35mm to keep longer exposure time. Close up images of milkyway with the 85mm or 135mm is giving astonish results. More difficult to combine with a foreground subject but assembly is still possible in post.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Hi Patrick, I hear the loptron is a fantastic little tracker! It’s definitely a little tricky to include a foreground element especially with the longer focal lengths. I try and find a mountain or something higher than me so I can get a more clear part of the atmosphere behind the landscape. 😁👍

  • @patrickl3140

    @patrickl3140

    5 жыл бұрын

    I choose the Ioptron to have a very compact system, able to be placed in the same backpack with cameras. The weak point is a lower loading capability. But as your mount I can align with polar finder. This is enough for short exposure time. For longer time and long focal lenses (>200 and my telescope) I'm using a big AZ6 ...

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Sounds good!! I found the Sky adventurer to be ok, but a bit bulky to travel with. 👍

  • @alejandrokrieger2418
    @alejandrokrieger24182 жыл бұрын

    Excelent!!!

  • @kuba_p
    @kuba_p3 жыл бұрын

    thx so much, I appreciate this.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Great to hear, thanks for watching Jaaqob! 😁👍

  • @thethirdman225
    @thethirdman2255 жыл бұрын

    Hi Mike, there are polar alignment apps like Polar Scope Align, which is free and iOptron Polar Scope, which costs $1.99. Hope this helps. The other thing about tracking is that you can use filtration. This gets both complicated and expensive but it allows the camera to record wavelengths of light not visible to the naked eye. Most popular filters are Hydrogen Alpha and O III and they are very expensive. I have heard of them being available in gel form (which could be attached to the rear of the lens with very small dabs of white glue if your lens doesn't accommodate rear filters) but an internet search has turned up anything. I have not done things like this myself but I understand lot of people take three shots and a dark frame and use the Photoshop channel mixer to blend the images together. I'm poor so I will be doing stacking for quite a while yet!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    That’s great to know, thanks for the info! I have the sam console from Sky-Watcher which gives the polar alignment as well. I’m familiar with dark frames but haven’t used any of the specialised filters. It would be interesting to see the results with those. Haha! I know what you mean...I was lucky to have a friend who lent me his tracker...this photography game is an expensive one isn’t it!!

  • @thethirdman225

    @thethirdman225

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography My pleasure Mike. Enjoying your videos. Finally got out a few weeks ago and gave it a shot and apart from a few minor technical problems, I actually got something I was happy with. Next time I'll be trying stacking. I used both my A7r and M43, largely because of your four-way comparison video and I was really surprised and very satisfied with the results. The Olympus did really well, especially when the specialised noise reduction setting was used in Olympus Workspace. This has given me a kind of roadmap for what I want to do next and what to expect.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    That's awesome!! I've been surprised time and time again with the smaller sensor cameras and more budget line cameras... Great to hear you have a plan of what to do next!

  • @AlexandreLollini
    @AlexandreLollini4 жыл бұрын

    There is an ideal combination of ISO and exposure time per image sensor (Canon 6D 1600 or 3200 iso and 3 minutes for example) to get the most light and colors, stop down at least one stop below max of the lens, then both track and stack the result images with white and dark frames, the results are mind blowing. (with no foreground) And I use DeepSkyStacker.

  • @SonoranAstro

    @SonoranAstro

    10 ай бұрын

    can you find “sweet spot” data for sensors online?

  • @mrbrawlpowder7736
    @mrbrawlpowder77364 жыл бұрын

    very great video, thank you so much :D

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    You're very welcome!

  • @Justice_Hammer
    @Justice_Hammer4 жыл бұрын

    The next thing for you to do: Try tracking the Milky Way at 100-200mm or so and by taking a number of photos (like a gigapixel panorama) you can end up with a Milky Way shot with much higher resolution. You arrange the photos as you would a regular panorama. I’ve gotten some insane looking images with 130mm (100mm F2.0 and a 1.3x crop) then making a panorama of the resulting images. I’d say 85mm at the low end and 200mm if you have all night to cover enough of the sky.

  • @rupertholmes9809
    @rupertholmes98092 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge Mike! If were to stack tracked images of the MW how many exposures do you recommend and also is there an interval I should follow to cool the sensor

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hi Rupert, that depends on so many different variables ... first of all you need a well set up tracker ... if it is not set up well, you'll get some kind of movement in the stars. I had a friend who would just throw it together and do a really rough track and his exposure times were much shorter than I could get. If I spend a lot of time tracking properly I can end up being able to get around an 8 minute exposure time without any visible drifting with the shorter focal lengths ... up to 100mm or so. Then you have to consider your ambient temperature. If it is low, you don't have to stack with such long exposures and wide field shots but if it is hot, the long exposure noise will really show itself. for deep space objects, the more data the better. It really is a case of testing the kit that you have and getting to know it by spending time out under the stars. Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @duststar1265
    @duststar12653 жыл бұрын

    Both. Both is good.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Indeed they are! Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @yvonpiret6436
    @yvonpiret64363 жыл бұрын

    Hello again Mike, normally when I take a photo of the milky way, I use a 11-16mm tokina, 20/25 seconds, 1600/3200 iso (1 shot) If I wanted to stack them, what would be the settings? Thank you. I love all your videos, you are precise, straight to the point, clear, and perfect English (better than mine) 😁 Ciao from Sicily!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Yvon!! To stack them, take them as normal...with those exact settings. Then take more shots with those same settings with the lens cap on (these will be your dark frames). This will then help the program determine what is noise and what is noise and what is meant to be in the shot. Then when you load the images in to sequator or starry landscape stacker, load your main images as light frames and then the dark frames in as well and let the program process them all into a much cleaner image. Here is my tutorial on starry landscape stacker: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pHmJm82Jc9rVpLA.html&t

  • @David_Glazebrook
    @David_Glazebrook4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your info here Mike. The major difference I get from your comparison is the depth of colour in the resulting images. Can't the stacked image be "lifted" in colour depth in post processing to get similar result/effect as the tracked image?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks David. Yep, you’re right. The colour can be lifted in the stacked image but I didn’t want to play with it too much so we could see the initial starting point I got from the two processes alone. I think when tracked properly, you can get really deep rich colours as a starting point whereas the tracked image needs a little help...they are both viable options though and I stack a lot of my images now, when I’m travelling and don’t have my tracker with me. Thanks for watching. 👍

  • @Tw1x5000

    @Tw1x5000

    4 жыл бұрын

    you can't boost something your camera didn't even capture... like very faint nebulas i captured northamerica nebula last week - yesterday i stacked 500 untracked shots (that took about 2 hours!), each light frame 2 seconds @170mm f/5 and the stacked image was very greyish with a very very very faint redish tint here and there... my camera didn't capture enough of that color, so i can't boost it :-) this is the point why i'm looking forward to buy a tracker - or a telescope mount (for a telescope later and the camera now)

  • @khun13foto12
    @khun13foto123 жыл бұрын

    Good Tutorials, Thank you Teacher

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    And thank you for watching. 😁👍

  • @khun13foto12

    @khun13foto12

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography What's your IG name?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    It's @boxheadmike 😁👍

  • @neild108
    @neild1084 жыл бұрын

    Very informative Mike--much appreciated. Do you know if it is OK to combine photo files that are identical except for ISO? I have 7 shots in which two are at ISO 5000 and 5 at ISO 6400. I would be using Sequator, which I realize is not your program of choice, but would doing this mess up Starry Landscape Tracker?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    That's a good question Neil. The best bet would be to try it out. Sequator is quite intuitive and I think it's free so there's no harm in trying it out if you already have the photos. 👍

  • @Mirsab
    @Mirsab2 жыл бұрын

    I live in Dubai and it's super polluted with light but I want to get into astrophotography...I look up Arun's Instagram and seems like he lives in United Arab Emirates as well, making me excited for what I can capture from UAE without having to go to some mountain area in another country.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    2 жыл бұрын

    Arun is the guy to talk to about locations! 👍 Out in the Empty Quarter there are some great locations for astro. You just need to get away from any of the cities and even the small towns out in the desert. I always enjoyed heading out to Liwa whenever there's a new moon. 😁👍

  • @brucemullis479
    @brucemullis4795 жыл бұрын

    I have a Ioptron Skyguider Pro. Used it some in the backyard and got good results . Tried loading Sequator but my computer doesn't want to save it. I can use it but was unable to save it to the computer for some reason . Thanks for the video.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    That's strange...I was able to get it on to my workstation...🤔 not sure what is happening there. So the Ioptron Skyguider pro is a good unit then? I looked at that but luckily my friend lent me his spare one to use for the year. They are fantastic bits of kit aren't they!? 👍

  • @brucemullis479

    @brucemullis479

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography could be an issue with my anti virus program. Will have to try again. Yes I love the Ioptron, I use the Polar Findrr app and takes 5 minutes to set up . Have had no star trails with a 200mm lens and about a 5 minute exposure. Still need to take it to a dark sky site.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thats great to hear Bruce..5 minutes with the 200mm is really good! Yes, sometime the antivirus programs can stop just about everything!! 👍

  • @TheBMCRET
    @TheBMCRET3 жыл бұрын

    I use the Canon T2i does work on it? Great channel I have been learning a lot from you.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes definitely. You will need a fast lens for it though...I used to use the Canon 600D which is the t3i but has the same sensor as the t2i. I used it first off with the sigma 10-20mm but the aperture wasn't huge. I think the samyang/rokinon 12mm would be fantastic with that sensor: amzn.to/2TkzhQO Thanks for watching. 😁👍

  • @mikeries8549
    @mikeries85494 жыл бұрын

    I'm looking at the sequator download page and it's not just one little quick plug n play thing. There are lots of downloads and it appears like they've been patching it as they go which is fine but I get lost in the details. You have to install Microsoft visual C++ as well. I'm lost. Thought it'd be easier.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    That sounds frustrating. I'm going to make a tutorial on using sequator soon as I'm moving away from apple computers, so keep an eye out for that one. 👍

  • @videomaker8532
    @videomaker85324 жыл бұрын

    You can also use affinity photos

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the tip!! 😁👍

  • @chryseass.5143
    @chryseass.51435 жыл бұрын

    This was really interesting, Mike. I am often in a dark skies location ( not a warm one, though!) and think it would be fun to try and capture the stars. I think I would need a headlamp as well to find my way to a good spot to shoot. I have been considering buying the Sony 24 f1.4 G master lens and need a good "excuse" ha, ha. I currently have the a7iii which should be good enough but am thinking that a7riii could be in my future if the prices drop significantly. I am going to check out your recommendation for the Windows free program to stack.( baby steps!) . The image with the tracking was definitely more compelling. I really appreciate your channel, Mike; :I have been with you since the start!

  • @Eli-lb1lc

    @Eli-lb1lc

    5 жыл бұрын

    Chryseas S. Just ordered the 24mm 1.4 GM for my a7riii. Excited to try it for some Astro in Switzerland.

  • @chryseass.5143

    @chryseass.5143

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@Eli-lb1lc I have been wanting that lens since it was released! I am still 'debating ' between that and the Tamron 17-'28 f2.8 ( trying to be practical!) but I know in my heart that I really covet the GMaster lens! Please report back after you have tried it out!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    The 24mm gmaster is a fantastic Astro lens! I’d highly recommend it! If it’s a bit out of your budget the batis 25mm f2 is also fantastic and I got mine for about $600 second hand! It’s definitely worth doing single shots to start with to get used to the basics, then start stacking and after that tracking. And for the pc, sequator looks great. I’ll be doing a tutorial on using it later in the year.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Eli, I bet you’ll get some amazing shots with that lens in Switzerland! We were in northern Italy last year and saw some amazing night skies!! 😁👍

  • @chryseass.5143

    @chryseass.5143

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Thanks Mike. Have you tried using the Sony 28 f.2 ? I already own that lens and could try that out in the meantime ( although I am lusting after that 24GM lens and have yet to hear anybody not rave about it!) I am in a big urban city so no chance of taking stars until I get back to my remote Island!

  • @madhavsharma6643
    @madhavsharma66433 жыл бұрын

    Wbat i needed

  • @videomaker8532
    @videomaker85324 жыл бұрын

    Tracking is better because you get more detail, color, and the same type of noise reduction really. Stacking is way less expensive though and it’s easier to do

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    That's an excellent summary of this video! 😆 Stacking for budget conscious people, tracker for IQ chasers!! Thanks for watching. 😁👍

  • @Dodo_Nature
    @Dodo_Nature4 жыл бұрын

    Track and Stack‼️

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Indeed, but if you're a beginner and can't afford a tracker, stacking is a cheap alternative. Thanks for watching. 😁👍

  • @smitchokshi
    @smitchokshi4 жыл бұрын

    Hi - Just saw this video and found super helpful. I've been looking into this star tracker and will definitely use your link. I had a question between the three packs they have. I see that there are more parts included in the pro pack, but is that all necessary? I use sony a7iii as my camera and currently own sony 20mm f1.8. Why doesn't the f stop make difference? I thought you're able to capture more light? Too many questions! Have not been able to find good answers online!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    With the pro pack, it has the wedge to easily get it to the right angle for your latitude, and then the counter weight is good for bigger setups and to keep the sight for polar alignment free from obstructions. I'd go for the pro pack as once you understand how it all works, this will give you the most benefit. With any lens, it will have its sweet spot...and for a lot of lenses this is around F8, give or take a few stops. When you get a good alignment, you can do exposures of 8 minutes plus so this gives you a lot of light, at the best settings for your lens. Does that make sense?

  • @smitchokshi

    @smitchokshi

    4 жыл бұрын

    Mike Smith I will definitely go with pro pack. I didn’t think I would ever use higher than F4 for Astro. This would work better for me as lower f stop lenses tend to be more expensive. I feel I can try wider angle lenses now instead which will be cheaper at higher f stops.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    I was exactly the same. I've always been on the quest for faster and faster lenses but with the introduction of a tracker, it really does open up so many possibilities with lenses. 😁👍

  • @smitchokshi

    @smitchokshi

    4 жыл бұрын

    What kind of lens would you recommend for nebulas? I use Sony a7iii. For milky way I will either go with Samyang 14 mm or Sony 12-24

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Good question. I'm not a deep space shooter, so I wouldn't want to suggest the wrong thing. This guy would probably the better person to ask: kzread.info/dron/n3npsPixgoi_xLdCg9J-LQ.html 👍

  • @tasteslikeawesome
    @tasteslikeawesome3 жыл бұрын

    Both

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your detailed comment! 😆👍

  • @GiTr14
    @GiTr145 жыл бұрын

    How about to set the tracker in the South Hemisphere, where there is no specific star like Polaris?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Hi Gilson, there is a way to do it, and I will be doing a tutorial on tracking later in the year. Basically you need to extend a line from the Southern Cross until it reaches the octant and the point is half way between this line and the Octant...Sounds complicated but it's actually quite straight forward and there are apps to help...the one I use is SAM console (sky watcher app). I hope that helps. 👍

  • @ThePinoyAggie

    @ThePinoyAggie

    4 жыл бұрын

    There is a star to align for the Southern Hemisphere. It’s called Sigma Octantis.

  • @Noealz
    @Noealz5 жыл бұрын

    despite not shooting astrophotography, I think I learned a bit just watching this

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Noe...such a shame you can't get any decent night sky locations in your country...I'd love to see what you could produce if you did get to a good location! Thanks for watching and commenting dude! 👍

  • @simonpepper5053
    @simonpepper50533 жыл бұрын

    Ok I have a tracker and I stack my issue is the bloody foreground. That’s blurring as we know it will how do you merge to files together? Can you do a video or hints on this please?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi Simon, I'll see what I can do for a future video. ...what software do you use? Photoshop is by far the best option with layers for blending the foreground into a good sky stack. If you search for that, you might find some good videos on it. Thanks for watching. 👍

  • @simonpepper5053

    @simonpepper5053

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography yep I have ps. I will keep looking thanks

  • @sailingfromswitzerland
    @sailingfromswitzerland3 жыл бұрын

    What would be the benefits of stacking multiple tracked photos?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Stacking tracked shots would give you more data in one frame. Astrophotography (especially deep space astro) is all about collecting data and then collating it. So the more time you get with the shutter open collecting light from the celestial object out there, the more info you will have to work with...in theory. Thanks for watching 👍

  • @hertsman5
    @hertsman54 жыл бұрын

    Hi - I am completely new to Astrophotography - I have a Canon 5d Mark ii and was wondering what file format is best to choose for stacking please ?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Are you referring to the file that the camera saves? If so, set your camera to RAW in camera and then go through the process as I did in this video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pHmJm82Jc9rVpLA.html&t Thanks for watching. 👍

  • @hertsman5

    @hertsman5

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography - hi Mike , thanks for a quick reply and I will watch your video aswell..

  • @Lquiyasm
    @Lquiyasm4 жыл бұрын

    Is there any reason not to stack a series of tracked images? I mean, if its a planet you are tracking rotation of the object might be a reason not to, but what about nebulas or galaxys?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Deep space photographers will do just that. Stack and track. I just made this to show the differences if someone was thinking about buying a tracker but wasn't sure they could afford it. 👍

  • @Lquiyasm

    @Lquiyasm

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography thanks Mike, i found a grat answer just a fee comments bellow too. I think my first atempt Will be to stack a.few earlly sunrise or late evening landscape 2 ir 3 exposure eaxh photos and then Will try to stitch some panoramas with those. If ir goes well Will try to replicate with More exposures and attempt to build a mosaic of stacked pices of the milky way. That will give me some time buid experience before picking a tracker and

  • @fabriziocanale9768
    @fabriziocanale97684 жыл бұрын

    Hello Mike, I tried to stacki images with Starry Landscape on my iMac but I have always had some problems. The app kept saying that the image had to be taken with the same settings. I shot 10 images, the flat ones, and then 10 dark frames; same iso, aperture and time of exposure. What did I do wrong?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    That is strange...were you in manual mode? There must be a setting that is recorded in the metadata that is causing the program to put this message up...it might be worth getting in contact with the developer...they might be able to give you a clearer answer to your problem. Sorry I couldn't help more.

  • @fabriziocanale9768

    @fabriziocanale9768

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Mike for replying me. I was in Manual mode. Ad you suggested, I will try to email to the developer. Thanks again, Fabrizio

  • @Antoni_Hjalmarsson
    @Antoni_Hjalmarsson5 жыл бұрын

    i just got a tracker and now its raining every single day.... :( hopefully i'll get some clear skies at the end of next week to try it out

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    It's always the same Antoni...as soon as you buy a cool bit of kit...the weather always gets in the way...I'm sure your persistence will pay off in the end though! 😁👍

  • @kalef1234
    @kalef12342 жыл бұрын

    @5:30 wow you can really see Sony's WONDERFUL RAW file bakery at full work here 😅

  • @ThePinoyAggie
    @ThePinoyAggie4 жыл бұрын

    Imagine if you could combine the two: stacked tracked images!

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Most definitely!! Once we're allowed back outside, I have a video planned on that very subject!! It would be really interesting to see how much detail we could get out of the milkyway and other deep space objects!! 😁👍

  • @kalef1234

    @kalef1234

    2 жыл бұрын

    next step....personal space telescope in orbit

  • @earavichandran
    @earavichandran5 жыл бұрын

    😇😇😇 Already failed twice in taking Milky way. I am in LKG. Lots of steps to achieve PhD.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    ...so you’re two steps closer to succeeding! 😁👍

  • @earavichandran

    @earavichandran

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Wow. I like your positive attitude. I understand your success now. Nice motivation.😀😀🌹🌹

  • @PatrickGuerrisi
    @PatrickGuerrisi3 жыл бұрын

    Hey Mike. This video is a year old now. What method do you prefer? Stacking or tracking

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hey Patrick, unfortunately I haven't had the chance to go out and shoot the stars since then...covid...moving countries...living in a city with about a bottle 9 level has really hindered my astrophotography... I've been planning an astrophotography shoot down south in the islands soon though so hopefully this will change soon. 😁👍

  • @PatrickGuerrisi

    @PatrickGuerrisi

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography are you in the UK? Heard it's bad there. 2020 I didn't do any astro we had strict lockdowns. But I bought the skyguider pro, learning how to use it Had one or two people say it's not worth it for wide shots when you can stack but the comparison you show in this video is much better tracked

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    No, we've been away from the UK for so long now and this pandemic is making distances feel so much bigger... we're in Thailand at the moment...Bangkok is a very bright city...😆🤦🏻‍♂️ It's amazing how good trackers are when you allign them properly. I think they're fantastic for both widefield and deep objects...they just give your camera more time to collect light. 👍

  • @Justice_Hammer
    @Justice_Hammer2 жыл бұрын

    The answer is simple: both

  • @grt6802
    @grt68023 жыл бұрын

    Does standard tripod can equip a tracker? sorry for my english😥

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    No worries. You need to check to see the weight capacity of your tripod and then the weight of the tracker you're thinking of getting together with the camera and lens. As long as it's all within the capacity of the tripod weight limit, you'll be ok. Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @grt6802

    @grt6802

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography the tripod the I'm using is benro t600ex it can hold a weight of up to 3000grams but I'm afraid how to equip the star tracker😢

  • @grt6802

    @grt6802

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hope for your another reply

  • @th3challenger895
    @th3challenger8953 жыл бұрын

    My milky way shots don't come out with much color I need help.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    When you shoot RAW images, they will look a little flat. Have you checked out my editing astrophotography tutorial yet? That might help... kzread.info/dash/bejne/damXmreoo8fKeJs.html&t I hope that helps. 😁👍

  • @th3challenger895

    @th3challenger895

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography The video really helped me but unfortunately I dont have a laptop or pc.Is there a way to do it with youre phone?

  • @nguyenhaianh3003
    @nguyenhaianh30034 жыл бұрын

    Can I use a 400mm telescope to stack photos? Btw nice video

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks! Yes you definitely can. If you get a tracker mount, you can even connect it up to a computer and tether those images. I've never done it but a few of my friends have huge telescope rigs that they do that with. 👍

  • @nguyenhaianh3003

    @nguyenhaianh3003

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography I dont have a tracker and I calculated that I can only do a 0,82 exposure :((((

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    That's the downside of longer focal lengths. Some Trackers aren't that expensive so it might be worth getting. It's amazing what photos you'll be able to get.

  • @4sapphireb
    @4sapphireb3 жыл бұрын

    Coke vs Pepsi? Some people have strong opinions. I'm a tracker for life. You can stop down and have tight corners and round stars. I don't care how awesome your lens is, it's much better stopped down 2 stops from maximum

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Most definitely, if you have the time tracking gets so much data into the camera!! Thanks for watching 😁👍

  • @4sapphireb

    @4sapphireb

    Жыл бұрын

    I find it more challenging to track better and have more fun tracking

  • @raghulkarthik6297
    @raghulkarthik62975 жыл бұрын

    Hi ! one small help ! will you clarify that ? I jus dropped my cam i dint notice anything at that time yesterday when i started to change my lens i saw the sensor is shaking ? what happens whn these things happens how to rectify that

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Was the camera turned off when you changed the lens? If so, then the sensor does wobble when you move the camera about when turned off. Also has the drop changed how the camera takes photographs or video?

  • @raghulkarthik6297

    @raghulkarthik6297

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography yeah the camera is turned off , i dint notice any change in taking pictures ! but i am having fear to see :( does this change make diff hereafter ? or should i go to check service centre near by

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    This is normal. When the camera is turned off, the sensor looks like it wobbles all over the place. This is because the stabilisation motors are off and it’s free to move with any movement you put into it. Nothing to worry about really. If your images start to become blurry when they shouldn’t, that’s when you should get it checked out.

  • @raghulkarthik6297

    @raghulkarthik6297

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Thanks alot ❤️

  • @raghulkarthik6297

    @raghulkarthik6297

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Will you please do video of filters , Lightings , and the better photography tips in day and night time , iam jus learning from your video so it is hlpful at high cost

  • @quantavious8959
    @quantavious89593 жыл бұрын

    ANybody have an idea of a really ceap eq mount?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    There is one from a company called move shoot move...it looks good as is pretty cheap. www.moveshootmove.com/collections/sifo-rotator/products/sifo-rotator-for-star-tracking-time-lapse-panorama-photography?aff=13 👍

  • @quantavious8959

    @quantavious8959

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Thanks so much man! you deserve way more subs, subbed btw.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    No worries, I hope it helps...and thanks for the sub! 😁👍

  • @montewestlund8195
    @montewestlund81954 жыл бұрын

    Why not do both together?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Indeed! 👍

  • @constellationshots3893
    @constellationshots38933 жыл бұрын

    doing both is a lot better

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Definitely, but for people who can't afford a tracker, this shows that stacking on it's own can give good results. Thanks for watching. 👍

  • @constellationshots3893

    @constellationshots3893

    3 жыл бұрын

    Mike Smith you have a point I guess the reason I do both is because l prefer deep sky which need hours and have days going through images.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Most definitely...for deep space, tracking and stacking is the only way to get really good images. 😁👍

  • @simoc185
    @simoc1855 жыл бұрын

    Why not track and stack both of them?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    That is the next step in astrophotography progression. Thanks for watching. 👍

  • @simoc185

    @simoc185

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Thanks to you, your videos are inspirational

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much Simone!! 😁👍

  • @Graeme_Lastname
    @Graeme_Lastname3 жыл бұрын

    Can't see polaris. Now what?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    Then you'll need to stack your images instead. 👍

  • @Graeme_Lastname

    @Graeme_Lastname

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Made by flat earthers? ;)

  • @anonymus8760
    @anonymus8760 Жыл бұрын

    This question can easily be answered with "why not both?"

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    Жыл бұрын

    That would work, although some people like the ease of moving from shot to shot quickly, and this is where tracking is a little slower with the setup time. Thanks for watching 👍

  • @anonymus8760

    @anonymus8760

    Жыл бұрын

    @@mikesphotography Yes, depending on where and what you shoot moving from to place to place is absolutely an option.

  • @adventureswithfrodo2721
    @adventureswithfrodo27214 жыл бұрын

    You are not telling it all.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    Ok...would you care to elaborate?

  • @DrCantinero
    @DrCantinero8 ай бұрын

    Answer: to stack a track

  • @LuisCypher6661
    @LuisCypher66614 жыл бұрын

    So most people stack tracked pictures. Only way to achieve hours of exposure. So whats the point of this video?

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    4 жыл бұрын

    So eloquently put...Some people who are just getting in to astrophotography may be thinking of buying a tracker but are not sure whether to spend the money or not...so if they were already stacking, this might just open their eyes to tracking...but you're obviously way too advanced for this video master...

  • @fastamv.9896
    @fastamv.98963 жыл бұрын

    There is no OR about it, if you want a half decent image then you stack, regardless of whether you tracked or not.

  • @mikesphotography

    @mikesphotography

    3 жыл бұрын

    OK....thanks for your input. 👍

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