cosmos; 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯 1.) the universe or universality of all things created in nature; -- so named from the order and harmony displayed in it
“Cosmos is a Greek word for the order of the universe. It is, in a way, the opposite of Chaos. It implies the deep interconnectedness of all things. It conveys awe for the intricate and subtle way in which the universe is put together.” - Carl Sagan
Filmmaker & Astrophotographer on the MN north shore of Lake Superior.
This channel is made for people wanting to connect deeper to planet Earth and the Cosmos. I film videos about my astronomy process, as well as my wilderness treks, with the goal of promoting sustainability for our pale blue dot.
I love to share the wonders of the boreal wilderness surrounding the Lake Superior region. I sincerely hope you can find a sense of peace, solitude and a greater connection with nature through my videos, while also learning about how you can explore the wilderness and cosmos for yourself!
Here is a cry for help. Searched the Web for help but nada. All pug back together and everything working. BUT .. live view will only stay on for a split second. Anyone experienced similar? Glad you inspired me to dive in. Thanks
Hey there! Does the LCD work okay? Are you only having issue with live view and not anything else? If the LCD works fine it could be a connection from the sensor to the motherboard. If the LCD isnt working at all one of the first cables you undo inside the camera is the LCD wire. I believe theres a youtube video out there where someone fixed their lcd as well as astromodified their T3i. Maybe check their video out? I wish you the best in finding a solution!
@@KJsCosmos Thanks for your reply. Nothing works now,as touched the capacitor by accident(ouch!) . The camera is now in the DSLR graveyard with a broken Nikon d7000. Thanks
Nice video. What settings do you suggest for a DSLR? I can record the stars but don't get any of the detail of a nebula for example. I have an 18-35 1.8 lens and an 18 300 3.5 lens. Thanx for any help you can give. I use the Star Adventurer 2i, it tracks nicely and get several photos but missing the detail.
Depends on the camera and the target. But a good place to start is usually around 60 second exposure, ISO as high as you can go without being to noisy (usually around 800) and aperture near as wide open as possible (lowest f stop number)
Hi I have just received a supposed astromodified t3i which lpf2 filter has been removed.. I notice just shooting some daytime pictures I dont see anything strange in the colors.. how could I make sure is really astromodified and is not a fraud?
That sounds pretty normal. I can shoot regular color on my T3i, it just looks a little red. BEst way to check is to shoot a target heavy in Ha and see if you get good signal. Try Cygnus, North America Nebula, or California Nebula is Perseus to name a couple.
Thanks for the video. I have a sky-watcher Adv GTI. Not sure how to set up the camera after polar aligning. Do I set up the center of the camera view to polaris too? Then, use the GTI feature to navigate to the desired sky location. Oh, and BTW, polaris is not one of the stars in SynScan Pro app I am using to control the GTI. Could you do a video on setting up the GTI, please.
Hey man thanks for the comment! I haven't personally set up the GTI, and I don't own one currently. Once I get my hands on one I can absolutely do a video on it though. Ideally you should be able to just start shooting after you have polar aligned, that would be a matter for using the GoTo function or pointing it manually. I have to get my hands on a GTI unit before I can really give you actionable advice though.
This is a good review of this product. It’s obvious that you are well versed in astrophotography. I started in 1973 with my 8” Celestron, Nikon FTN camera, and many hours sitting behind the eyepiece tracking a star with a joy stick. The technology has come a long way since my days. I have some questions if you don’t mind. 1. I’m using this tracker for the 2024 eclipse. I have a tripod, leveling head and fluid head. Do I need the fluid head? If so, does it go between tripod and drive, or drive and camera? I have a Nikon Z7 II and a Nikon 400 mm lens. I plan on taking a series of exposures from 1/1000th to 4 seconds for HDR images. 2. I have the Nikon App to control the camera from remote. I’m hoping to get all my exposures within 10 seconds without touching the camera. What do you recommend here? Basically I’d like your advice on how to set it up. I’m polar aligning during the day so that’s one factor. It should work ok over my 10 second window. Can I remove the fluid head on the tripod? Keep the leveling head and mount the drive directly to that? Thanks for your help. Paul
Thanks for the kind words, Paul! 1. If I'm not mistaken, you will want to use the tracker directly to the tripod. No fluid head or leveling head is required, if you can mount directly to the 3/8th screw that's probably best. Check 2:26 2. As far as setup goes, that all sounds good. No experience with the Nikon app personally but I am sure it will serve you very well for the eclipse. I would say try your best to get an accurate polar alignment as tough as it may be. At 400m you may get some drift, even at 10 seconds you may have to adjust depending on the drift of your polar alignment. I personally have never photographed an eclipse before so its new territory for me as well! Good luck sir!
@@KJsCosmos What's your opinion on the 30D with 8mp for astrophotography? I have a 7D, but I still use it for wildlife and did not want to covert it. Thanks
@@John-Shutterlyphotos 30D is definitely something worth learning and playing around with. I’d sooner modify that than your 7D that you daily drive for wildlife. Ultimately the 7D will give you a cleaner image, be easier to shoot with and easier to process - but the 30D can still make good images with the right techniques and if it was free, even better! Maybe a good use of it would be to use your 7D for more broadband targets like galaxies and then use the 30D for Ha targets like nebulae. You could also composite the two on a given target to get the broadband signal from the 7D and then shoot with a modded 30D to just add a luminance layer in the nebula and bring that signal out more while still using your 7D. Just some ideas!
Thank you so much for the wonderful introduction. I watched it a couple times, and I very much appreciate your effort on making this video. May I ask, does the motor turn on when the dialpad is turned to astrophotography mode with celestial/solar/lunar tracking? Is there any other step needed if I choose not using the APP mode with WiFi? Thanks!
I have captured data with it, and it honestly works great! All my photos are on my Instagram @kjscosmos and facebook.com/kjscosomos - I will be doing a follow-up video showing the data I've captured on it. It's my main Astro camera to this day!
Hey there! My autofocus does in fact still work, I believe you can still Auto White on it. I just keep it at 5600K all the time and haven't had any issues with editing out the red cast. When I stack my data the color balance isn't an issue either.
Haha, I filmed the entire process from start to finish. If you don't feel comfortable using this video to aid in a modification, that's totally fine! Don't do it.
One thing I did do that I think it is a great idea was... I replaced the IR cut filter with a quartz glass lens. Not only does it protect the sensor, but quarts glass can receive light farther from the UV and IR spectrum than glass can. I also have one on my guiding camera because it allows a lot more light to enter the sensor, close to twice as many stars.
My advise to anyone thinking about getting this mount - It’s a great little piece of kit and certainly got me going with this hobby. However, having used it for the last year I found I quickly outgrew it once I started adding telescopes and guiding. As others have said this mount is designed for lower focal lengths. Personally I would save up and get the gti (or second hand EQ 3/5), the go to capability for a novice will be a lifesaver when trying to navigate the skies, something I found frustrating when star hopping at a fixed 600mm focal length. Polar alignment and balance is key to getting good results from the mount.
I'm really not sure why everyone says you can't use the red dot with declination plate. Yes you can! There's a piece of plastic that comes with the pro pack and you just put that on the declination plate and then attach red dot to that and you're good to go.
Good Video, I just ordered a SA to try a bit of AP. I doubt the SA uses zero backlash gears so you could be experiencing back lash in the gear train which, if the camera and weight are perfectly balanced, COULD cause jitter while tracking (think bump the gear, take up the slack, bump the gear...). Try slightly putting more weight on the east side (either weight or camera) and don't place the camera directly over the tracker. That SHOULD take up any slack in the gears and smooth out its motion IF that's the cause of your 30-50% successful longer exposures. If that helps some try the west side, and use whichever works best IF it helps. Machinists always consider backlash when machining to improve accuracy since most lathes. mills... don't have zero backlash gears due to their added expense. Hope this helps.
Astro-mod: - Remove IR-Filter. Full-Spectrum mod: - Remove IR-Filter. Can someone people tell me the difference? I don't get what exactly is a Astro mod and what a full spectrum mod.
A) Make sure you're grounded before attempting this. Simple to do and it protects your investment. B) Take the top portion of the camera off. Significantly reduced the risk of damaging the top ribbon cables. C) Expect to have to re-adjust the sensor focusing screws at least once. Just a few more checklist items.
After 2 days of trying, I did it! First attempt went poorly: I have an Eos 2000D, which has no documentation on disassembly or anything on RU-vid or Google about astro modding it. Turns out you have to entirely disassemble the case to access all the motherboard screws. I also nearly got electrocuted by the flash capacitor - thank god it happened to my multimeter and not my finger. My torx screwdrivers all got shredded by the Chad torx screws on the sensor assembly. Got a new set, got the sensor out and learned that the sensor assembly is COMPLETELY different to the 600D or the 1000D. It has no piezoelectric cleaning system. The main filter is glued to the bracket with the IR cut filter glued to a sub frame beneath that. I painstakingly peeled the main filter away with a hobby knife and managed to keep it intact. I was less careful with the IR filter because I'd frankly had enough by that stage. AND THEN; I had to reassemble and disassemble the camera 4 times to get it to focus properly, autofocus works as well. If anybody is reading this and made it this far: thank you. Please get a professional if you aren't sure what you're doing. I got very lucky with this.
Hey Kyle, I did a modification and your video is awesome. Thank you! Later on I found out that it actually shifted my focal length and I was not able to focus on infinity with my EF lens anymore. It happens due to a missing layer of refraction between sensor and lens. Since I was also planning to buy a Light Pollution filter, the clip-in from Astronomik resolved the focus issue for me. Also modding the camera also changes the White Balance. Can be fixed by using custom WB mask or can be eliminated while stacking lights and working the post-production stage in RAW format.
