timelapse for Milk Way （Nikon D610 with BackyardNIKON 1.0 Premium Edition)

[lukeliu]

I know use a wide-angle lens in short exposure time do not need tracking, but if I want take image with  exposure time greater than 30s @17mm F2.8 to get better image of Milk Way tracking is needed.

Since BYN can use ASCOM control mount, is it possible that BYN could add these function:

1.Mount with camera being set a good composition(close tracking), then record mount position.

2.send command to start tracking and shooting (EX. 5 mins),when done, close tracking

3.send command to mount GOTO origin position (record in Step 1.)

4.repeat 2.-3. till how many images will take.

My native language is Chinese(came from Taiwan), I hope that my poor English expression ability will also let you know my thoughts.

[admin]

Your English is fine

BYN's main primary intention is to control the camera and a few other/typical functions such as dithering.

Although BYN does have an ASCOM component it is primitive in nature since the main purpose is to control your Nikon DSLR camera.  

It is not possible to do what you are asking right now... not because it is technically impossible, but because BYN has no internal function to stop/start tracking an no real GOTO functions as these have always been left to the planetarium software you are using.

Regards,

[lukeliu]

Thank you for your reply.

Had to continue to use BYN & PHD 2 to shoot DSO.

[s3igell]

9 hours ago, lukeliu said:

1. Mount with camera being set a good composition(close tracking), then record mount position.
2. send command to start tracking and shooting (EX. 5 mins),when done, close tracking
3. send command to mount GOTO origin position (record in Step 1.)
4. repeat 2.-3. till how many images will take.

This sounds like a task which can be performed by a combination of a Planetarium program such as Stellarium or SkySafari plus a Plate-Solve program such as AstroTortilla (which BYE/BYN supports).

[lukeliu]

9 hours ago, s3igell said:

This sounds like a task which can be performed by a combination of a Planetarium program such as Stellarium or SkySafari plus a Plate-Solve program such as AstroTortilla (which BYE/BYN supports).

But , if this is the case, you can only shoot one by one manually. The key is that if BYN can support it, it can be easily set in  Capture Plan Center.

Even more, A wide-angle lens with a small aperture and even a fisheye lens( such as Nikon AF-S Fisheye 8-15mm F3.5-4.5 E ED) can come in handy when the exposure time can be extended.

[lukeliu]

17 hours ago, admin said:

Your English is fine

BYN's main primary intention is to control the camera and a few other/typical functions such as dithering.

Although BYN does have an ASCOM component it is primitive in nature since the main purpose is to control your Nikon DSLR camera.  

It is not possible to do what you are asking right now... not because it is technically impossible, but because BYN has no internal function to stop/start tracking an no real GOTO functions as these have always been left to the planetarium software you are using.

Regards,

Think about it for a moment, maybe you don't have to stop or start Tracking, just record the initial position, and then keep tracking. When the first shot is taken, the BYN command returns the GOTO to the original position, and then shoots the next one, repeating the process until the number of shots is set. Such a function should be able to join it!

Or BYN can send a command to AstroTortilla to return the equatorial to its initial position (send before each shot, pause for a while, then take the next one, so that these settings can be done in Capture Plan Center)

Another question:
I just downloaded version 2.0.10 and found that the camera menu has Z7 and Z6. Since it is not owned yet, do you want to confirm support for these two models? So I will buy it.

(Just found out that using Google Translate makes it easy for me to type Chinese and turn it into English)

[s3igell]

Regardless whether BYE/BYN can support your proposed routine, that routine is quite different than the usual Tracking Long Exposures.

17 hours ago, s3igell said:

1. Mount with camera being set a good composition(close tracking), then record mount position.
2. send command to start tracking and shooting (EX. 5 mins),when done, close tracking
3. send command to mount GOTO origin position (record in Step 1.)
4. repeat 2.-3. till how many images will take.

Can you explain why you propose "Close Tracking" and "Goto Original Position"??

Most of us leave Tracking ON across all of the Exposures taken of a specific Target; counting on the capability of the Mount to keep the Imaging Rig correctly pointed to the Target.  (And we add AutoGuiding if we need additional Tracking accuracy...)

If, during your Long Exposure, there is enough travel in the Tracking that you feel the need to reposition the Mount before starting a second Exposure, then there will surely be Star Trailing in the Images taken.  That would indicate problems with your Tracking equipment (Motors, Gearing, Stiction, etc) which should be addressed at the source.

[lukeliu]

21 minutes ago, s3igell said:

Regardless whether BYE/BYN can support your proposed routine, that routine is quite different than the usual Tracking Long Exposures.

Can you explain why you propose "Close Tracking" and "Goto Original Position"??

Most of us leave Tracking ON across all of the Exposures taken of a specific Target; counting on the capability of the Mount to keep the Imaging Rig correctly pointed to the Target.  (And we add AutoGuiding if we need additional Tracking accuracy...)

If, during your Long Exposure, there is enough travel in the Tracking that you feel the need to reposition the Mount before starting a second Exposure, then there will surely be Star Trailing in the Images taken.  That would indicate problems with your Tracking equipment (Motors, Gearing, Stiction, etc) which should be addressed at the source.

"Close Tracking"  I mean "STOP  Tracking"

My original intention was to take timelapse for Milk Way, and then it is possible to shoot all night. Generally, wide-angle lens with short exposure is not need Tracking, but I hope to have a longer exposure for better image , then Tracking is required for shooting, and after each shot (the composition has changed) needs to go back to the original composition.

[admin]

7 hours ago, lukeliu said:

Another question:
I just downloaded version 2.0.10 and found that the camera menu has Z7 and Z6. Since it is not owned yet, do you want to confirm support for these two models? So I will buy it.

No, the are not supported yet.  I'm waiting for Nikon to send my 2 cameras for testing. 

[s3igell]

2 hours ago, lukeliu said:

"Close Tracking"  I mean "STOP  Tracking"

Yes, that was understood.

Quote

My original intention was to take timelapse for Milk Way, and then it is possible to shoot all night. Generally, wide-angle lens with short exposure is not need Tracking, but I hope to have a longer exposure for better image , then Tracking is required for shooting, and after each shot (the composition has changed) needs to go back to the original composition.

Tracking of the Stars and Milkyway is accomplished by allowing the Mount Tracking to continue while taking multiple Long Exposures.

Exposures of the Foreground (the "composition" as you put it) are taken with the Tracking turned OFF (as in a standard Photography Tripod).  Then, in Post-Processing, the Star Exposures are Stacked and then Merged with the Foreground Composition using an Image Mask.

[lukeliu]

12 minutes ago, s3igell said:

Yes, that was understood.

Tracking of the Stars and Milkyway is accomplished by allowing the Mount Tracking to continue while taking multiple Long Exposures.

Exposures of the Foreground (the "composition" as you put it) are taken with the Tracking turned OFF (as in a standard Photography Tripod).  Then, in Post-Processing, the Star Exposures are Stacked and then Merged with the Foreground Composition using an Image Mask.

I know what you said, but I may still not be clear enough. I want to take a series of images in the same composition (maybe all night), so that the time-lapse video can see the movement of the Milkyway.

For example, the Milkyway time-lapse video I shot before, @17mm F2.8 ISO 2500 exposure 25s(No tracking), if each photo of Milkyway can be exposed for more than 1min, that can get more details (this requires Tracking, otherwise it will  get startrail-images.)

 

[s3igell]

OK, while I don't read Chinese, I get the idea that the Video was detailing a method of performing "Long-Exposure Time-lapse Video" by Stacking Individual Frames.  This is actually a rather common Activity - usually performed on a Photographer's Tripod and NOT on a GOTO Mount.

Most Nightscape Imagers will use Non-Tracking Images, usually adhering to the "Rule of 500" - whereby you limit your Individual Exposures to no more than "500 divided by the Lens Focal Length".  So, for a 17-35mm Lens at 17mm one can Expose for about 500/17=30sec.  And at 35mm for 500/35=15sec.  And given a "Fast" Focal Ratio of f/2.8, one can capture quite Bright Milkyway at those Exposures (and rather bright Light Pollution, too).

Give it a try...

Note:  The idea of using GOTO Tracking and then "Return to Original Position" wouldn't work with a GOTO Mount, anyway.  The "Original Position" of ANY Mount is in Absolute Celestial Coordinates, and NOT in Local Geographic Coordinates.  So, The Camera would Follow the Milkyway - NOT the Foreground Composition.

[lukeliu]

29 minutes ago, s3igell said:

OK, while I don't read Chinese, I get the idea that the Video was detailing a method of performing "Long-Exposure Time-lapse Video" by Stacking Individual Frames.  This is actually a rather common Activity - usually performed on a Photographer's Tripod and NOT on a GOTO Mount.

Most Nightscape Imagers will use Non-Tracking Images, usually adhering to the "Rule of 500" - whereby you limit your Individual Exposures to no more than "500 divided by the Lens Focal Length".  So, for a 17-35mm Lens at 17mm one can Expose for about 500/17=30sec.  And at 35mm for 500/35=15sec.  And given a "Fast" Focal Ratio of f/2.8, one can capture quite Bright Milkyway at those Exposures (and rather bright Light Pollution, too).

Give it a try...

Note:  The idea of using GOTO Tracking and then "Return to Original Position" wouldn't work with a GOTO Mount, anyway.  The "Original Position" of ANY Mount is in Absolute Celestial Coordinates, and NOT in Local Geographic Coordinates.  So, The Camera would Follow the Milkyway - NOT the Foreground Composition.

Thank you for your detailed reply,  my thoughts should not be feasible.

[lukeliu]

As for the Sequence Generator Pro suggested by the netizen, after reading its manual, it can be done by purchasing Pro for $99.

Just for such a small function, think about it or not, after all, I mainly shoot DSO.

Further to understand ASCOM, watch the video introduced by the official website, I feel that using visual studio (can be used free of charge) should not be difficult to write a control program, and the program I have written is still in the era of C, so long time no contact, just a coding environment probably has to adapt for a long time. Although it is just a small program, it is a new challenge for myself, and it can avoid Alzheimer's disease.

[astroman133]

I live in an area with good horizons, so a couple of years ago I decided to try a Milky Way time lapse. I used my Vixen Polarie in a way that I had never heard of before. I mounted it on a tripod horizontally rather than use a polar alignment so that when I turned tracking on the Polarie panned across the horizon from east to west. I set this up in my driveway on the south side of my house.

My camera was a Canon T5i and I used a 16mm f/2.0 Rokinon lens. I had a 32 GB memory card in my camera. Sadly, I used an interval timer, rather than BYE, to avoid having my computer sitting unattended in the driveway for the night

I oriented the camera to pick up the Milky Way as it rose in the east and set it up to shoot 20 second exposures all night long. I stopped it around sunrise after over 7 hours of shooting. I had captured about 1300 exposures. After trimming a few of the first and last frames, the result is a 43 second video.

I was pleased with the result. For those who are interested, the video is available for viewing here --> https://photos.app.goo.gl/6uNYRBACm6DXCwuQ7

[lukeliu]

19 minutes ago, astroman133 said:

I live in an area with good horizons, so a couple of years ago I decided to try a Milky Way time lapse. I used my Vixen Polarie in a way that I had never heard of before. I mounted it on a tripod horizontally rather than use a polar alignment so that when I turned tracking on the Polarie panned across the horizon from east to west. I set this up in my driveway on the south side of my house.

My camera was a Canon T5i and I used a 16mm f/2.0 Rokinon lens. I had a 32 GB memory card in my camera. Sadly, I used an interval timer, rather than BYE, to avoid having my computer sitting unattended in the driveway for the night

I oriented the camera to pick up the Milky Way as it rose in the east and set it up to shoot 20 second exposures all night long. I stopped it around sunrise after over 7 hours of shooting. I had captured about 1300 exposures. After trimming a few of the first and last frames, the result is a 43 second video.

I was pleased with the result. For those who are interested, the video is available for viewing here --> https://photos.app.goo.gl/6uNYRBACm6DXCwuQ7

Your video is very great. For a urban resident living  with a serious light pollution, your location is really enviable! I have to drive  for more than an hour to get to the hills where less light pollution.

[astroman133]

Thank you! I liked your timelapse, as well.

[lukeliu]

12 hours ago, astroman133 said:

Thank you! I liked your timelapse, as well.

Shooting this time-lapse video is actually a God's gift. 

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of 3/11, I arrived at the B&B in the fog, and occasionally it rained. The equipment full of luggage on the car is equipped with heavy equipment for shooting DSO (iOptron CEM25-P, PoleMaster, Modded Nikon D610 + Nikon EH-5 with Nikon EH-5B, SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM C (SIGMA APO 1.4x EX DG, Kenko 2x NAS Tteleplus MC4) ,QHY5L-II-M CCD +Pentax Takuma 300mm F4(Guide scope), Lenovo IdeaPad 120S, HP ENVY Ultrabook (remote control in the house)

The dense fog has no signs of dispersal. So I checked the dynamic trend of the satellite image of the Central Meteorological Administration and found that there might be a chance to shoot in the midnight. Then I started Stellarium and skillfully found out that it might be around 4:00 am have the opportunity to shoot the Milk-way.

Adjust the mobile phone's alarm to am 3:30, then get up if the clouds are not scattered and then continue to sleep, so go to bed early at 11 o'clock in the evening.

Get up am 3:30, put on coat and go outside - starry sky!

Fortunately, I also took the Nikon AFS 17-35mm F2.8 + Sony A7R2 + interval timer + tripod and went to the open space in front of the house.(there is no enough time to shot DSO)

When I was shooting, I took a few test shots and found that  the image of the Milkway too dull. After thinking about it, I decided not to use the camera’s time-lapse app, but to use interval timer to shoot RAW files. From 4:38:47 am to 5:28:25 am, a total of 104 shots.

Since the shooting conditions are the same for each shot, I can record 1 shot's post-process steps(includes shrank image to 3840X2160 for making 4K video) into Action macros, and then batch-process the other 100 images and convert them into TIF images. These converted TIF images can be read into QuickTime 7 (I use 8 frames per sec)and converted into a video file - and that is the final Milkway time-lapse video I made.

[astroman133]

Nice job!

[lukeliu]

I have completed the above-mentioned my idea with the program written in VB 2010. If you know Chinese, you can download and give a try. If you don't understand, you can follow the steps in the figure and the youtub demo video .

Because  BYN didn't count time for image transfer to computer(it start "Pause" when transfer complete),  so I have to manually add "interval" about 3 sec in my prog. If BYN count the transfer time into "Pause", then my prog will SYNC well.

1. choose mount

2.connect

3.No of shoots

4.exposure time of each image

5.interval between each image (= BYN 's Pause)

6. Start and countdown 5 sec

Sorry, no translations into English.

 

timelapseV2.exe.zip