Daylight Polar Alignment Made Easy (For Solar Eclipse Photography)

[@PhotoPills]

Need help planning or photographing a Total Solar Eclipse? Comment below! 👉 To download our super detailed Solar Eclipse Photography Guide: www.photopills.com/articles/solar-eclipse-photography-guide

[@bradperry4902]

I used this technique for my telephoto shots of the April 8th eclipse and it works very well! One extra tip for anyone trying this is that the metal of the tracker/tripod can confuse the iPhone's compass if you rest it right on the tracker. You can solve this by coming up with a way to hold the phone at the same angle as the tracker but a short distance away from it using any non-magnetic material. I eventually built a bracket out of a piece of wood and a cheap phone holder, but in early prototyping, I actually found Lego worked really well!

[@PhotoPills]

Thanks for your contribution Brad!

[@margaretannhalleck1326]

Well done my “Brother”! 👏👏👏

[@PhotoPills]

Ah! Margaretann! You know... Uncle Toni is Uncle Toni :P. See you at the Camp!

[@margaretannhalleck1326]

@@PhotoPills …but being older than Uncle Toni, it feels strange calling him Uncle! 🤪

[@tonydodd2860]

Always check your Polar Alignment as a last step - if you aren't pointed at the celestial pole, your long exposure shots will show trails. I too use the PolarAlign Pro app but, because my eyes prefers green, I have switched from the red on black to a green on black display in the app settings. One other issue is that within the Star Adventurer there is a built-in polar scope but it has a rubbish illuminator. I have lined the edge of the polar scope port with some luminous tape. This helps me to get a really good night-time alignment. For older people, looking through that scope can be difficult. I clip on a 90º magnifier so I can look down into the polar scope more easily rather than trying to look directly up through th epolar scope. Positioning Polaris in the polar scope reticle according to the position indicated in PoarAlign Pro is then much easier. The closer you get to the right position, the longer your night exposures can be - even three to five minutes!

[@PhotoPills]

Thanks so much Tony!

[@JeffFishman]

Good Job guys - Good to Know!

[@PhotoPills]

Thank you Jeff!

[@kenbrent4152]

Bravo! I love it! Now understanding Night AR even more. I am a bit embarrassed that it didn't dawn on me that the center dot was Polaris. I was using Sky View to do the same thing to find Polaris. As I can never find it from my balcony due to the light pollution. As a result of your video, I am going to upgrade my iOptron Sky Guider Pro's base to the William's Optics base as shown in your video, as it is more precise for fine-tuning. I have also now switched to Pro for the PS Align App. I was going to do my own video using the Sky View app, but happier to see that you have validated my process as well as learning that I can do it with PP. Maybe I will send my MSM laser and polar scope cap back, as for what I am tracking, the technique shown will be enough. Which level App is used in the video? You should include a level app within PP, as well as a Polar Alignment app. This way you will only need 1 tool to do the whole thing.

[@PhotoPills]

Hi Ken! Yes, that's the idea. To include it in PhotoPills :)

[@cr1439]

Señores, gracias por la información. Pregunta para Toni: cuál intervalómetro usa para la Nikon Z? He comprado dos ( Neweer, Godox) y me han dejado tirado a mitad del camino. Muchas gracias!

[@PhotoPills]

Hey! Utiliza el PHOLSY N10 :)

[@cr1439]

@@PhotoPills muchas gracias muchachos! 🙌🏼

[@skipsaunders5974]

nice .... pool looks nice too ... :-)

[@PhotoPills]

Yes... very refreshing...

[@americandronecompanyllc4268]

Are you all in Florida. The building architecture is very florida like :) Audio has issues.

[@PhotoPills]

I'm in Menorca, Spain!

[@M31glow]

Well Done

[@PhotoPills]

Thank you!

[@norbertschneider7958]

You do need an upgrade for photopills (android) - polarfinder using a 90⁰ angleviewer - remember plan legendary photos with just ONE app ;)

[@PhotoPills]

It's in our to do list ;)

[@norbertschneider7958]

@@PhotoPills Quiero ser tu Beta-Tester ;)

[@KlemenJagodič-r4u]

Hello Does it work also by night? It should!

[@PhotoPills]

yes!

[@RussellWest-rl4je]

I have an android phone, is there a compatible PhotoPills app? Also, do not believe Polar Align Pro app exists for Android, is there an equivalent?

[@PhotoPills]

Hey Russell! PhotoPills is available for Android on Google Play. I'm sorry, I can't recommend any for Android at the moment... I'd need to test a few.

[@ronsantini8181]

What Polar Alignment App is being used>

[@hawksonthewing9782]

Polar Scope Align Pro

[@francisfrankenne9020]

I am a french speaking european having learned english, which allows me to understand 95% of contents posted on you tube, mainly concerning (astro) photography. I just want to let you know that, despite my interest in Photopills, it is very difficult for me to understand your video for your speak so fast. I would then much appreciate you to somehow lower the speed of your speech. This would allow many of foreign Photopills client to get the full benefit of your video. Thank you

[@PhotoPills]

Thank you Francis! Have you tried to slow down the video on youtube?

[@francisfrankenne9020]

@@PhotoPills I did'nt know that function. It helps a bit, but improves understanding by no more than10-20% due to other associated caveats

[@Mr.HarryPotter]

Tony is great but needs to rehearse before the main take. I was waiting for someone to tell me the polaris alignment in day time. In New York, I could never see the star in light pollution. My tracker is been collecting dust for months.

[@PhotoPills]

Hi Harry! It's what Tony shows you in the video!

[@jimdescher6964]

I really appreciate the app and I would love to learn how to use all of the great functions of PhotoPills. But the videos are really hard to understand. I mean no offense. Your English is better than my Spanish, French, Italian, or any other language. But may I suggest you slow your English down a bit? Thanks, guys!

[@markrovner6499]

They are lovely and incomprehensible.

[@PhotoPills]

No worries... you're not the only one! Check our Photography Planning guide, it's super helpful: www.photopills.com/articles/photography-planning-guide

[@ronsantini8181]

What Polar Alignment is being used?

[@skipsaunders5974]

I think it was Photo Pills Night AR (Artificial Reality) and PolarScope Aligning Pro that they used.

[@PhotoPills]

yes!

[@hikingdj]

Due to having a hearing loss, your accent makes it hard for me to understand.

[@PhotoPills]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@DR-fy7qy]

Great app. but regret to say it is very hard to follow instructions due to the very thick accent, uneven tempo and very fast speech pattern. I realize you can slow down the video which takes twice as long to endure this presentation but thanks anyway.

[@PhotoPills]

Thanks for the feedback! All we do in PhotoPills is in-house!

[@falelerodriguez4818]

ss

[@PhotoPills]

:D