I didn't get to touch a geared head before buying, but I thought this would suit my style. It allows fine adjustment and no drifting or sagging even with large lenses. I was enjoying this, and then when I took it out to capture the lunar eclipse, I found it awesome to be completely zoomed in with a longer lens and be able precisely and continuously adjust to position my shots, all quickly. Loved it! Something you just can't do with a ball head.
The build quality is very good. That being said, it is kinda heavy and bulky. But is expected for what it is. Know that if you are using a tripod without a column, you will most likely need Benro's or someone elses tripod spacer(1 1/2-2"), to allow for full range of adjustment.
This isn't for everyone, or every situation, however is a great choice if it suits your needs.
My only slight gripe is the large adjustment knobs(quick release?) seem to require an excessive of amount of force to engage. This may very well ease with more use. I did eventually touch a Manfroto version that seemed much easier to engage. However it is much more expensive.
The MAK-90 is a great beginner's telescope for planetary viewing and astrophotography. It is light, compact, portable and easy to set up and use making it easy to take along with you on trips. The supplied Plossl eyepieces provide good and clear magnification making for enjoyable experience. All in all a great beginner's telescope at a very reasonable price.
Even though I have not had a chance to use the tracker, I must say that I'm very pleased by their service. My package got lost even though the carrier tracking platform said it was delivered. Hanna sent me a replacement unit without any hesitation, which is absolutely amazing!! Thanks again!
I'm so glad I purchased both of these items they are a great help to get the angle right for both of my Canon camera's, one I use with my move shot move and one I use to take manual shots, these are the best things invented. I can get a great angle with the camera without it counterbalancing to much weight on the move shoot move and that's great in keeping a steady camera taking lovely pictures of the night sky.
Paul Kelly, Southampton, England
I've only used it once so far but the results were amazing! Lightweight and very accurate, especially with wider-field shots. By far the most detail I've ever gotten out of the Milky Way with a setup that all fits in a backpack-sized camera bag. Definitely prefer its ease of use and portability over my bulkier EQ mounts. Polar re-alignment with the laser was also a breeze making it a trivial task to move the tripod if I wanted to change up my framing. I utilized a ball head mount for the tracker and the Z mount and a ball head mount for the camera which worked well to keep most of the weight centered over the tripod for my shots. I may eventually upgrade to the wedge for the tracker to make things a bit easier on polar alignment, but the ball head worked fine with a little finessing. Still have to see how far I can push focal length, but with the ease of alignment and steady tracking, I don't think it will be much of an issue.
The only issue I experienced was during the initial setup, as some of the mounting points weren't torqued down quite as tightly as needed and slowly began working their way loose. Make sure all attachment points are very well tightened because if they are not your camera weight may cause things to come loose and swing about. I had seen this mentioned a couple of times elsewhere, so I kept a close eye on it and caught it early before anything swung about. After torquing down all the bits and pieces a bit tighter, it worked flawlessly and there was no noticeable camera creep over the 4.5 hours of use. Looking forward to many more nights of imaging with this amazing product!
Me encanta este rastreador por su facilidad de uso y como a transformado mis fotos de via lactea.
The Right Angle Viewfinder for use with the polar scope is an essential tool when on location. It allows you to easily view your reticle in the scope, without having to kneel or squat to see into the scope. It offers a 2x zoom or the standard 1x zoom making it so easy to polar align. It's also packed with attachments to allow it to be used with your favorite cameras view finder. I wish the connector was aluminum instead of 3d printed material, but I understand the cost difference. This product should definitely be part of your kit.
Z/V mount for low angle & astro, designed with Alyn Wallace, UK
Fantástica compra, las veces que lo he usado el resultado ha sido increíble y muy fácil de usar
I heard about the MSM from a landscape/milky way photo instructor. I bought it and on my 2nd attempt I got an amazing shot. I booked a trip to Moab Utah and the Arches and used it several days in a row. SUPER easy to polar align which makes this very easy to use right out of the box. I am very pleased with my results for shooting night shots of the Milky Way.
a very important accessory to use in night photography! it helps a lot in pointing to the North Star and reducing the weight on the tripod! excellent and recommended!
I tried it last night (05/09/22 PARIS Timeline), installation was simple wih laser beam, and started 50 shots with duration 2 mns each on milky way at south around 4-5h morning with camera lens 16f/2.8. Résult is fantastic, next night i will try 4mns by shot... it's great help system.
I had trouble getting my camera on the right angles i wanted to take a shot, with the Z mount I was able to maneuver as I liked.
A long time I lloked out fora astro shoot rotator. But everthing was to expensive for me. But in january 2022 I found MSM rotator and I am happy to work with it. Ok, it took a little bit time for setting-up and calibrate with polaris. But the results for me are amazing.
André Brändli
I bought the MSM because I wanted to see if I wanted to do tracking. I appreciate the simplicity, low weight and low cost. The only fly in the ointment was the internal lens on the laser came loose and made the laser unusable. I Recommend having a spare laser along as a result.
Outstanding tracker and accessories, perfect for "on the move" astrophotography and timelapses. Got great shots of Orion, now just waiting for the Milky Way core so I can up my game!
I use this 3-way gear head between the tripod legs and the MSM rotator to adjust for polar alignment. It has 3 sets of knobs which control position in 3 planes. The large knobs are used for large changes in position. The knobs are stiff and a bit difficult to use, but once you get things in the ball park position they stay put and you can make fine adjustments with the fine tune knobs and it's much easier than trying to adjust a ball head. The rotator, upper ball head, and camera are all installed over this gear head so things can be top heavy and I find the resistance helpful in getting things aligned.
I labeled the knobs because it can be confusing and require trial and error to figure out which knob does what.
An added bonus is that if you look up your latitude on your phone compass app, you can then set the latitude reading on the elevation scale with the appropriate knob on the 3-way head and already be at the level of Polaris when you start aligning.
Thank you for the Move shoot. I am excited. Now i have to learn how to use it its all new to me
Works great! I bought a second one. It fits my FloroStar 90 with just a little extra.
Z/V mount for low angle & astro, designed with Alyn Wallace, UK
What are you waiting for these are awesome So get them
Easy to use star tracker (Newest 2-in-1) - 2022 Milky Way Season is coming!
Wunderbar leichtes Gerät für die Sternenfotografie.
It it weren't for 'autofocus' and LED screen magnification, my photography hobby/career would be in real trouble. I'm not blind, but I have visual impairment due to macular degeneration and viewing things through a view finder or telescope is challenging. Now, thanks to iPhone polar alignment with PhotoPills, I can actually do some astrophotography of the Milky Way. Using the bracket to attach my iPhone to the MoveShootMove rotator, I can polar align on the phone screen, even if I can't see Polaris due to clouds, trees, houses, mountains, or bad eyes.
On three different attempts I've been able to get good enough polar alignment to shoot using a 20mm lens with exposures of 1-2 minutes to get nice pinpoint stars. I have not tried longer lenses yet or longer exposure times, so I can't speak to ultimate limitations, but for me, it's been wonderful.
I actually bought the polarscope and laser pointer along with the iPhone bracket so I have all the options, but it's possible I'll never even bother with those other two methods, at least not for Milky Way and big sky photography.
This is easy to move in little increments than a ball head and more secure especially if your deep sky focus is directly above.