i dont use a star tracker per say , i use a goto telescope
80mm F5 telescope with camera attached, was exceptionally hazy so focus was off
Just recently got a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer, so not much I can help with but I am having fun with it! Which one did you get @Moab Man? So far, I have only used wide angle lenses with it. I couldnt see and the illuminator thing wasnt cooperating in pitch black, so I generally pointed the tracker at Polaris and was good to go with wide angle lenses up to and including 3 minute exposures. I plan on practicing with longer lenses this weekend.
I bought a SkyWatcher AZ-GTi last December and updated it with the alternate firmware to work in Equitorial mode. With the additional Sky-Adventurer hardware required to mount a camera and angle it right I've been pleasantly surprised by how well it tracks. I don't push the exposures past 1 minute because polar aligning is not that precise. But getting those 40-45 second exposures makes a difference even when you stack.
For comparison, here is my best attempt at Orion Nebula 11 months prior to that last photo above. Taken with D7000 + 150-600mm on a normal tripod. Very short exposure.
Moab Man, the AZ-GTi hit a spot for me with price, payload, and versatility. I spent a good deal of 2019 researching and set a goal to buy in December. I liked the Omegon LX-3 idea, but not enough payload for my Sigma 150-600mm C lens. I was debating the Sky Adventurer and some of the similar electric motor mounts. They had just barely enough payload. But it was watching an amateur shoot video from the AZ-GTi on Youtube that got me to look at it. I kept researching it and it moved to the top of the list since it was only $60 more.
Great photo, especially under the city lights condition. I also like the small galaxy you captured above Andromeda half way to the top of the image (probably M110).
The more I learn, HUGE amount of learning, the better I'm getting. Using a tracker for the stars makes such an incredible difference. I can't wait to see what I can accomplish when I actually know what I'm doing.
This is a 1.5 hour exposure.
You are showing more patience than me in getting 1 to 1.5 hours of combined exposures for your photos. I've more or less have been limiting my sessions to 35 exposures per scene change, which translates to about 20 minutes of combined exposure time since I have the shutter normally open around 40-50 seconds max per exposure. I find for the deep sky stuff, I should look around for better stacking tools that what I am using.
@Moab Man
Great shots! I tried to go out last night but was chased back inside by a nursery of trash pandas and a wandering skunk. I did get some shots of sky and practiced polar alignment, but without an autotracker, I really dont know the sky well enough to find what I want to shoot, even with Sky Guide and Stellarium on my phone showing me what I am supposed to see. Wide angles work great and easy to point and shoot, but once the telephoto goes on, its a best guess kind of thing. My best guess is its all about the practice and the patience.
What do you see out of the camera? is there an indication you got what you want or do you need to stack and process dozens of images before the Nebula and galaxies pop out? Do you take your shots in your yard or is there travel required? What kind of autotracker do you use? PHD2 for software? What about stacking and processing? How do you tote everything around if you do need to travel? Sorry for all the questions, thanks for sharing your shots.