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Astro Venture
United States
Registrace 3. 05. 2021
Welcome to Astro Venture - New content every Friday.
This is a beginner-friendly astrophotography channel built around simple star trackers, DSLR/mirrorless cameras, and camera lenses. The idea being to dual utilize your photography equipment and minimize how much specialized equipment is needed.
Additionally, there will be equipment reviews, how-to instruction, recommendations, and astrophotography tips.
About me? My name is George Pandoff and I am a photographer that still loves being a photographer. I initially got hooked photographing the Milkyway. What started me down the astrophotography path was a random for the heck of it photograph into the Milky Way for no other reason than to see what I might find. What I captured, I would later learn, was a really poor photograph of the Lagoon Nebula. From there, I was hooked. So feel free to join me on this Astro Venture.
This is a beginner-friendly astrophotography channel built around simple star trackers, DSLR/mirrorless cameras, and camera lenses. The idea being to dual utilize your photography equipment and minimize how much specialized equipment is needed.
Additionally, there will be equipment reviews, how-to instruction, recommendations, and astrophotography tips.
About me? My name is George Pandoff and I am a photographer that still loves being a photographer. I initially got hooked photographing the Milkyway. What started me down the astrophotography path was a random for the heck of it photograph into the Milky Way for no other reason than to see what I might find. What I captured, I would later learn, was a really poor photograph of the Lagoon Nebula. From there, I was hooked. So feel free to join me on this Astro Venture.
How Do I Photograph the Northern Lights?
With the Solar Maximum coming to its peak and ending between October 2024 and sometime in 2025, I show you how to capture the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
zhlédnutí: 203
Video
Aurora Borealis from Utah - 1 hour in 5 Minutes
zhlédnutí 793Před 3 měsíci
This is a quick rendering from 500 images. Enjoy.
Eclipse Coloring Tutorial
zhlédnutí 95Před 4 měsíci
You may have imaged the most recent or previous eclipses with a true color filter - white sun. However, I know that the traditional yellow can look really appealing. Here is a quick tutorial on how to colorize your eclipse.
Star Trails Tutorial
zhlédnutí 159Před 4 měsíci
I cover setup, settings, and editing to create your own Star Trails image using Photoshop.
Where to find the T Coronae Borealis Nova
zhlédnutí 3,9KPřed 5 měsíci
I briefly explain what is going on and where to find and image this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Imaging the April 2024 Eclipse
zhlédnutí 180Před 5 měsíci
YOU are responsible for your own safety when imaging a solar eclipse. There are several inherent risks. In this video, I am sharing how I imaged the 2017 eclipse and the precautions I took. What I share in this video IS NOT me telling you what to do, but how I did it. Consider the information for yourself, and make your OWN choices.
April 2024 Astrophotography
zhlédnutí 802Před 5 měsíci
Hey there Astro Venturers. I am getting this one out early because the New Moon is coming at the end of the first week. Lots of great galaxies that I have not covered before. Clear Skies and uneventful nights.
Comfortable Astro - Lost Creek Shelter Review
zhlédnutí 161Před 5 měsíci
Finally, the #NewMoonCrew was able to use our Lost Creek shelter. The review is long, but I show you the full setup and tear down as a complete amateur to these shelters. Shelter featured: www.sportsmans.com/fishing-gear-supplies/ice-fishing/ice-fishing-shelters-accessories/lost-creek-gale-force-4-man-wide-bottom-thermal-hub-ice-fishing-shelter-green/p/1697108
March 2024 Astrophotography Targets
zhlédnutí 519Před 6 měsíci
Last chance (northern hemisphere) for 12P Pons-Brooks!
The NASA Files
zhlédnutí 182Před 6 měsíci
Three months of being clouded out, I share another nerding out astro hobby.
February 2024 Astro Targets
zhlédnutí 632Před 7 měsíci
Let's take a look at a few targets to grab as they head out and a couple coming into position.
January 2024 Astrophotography Targets
zhlédnutí 299Před 7 měsíci
Sorry for the late release,, but it's New Moon Weekend. Time to grab those winter gems before they head south as the days are now getting longer in the north.
Noise Xterminator - What "Detail" Does
zhlédnutí 346Před 8 měsíci
In this video, I take a look at the program, Noise Xterminator. I run it through various setting combinations and review the results with you. Using the results, I share what looked the best and how I will use it in the future.
2023 Year End Review
zhlédnutí 163Před 8 měsíci
I take a look at images shot this year to include my fails.
Looking for Clear Skies
zhlédnutí 180Před 8 měsíci
I share a great website to find the sky conditions while keeping it simple.
December 2023 Astrophotography Targets
zhlédnutí 671Před 9 měsíci
December 2023 Astrophotography Targets
Astrophotography Winter Shelter by Lost Creek
zhlédnutí 241Před 9 měsíci
Astrophotography Winter Shelter by Lost Creek
Comet 12P Pons-Brooks is Inbound - Coming in 2024
zhlédnutí 2,5KPřed 9 měsíci
Comet 12P Pons-Brooks is Inbound - Coming in 2024
Photographing the Annular Eclipse - Demonstration
zhlédnutí 1,3KPřed 11 měsíci
Photographing the Annular Eclipse - Demonstration
September 2023 Astrophotography Targets
zhlédnutí 283Před 11 měsíci
September 2023 Astrophotography Targets
Nikon d70 is probably the easiest camera to full spectrumize. I used standard microscope slide glass to replace the hot mirror and its worked beautifully
Nice video! I use an ir-uv cut filter with my full spectrum camera for everyday use
Thanks for this. I was not happy to have invested in the polar scope and scratch my head for over a year wondering why following every video on it did not help me. I am 80% certain that this step is the trouble I was having.
great info! did you ever find out if the battery is rechargeable?
Thanks for this! I've struggled to get the alignment right, only to realise eventually that there was a loose Allen (hex) bolt on the underside of the William Optics wedge! Now that's tightened up, I still get a bit of "jitter" of the red circle when it zooms in, I was concerned by this but hadn't realised it was just due to atmospheric conditions. I was also unclear about setting and confirming positions 1 & 2, you've made that look straightforward. Just one pedantic point (sorry), the red dot / circle is not Polaris, that's the bright star about 0.5 degree away, it's the calculated celestial pole ("virtual pole").
Two talks about the discoverer of T Corona Borealis by an forgotton Irish astronomer called John Birmingham on May 12th 1866. He saw this saw this event with the naked eye and sent his observations to William Huggins of Tulse Hill observatory in the UK who made subsequent analyisis using an early form of a spectroscope. www.youtube.com/@Astronomy_West
Neighbor's light? Time to move to your dream location.
Hi, late comer to your channel. I'm a newbie to astrophotography. Do you have a plan, sketch, for your tripod. I have accessibility to a mechanical shop. Also, what would you do different to improve the tripod. Thanks for the videos.
I was looking for an explanation as to why I have no dot nor cross. This explained it very nicely and briefly. Thank you for your work.
Ioptron polar scope has better illumination and better eye relief and much easier to use . I have both Ioptron and skywatcher
Great explanation
Curious about the new GTIX? Is it something that you will report on?
About the zoom factor, it because you are using a FF lense on the DX non? If you have a crisp + DX lense… then it’s the same vs FX…no zoom?
Williams optics, as 2 model… high/low latitude… Is it true that they are the same and you only need to change a tooth?
Finally found a pure DSLR Astro photography… Will have questions:)
Great videos. They have helped me a ton. When I first installed the iPolar Scope it was working correctly. At some point during calibration, I must have screwed up because it is off by 90 degrees. To move the target up or down, I have to rotate the mount. To move it right or left, I raise or lower the mount. PA is PA, so I'm not worried, but it sure drives me nuts. How can I fix that? BTW,I upgraded to the Williams Optics base. WOW what a difference.
This wasn’t my first Aurora but it was my best so far. ❤
Great video George, Great information, I'm in South England, we could see it but where I am it was blown out, hopefully it will come soon so I can get out into a darker area.
What telescope do you use? I am a novice wanting to do this too! Where and how should I start? I know there are refractive and reflective telescopes....but what do you recommend for a beginner?
Seeing the aurora was something I’ll never forget!! Great video.
Here in Seattle, I was at ISO 800, f/3.2, and shutter between 1-2 seconds. At one point she was moving so fast I dropped to ½ sec and bumped the ISO to 1600. It was a crazy night on the Puget Sound!❤🎉
Wow, it must have been raging there. Envious.
@astroventure2221 I just finished processing 900+ photos. I have no idea how, or even if I have enough photos, but I'm going to try to make a time lapse. Even if that doesn't work out, I'll post some of the best photos on FB.
Very nice shots. I used setting very similar to yours and got great shots here in Michigan. But I made the mistake of using a nifty fifty. Too tight. Surprisingly, I set my wife's iPhone for night shots and they turned out even MORE amazing with the wade angle of that camera. glad you're back and looking forward to more content.
Cell phones did some amazing images.
Great video skyguider pro ipolar added to my shopping list
Thanks for making this and helping me find it!
the comets hot blooded.😇✌
Nice! On this second night and last, in my bortle 9, skies. Canon 5D MK IV, time-lapse video mode. 6 second, iso 640, f3.5, TAMRON 15-30, at 15mm . Otherwise, the LP seemed to be a problem. Damn neighbors motion light. I was going to loosen the bulbs😅
This is beautiful! 😍
Nice video George ! I like it. So were those 500 images at 3-5 second long exposures each and then put into the time lapse ? I’m guessing I will have to increase my ISO with those shorter exposures. I was using ISO 800 last night and 15-20 second exposures for a single image. I’m shooting from Bortle 8.
I suggest shorter imaging time and higher iso. Reason being is the longer your shutter is open the softer your Aurora is going to get as well as any clouds in the sky. For me, 8 seconds was perfect.
Good info George, I was shooting open to long as well
Just to clarify. Walking noise happens when you stack images of a target that hasn't moved much between frames (PA and tracking/guiding are excellent). It occurs because tracking software confuses "not-so-random" noise with actual signal...so, noise is also stacked. The best way to cancel this out is by dithering...either automatically if you have a GOTO mount or manually by slightly nudging the mount a few pixels on any direction/axis every 2 or 3 light frames. Apart from this, great informative video
Can you dither with a goto mount (like a star adventurer gti) and asiair plus, without a guide scope and just a single camera?
In this DSLR setup, why don't we connect the mount and the Asiair with the ST-4 port? Does Asiair app make a digital tracking of the stars? How does the tracking accuracy compare with the setup which a mount is counted to the Asiair?
Thank you for not deleting the trouble shooting scenes and clear instructions. 👏👏👏
Just waiting my the T3i body I picked up to return from getting the astro mod done to it. I am using my day use EOS RP now, besides the 1.6 aps-c crop for zoom any real optical differences I should be aware of doing astro with a cropped sensor?
There is nothing to be aware of. It is a whole new learning curve editing, and the improved light sensitivity is nice.
Cool. Were some of the first. People so geeked about the solar eclipse.
Thank you so much. Hugs from Brazil.
how it wil start tracking. nobody mentioned this in tutorials
The motor turns on with the on/off switch and it starts "tracking" an attached camera/telescope as soon as you tighten the clutch. You must also, at least reasonably, align the axis with the North Star. You can get pretty good tracking of the moon by just setting the altitude/elevation according to your location and with a compass point the axis North (with the altitude adjusted) as best you can, in the direction of the North Star (Polaris). I use one and think it works pretty good. Hope this helps.
@@ElPasoTubeAmps wow thank you for your helpfull reply
Hi sir . I read in the ipolar software read latitude and longitude from mount.. why you need to type al this numbers in the software . it you done it is daylight.
The Skyguider Pro does not have an internal GPS. Therefore, the software can't read it from the mount.
@@astroventure2221 ah okey for clrearing this
Thanks George
Great video. I just finished performing a full spectrum modification of my Canon T3 a few days ago. I had previously performed an Ha modification, but wasn't satisfied. I can't wait to test it, but the cloud monster just won't leave. I'm glad I found your channel. Please keep it up.👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
I've had my gem28 for 2 years and last night was the first time it's come up with the confirm position. I think maybe a reset something on it and lost the previous positions. Helpful video. For some reason the instructions (which with hindsight are very clear) didn't make much sense to me in the freezing cold!
Thank you for this! :)
Thanks brother god bless
Thanks. We are driving to the eclipse. The thermometer is a great tip
This was great, George! Thanks so much. For those with GoTo on their star tracker (or mount) this is less than 1' away from IC4587 in case the star is not in their database. (I was following along with you on Stellarium and happened to see IC4587 nearby, so I thought I'd mention it.) Thanks again!
I will share this in the video info.
Thanks for the tips! I hope to image my first total eclipse in north Texas next month. I don't believe you mentioned it, but I am going to bracket heavily in order to (hopefully)) not miss a good exposure.
excellent ! thank you
You're welcome.
I would have loved to shoot anything in March actually. Damn chem trails in the sky almost every other day. Have a nice AM5 mount and ASIAir now and have yet to use it for 3 weeks. Hope you get some clear skies as well up there in Utah.
I understand. We went nearly 4 months with clouds every new moon and clear every full moon.
An enthusiastic 2 thumbs up. You bypassed the usual suspects. Thanks for giving me and my new longer scope some "bait" fish, Whale , Haring 😊
What's your new setup?
I intended to buy at least a 700mm OTA, and AM5 this year. Galaxy season forced my hand. Everything was small in my 360mm scope. I ended up with an Askar 120 APO, with 1.0 X flattener (840mm). $1700 is comparable to the SV550. I wasn't prepared for this beast. AM5, asiair mini, ASI533, asi178MM and 50mm Orion guiding. Had it out a few hours unguided. Hopefully clear Wednesday, (it's pouring now). I rebuilt an extremely robust. old school Gitzo tripod. This is solid and not too heavy.
Nice tutorial is really helpful for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse in April! What type of filament did you print your parts with, I didn't hear if you ever mentioned it in the video?
Thank you for the video. Between the standard and the iPolar version, I'm deciding which one to go with. The content in your video is really helpful, particularly the portion showing the struggle and challenge encountered in alignment to the polar star.
You won't regret getting the iPolar, but you will regret not getting it. As the night goes on you get more inaccurate in your alignment, but not having to come off target to dial it back in is worth it.
That shelter is a game changer. And I’m just shy of 6’2 and was able to stand up in the middle with about an inch to spare. It was great.