Vixen Polarie

[toilandtrouble123]

Hi there, as some of you know, I love doing wide angle shots, and am looking into getting the Vixen Polarie to use with my Canon 20D, and possibly a 70-300mm lens, if not then the 28-80mm.  If anyone has one, what other pieces of kit would I need to go with it, and recommendations on specifics would be grand. I decided to go for the Polarie over a homemade barn door tracker or astrotrac, as the Polarie seems the most portable for taking on flights and such Thanks

[steppenwolf]

I have a Polarie and am very impressed with it (see my review here).

Other pieces of kit I'd recommend:-

1. The Polarie polarscope - this is a beautifully made accessory that pretty much ensures a perfect enough polar alignment for widefield imaging

2. A suitable tripod - substantial but light enough for grab 'n go. I use the excellent Vixen Porta II Mount.

3. A Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head - fits on your tripod and makes adjustment for polar alignment angle simple and has many other uses for terrestrial imaging too

4. A Ball and Socket head - Manfrotto 494 mini ball head or similar.

[toilandtrouble123]

Thanks for the advice, the vixen is a little heavy for me - I have thoracic muscular and nerve issue.  Would a Velbon one suffice? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Velbon-DF-61-Heavy-Aluminium-Tripod/dp/B00B1Q5R2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429190109&sr=1-1&keywords=velbon+tripod

Thanks

[toilandtrouble123]

Also, why would you need two different tripod heads? 

[toilandtrouble123]

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-manfrotto-compact-light-tripod-black/p1554776 or would this be ok? Seems ideal for my back problem

[steppenwolf]

Would a Velbon one suffice? http://www.amazon.co...s=velbon tripod

Yes that would do fine.

Also, why would you need two different tripod heads?

The one that comes with the tripod will be a little crude to adjust for and maintain polar alignment - best just to use it as a horizontal platform tightened down hard. The 410 replaces the tripod's own head and gives geared adjustment and attachment for the Polarie. The Ball and Socket head allows you to attach the camera to the Polarie and point the camera at any point in the sky because, of course, you can't use the tripod to do this or you'll lose polar alignment!

[toilandtrouble123]

I've come across this, seems a bit bulky but at least there's not so much to put together, what are your thoughts? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Adventurer-travel-mount-imaging/dp/B00LO7QCBY/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1429198592&sr=8-3-fkmr0&keywords=polarie+star+tracker

[AllanJ]

I already had a tripod with an alt-az head , so I screw a short dovetail bar on the base of my Polarie for polar alignment. You can probably get a useable alt-az tripod for less than the cost of the (very nice) Manfrotto Junior.

[happy-kat]

The star adventurer is used by a few members on here and is way better priced for the bundle from First Light Optics.

Davey T uses one quite a lot.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-star-adventurer-astronomy-bundle.html

[toilandtrouble123]

I have quite a heavy duty Velbon Professional tripod which isn't too heavy for me - and man alive is THAT sturdy!! I think that will suffice.  I think I'll go with the Adventurer over the Polarie.. since for the price you can get it at various retailers, its much better than spending £300 just for the little box motor, then the other bits and pieces that you need.  Thanks guys Can't wait for Galloway now, just gotta keep doing a rain-away dance for clear skies in October xx