For months we have been refining a new product designed together with professional landscape astrophotographer, Alyn Wallace (website). Now, we're ready for pre-order.
Below is a quick review of the journey, we hope you enjoy:
On the 14th June 2020, MSM ambassador Alyn Wallace told us that he has an idea for a new star tracker platform to solve the following problems:
The Problem:
- When at latitudes close to the equator it becomes very difficult to use the ball head on top of a star tracker.
-It’s also difficult to do panoramas, regardless of latitude.
The Solution
Adding a “Star Tracker Platform” so that the ball head becomes level. The angle can be adjusted and locked into place and the platform can also be rotated. The platform is a perfect match for the Move Shoot Move rotator but also works with any star tracker..
Later, we researched all the possible alternative solutions, practicing and using, finally came to the first version as below:
1st Version,mainly verifying the mechanism to lock the angled platform and also the rotating base.
2nd Version, Enlarged the center rotation section.
3rd version,
- Wrapped the rotating disc to prevent dust entering.
- Changed screw to handle.
4th Version,
Added more space for the bottom handle, so we can operate with gloves.
And Finally, the final 5th Version, with some minor improvements to launch the production.
Below is the performance of the MSM Platform
Below is the performance of OTHERS
Wait a moment, it may take around 10s to load all gifs.
Work as a tripod head
V or Z? Which Should You Buy?
The V and Z platforms both solve the problem of having your ballhead at an awkward angle when on a star tracker. So what's the difference?
The V platform is for those who want to save weight. If you're already using a heavy setup you may not have much room to add weight on top of the MSM which has a payload of 3kg.
The Z platformhas the added benefit of being able to be used to replace the ball head on a tripod when not using a star tracker at all. You can also use the Z platform as a table-top tripod. So it's an exchange of versatility for a little added weight.
360° Flex Tilt & Pan Head - Z&V Mount Designed with Alyn Wallace, Buy Nice or buy Twice - The best gift for you and your loved ones 🎁
S
Stephen Phelan (Killarney, IE)
Nomad
Does exactly as described. Boom.
M
Michal Rajtak (Bratislava, SK)
360 V plate
Excelent plate for photography.
T
TrevM
Alyn Wallace 360° Flex Tilt & Pan Head - Z&V Mount
A great deal of thought has gone into these well engineered and practical mounts. Worthy of the association with the late and much missed Alyn Wallace. For use with any star tracker and great value, especially if you buy during one of MSM's discount offers.
J
JPSB - northern lights photo (Aarhus, DK)
nice equipment
Looking forward to making aurora pictures, with a nice sharp milky way. It's nice to have something made of good material.
C
Customer (Calgary, CA)
Awesome!
The MSM/Alyn Wallace V-mount is a great addition to my astrophotography set up. Thank you!
M
Matthew (Edmonds, US)
Well Built and Solid
I am really enjoying using the V mount for both macro photography and on top of the Nomad to give my tripod head a level base. Highly recommend. I plan to get the Z mount soon.
S
Steve J (Adelaide, AU)
360° Flex Tilt & Pan Head Review
The 360° Flex Tilt & Pan Head is a very useful addition for my old Astrotrac TT320X star tracker, which is limited to 2 hours of tracking before it needs to be re-wound (and which impacts the framing if you need integration longer than 2 hours). With the Tilt & Pan Head attached to the star tracker, I can rotate my camera in right ascension to match the framing before the tracker was re-wound. Sure, you can also do this with a panning ball head, however, the Tilt & Pan head has a larger base and a much better calibrated panning dial. A great piece of kit.
r
robert blaser (Liebefeld, CH)
Top in Time
Easy ordering and super material, best workmanship
Effective support in case of delivery problems
G
Gonzalo contreras 51065749-E
Not very robust
The z is not very sturdy. Not worth the value.please revise disign