I primarily shoot wide angle Astro shots. The MSM is perfect size and easy to use. I have no problem taking with me wherever I plan to shoot.
Portable and light weight. There are a few things that are unclear. The max load on the tracker vs the paperwork don’t match up so I feel uneasy about using bigger lenses. I have also found that the laser was not pre-alliened. I also purchased the scope which was not pralined and am having trouble with alignment in general. Right now it seems to be a hit or miss. And that’s After studying videos tutorials and trying different mounts and set ups.
The Z/V platform designed by Alan Wallace is a game changer if you love to shoot milky way panoramas using a star guider. The wedge is also great to help condense space in your gear bag and not have to pack around a traditional bulky wedge to align your star tracker. Craftsmanship of the wedge is top notch and you can tell it has been very thought out in its design.
I found the rotator to be well made and have two of them, one on my astrophotography rig and the other on my light travel tripod. They are probably a little less well made as one I’m using on my normally used tripod, but that one was quite a lot more expensive. These are very good though, especially considering the price point.
Never goes in the camera bag except on night shoots, where the red lamp doesn't ruin your night vision. The rest of the time it's on the night stand available for power outages where the white light is VERY helpful.
Portable and easy to use. Longer exposures mean less noise, deeper colour and fainter objects can be captured. MSM opens up a new level of astrophotography, which can be taken anywhere.
I have the V Platform and it performs very well. Locks down solid and hold the camera and ball head very secure.
I have bought a few cheaper Z plates in the past - the first one fell apart before I used it and the others could not take any weight. I have replaced them all with two MSM Z plates and a V plate - very happy.
MSM Easy to use Star Tracker (Newest 2-in-1)- Holiday Sale is ON!🎁🎉
Experience level:
I have limited experience with this product. I have set this up in my living room to get familiar with it. It has been just carried around in my backpack until last weekend. I had a 2 hour window of no clouds and fog last weekend to try the move shoot move.
Impressions (positive):
It is really easy to set up and get great results. I was and still am very impressed.
Impressions (negative):
One very disappointing incident due to my lack of awareness and a possible improvement for you. I set up my equipment and got a few good long exposure images (~5 minutes per photo) right off the bat. The tide was going out so I moved my tripod closer to the ocean for another sequence. After several minutes and a few photos (in total darkness) I heard a noise and realized my tripod and camera had fallen over and were laying on the wet gravel beach. The pressure fit arca swiss adapter had loosened. The camera twisted with enough force to make the setup fall over. I did have a good amount of rocks in the base of a tripod hammock. I was using a D750 and Nikon 14 - 24 lens. The lens got scratched and will need to be repaired.
Overall rating 4 stars:
Move shoot move rotator: 5 stars
Associated hardware: 3 stars (speaking about the pressure fit arca swiss adapter, the weakest link in the chain)
Yes, my operator error/experience is part of this problem . However, I thought I would write this to make people aware to double check their setup if moving to another location (I did, it's still risky). A more positive fit for the adapter would ensure a novice, such as myself, does not damage their expensive equipment. It's difficult in complete darkness at 2am, with cold wind, dew and beach waves to get everything perfect.
The set up is really easy, just level the tripod, alignment with Polaris using either the laser pointer or the polar scope (everything in minutes) and you are ready to take a lot of great pictures. You can use either the wedges, or ball heads or even better the Z or V accessories. All of them are great !!!
I took the Move Shoot Move out to the Canadian prairies where there is nothing but black skies. The tracker worked brilliantly and gave me some awesome skies.
This is so much smaller and lighter than my other tracker, so it will come with me more often. I shoot with a mirrorless camera, so the load is very light on the device with no strain.
Mount is easy to set up, which I then aligned using the Night AR function in the Photopills app. I managed to track for 90 seconds at 24mm with pinpoint stars..
I'm confident of longer when I get the chance to use it in the longer nights in the UK.
Haven't yet tried the laser, but it's quicker than using the Polar Scope
I bought the Move Shoot Move star tracker not knowing if I would be able to figure it out. This last weekend, I was out in Arizona, and it very easy to setup. I just pointed the laser at the North Star and I was set. Unfortunately, some clouds and dust rolled in and made my night a bust. Either way I am happy on how easy this was to setup. The great part is that it takes up little room in my camera bag. I would recommend buying this if you’re curious about astrophotography, but don’t want to spend the big bucks.
I have already used them several times and the truth is that they are a pretty good invention and work well and without problems, I recommend them 100%.
It's very easy to use, polar alignment using the laser can easily track up to 2 - 3 minutes for wide angle lens. It's also portable and lightweight to carry around. I'll try using a longer focal length with polar scope in the future but for wide angle lens, it is working great.
I used this tracker for wide field photography and was very happy with my results but when I tried a longer focal length lens I could not get it to work right with the green laser pointer as there is too much wiggle room and the laser setting is not very fixed. I then realized I need to buy the polar alignment scope. which works better for longer focal length photography. I love that its all small and portable but I do not like that the user manual is horrible and leaves too much unanswered. I had to use U Tube and watch multiple videos but I still dont know the best recommended way to use it.
This is my first star tracker and I'm really quite impressed with the result. Living in the southern hemisphere I use the phone mount to polar align and it works surprisingly well! Definitely a key addition to my astro-photography kit.
MSM Easy to use Star Tracker (Newest 2-in-1)- Holiday Sale is ON!🎁🎉
Great little star tracker. Probably the only improvement I would recommend is making the case a little larger for people who also purchase the z and v mounts so that the package is all in one.
When I first saw Alyn’s youtube video on the V and Z platforms, I recognised his engineering expertise in their design (the locking angles are great, and rotateability is particularly useful, and unique), but I didn’t expect them to be so _solid_. I can use them in place of a ballhead, in many circumstances, and there is no flex at all. And they pack down so small! I’m really glad I bought them :-)
Nice quality items. Just need a more accurate mounting of the polar scope