Coping with wind & imaging?

[pipnina]

Tonight I went out with my Star Adventurer, hoping to try out some longer exposures of southwest orion (M42 & hopefully bringing out witch's head) but taking a 3 min exposure I found what looked a little like star trails. Checked my alignment and that was OK. Upon getting back to the computer and checking the photos close-up I see it's not trails but wobbly halos around stars where the wind has wobbled my camera about.

The tripod seems stable, all the locks were tightened up but I couldn't stop it wobbling. What techniques should I employ to help with wind? Is the umbrella mightier than the beach tent?

Could have been a great night's imaging otherwise :/ forecast says it's ~17mph winds atm.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated cheers.

[JemC]

You could try hanging a weight off the bottom of the tripod to make it a little more sturdy,
if you are setting up on soft ground/grass you could try putting up a wind break, should help to protect from wind,

[pipnina]

33 minutes ago, JemC said:

You could try hanging a weight off the bottom of the tripod to make it a little more sturdy,
if you are setting up on soft ground/grass you could try putting up a wind break, should help to protect from wind,

If I used the dovetail & counterweight for the Star Adventurer I might be able to prevent the wind blowing it so much? Currently it'sjust tripod -> wedge -> SA -> ballhead -> camera, leaving out the wedge & counterweight.

[geordie85]

I try to figure out which direction the wind is coming from, set up star adventurer, then maneuver my car into place as a wind breaker.

Works well enough for me 

[SteveNickolls]

Sorry to hear your predicament. If you can, add a weight to the tripod to make it more sturdy. You could make/buy a wind break. I've used one for a few years now made from some timber and weed suppressant fabric and bolted together which fits over a fence and gate. I now use it with my Star Adventurer to cut out the chill winds blowing from the North-North East.

Cheers,
Steve