Vixen Polarie User Manual
Polarie
Star Tracker
User's Guide
PREFACE
Th is m an ua l de sc ri be s th e fu nc ti on s of t he P ol ar ie s ta r tr ac ke r.
Yo u ma y oc ca si on al ly f in d de sc ri pt io ns i n th e te xt n ot r el ev an t to y ou r pa rt ic ul ar m od el ; th is d ep en ds o n th e mo de l yo u pu rc ha se d.
Yo u sh ou ld refer to the instruction manuals for y ou r ca me ra , ba ll h ea d ad ap te r, c am er a tr ip od and shutter release control together w it h th is
ma nu al a s oc ca si on d em an ds .
Thank you very much for your purchase of a Vixen Polarie star tracker.
WARNING!
Never look directly at the sun with your naked eyes or through this product or its polar axis scope
sold separately. Permanent and irreversible eye damage may result.
Al wa ys k ee p th e in st ru ct io n ma nu al n ea r yo ur P ol ar ie t o en su re q ui ck a ns we rs t o an y qu es ti on s.
Th is in st ru ct io n m an ua l d es cr ib es ne ce ss ar y precautions for the safe use of th e p ro du ct to pr ev en t p os si bl e injuries to yourself and
ot he rs , as w el l as d am ag e to t he e qu ip me nt .
Read through this manual before use.
CAUTION
Do not use the product while traveling or walking, as injuries may
arise from stumbling, falling or collision with objects.
Do not try to restrain the movement of the mount when in operation,
which may lead to injuries to you or damage to your equipment.
Do not use the product in a wet environment
Do not turn on the power switch of the product under circumstances
when internal condensation is suspected on the equipment. It may
cause a failure by a short circuit.
Do not attempt to disassemble or alter any part of the equipment that
is not expressly described in this manual.
Use only recommended power sources. Using other power sources
could result in damage to the unit.
Insert the batteries in the correct direction.
Be careful not to drop the unit when handling. This may cause
damage or lead to injury.
HANDLING AND STRAGE
Do not leave the product inside a car in bright sunshine, or in hot
place. Keep any strong heat radiation sources away from the product.
Do not expose the product to rain, water drops, dirt or sand.
When cleaning, do not use solvent such as paint thinners.
For storage, keep the product in dry places, and do not expose to
direct sunlight.
Remove the batteries from the battery compartment if the product is
not used for a long time.
2
CONTENTS
PREFACE
Warning!
Caution
Handling and Storage
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CONTENTS
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USING THE POLARIE
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P14
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SPECIFICATIONS
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APPENDIX
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BEFORE USE
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P7
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P8
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Checking Contents
Basics of the Polarie
Parts Descriptions
M-178V Tr
ipod for Polarie
Mode Dial
Requirements and Useful Items
PREPARATION
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P10
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Batteries for the Polarie
Inserting the Batteries
Utilizing an External Power Supply
SETTING UP
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Setting up the Polarie
Flow of Operation
What is Polar A
lignment?
Using the Polarie in the Northern Hemisphere
1. Find Polaris using a compass and the latitude of
your location
2. Find Polaris from Cassiopeia and the Big Dipper
Using the Polarie in the Southern Hemisphere
1. Find Octans using Small Magellanic Cloud and
the Southern Cross (Crux) as pointers
2. Find Octans using the arrangement of stars in
the Southern Cross (Crux) as pointers
3. Find Octans using Small Magellanic Cloud, Beta
Hydrus and Gamma Octantis as pointers
Point the Polarie to the South Celestial Pole
Basic Camera Settings
Switching ON the Polarie
Star-Scape Photography Mode
Wi
de-Field Astrophotography Mode
Solar Tr
acking Mode, Lunar Tracking Mode
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Using an optional Polarie Polar Axis Scope
3
Zenith
North Celestial Pole
North Celestial Pole
Earth's Axis
Polar Axis
Horizon
Equator
North Pole
South Pole
BEFORE USE
The Polarie box contains the parts list ed below. Make s ure that your box contains a ll these parts.
Stars s eem to rotate around the celestial poles of the eart h. This is
called the d iur nal m oti on of stars. Th is is because Earth makes o ne
rotation on its a xis e ach d ay. Polarie tracks wit h the d iur nal motion
of the stars to eliminate "star trailing" on photographic images.
The motor-driven Pol ari e is set so that its r ota tio nal axis is parallel to
the axi s of the diurnal moti on of stars. It allows you to track the
camera, mounted on the Po lar ie, in the same direction as the stars
you want to photograph.
The Polarie is a totally new photographic accessory which easily
allows you to take pinp oin t phot os of stars and constellations. It is
designed to foll ow th e app are nt motion of th e sta rs ca use d by th e
earth's rotation, eliminating star trails.
With u se of the Polarie, taking wid e filed photographic images of
constellations, the Mil ky W ay, sho oti ng stars and bright comets is
surprisingly simple and easy.
Polarie also enables you to photograph starry nightscapes by adding
a night landscap e o r s ilh oue tte d f igu re in the foreground of your
frame. We name it “Star-Scape” photography.
Checking Contents
Polarie
Polarie User's Guide (This manual)
If purchased the Polarie as a package with the tripod
M-178V Tr
ipod with QHD-43 Ball head
QHD-33 Ball head
BASICS OF THE POLARIE
4
Com pass(In side )
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BEFORE USE
Parts Descriptions
N-S Change Swi tch
USB -minib Plug Soc ket for
Ext ernal P ower Sup ply
Bat tery Co mpar tmen t Cover Bat tery Co mpar tmen t
Pol ar Sigh t Ho le
Pol ar Sigh t Ho le
(Fi eld of View : 8. 9 degre es a ppro x.)
Acc essory Shoe
Mod e Dial Pol ar Axis Sco pe S etting Hole
(In side)
Til t Meter
Mod e Dial
Cam era Mou ntin g Bl ock
Soc ket for 1/4 " Th read Sc rew
[Of f the c over ]
5
Ball head adapter (Velbon QHD-43)
is pre-installed on the tripod.
Crank handle
Leg angle adjuster
Center column lock lever
Center column
Standard UNC 1/4” thread
Camera mounting dial
Ball head lock lever
Geared elevator
Elevator lock lever (Far side)
Hand grip
Extension clamps
Rubber leg tip
Ball head adapter
(Ve
lbon QHD-33)
Ball head adapter 1: QHD-43 Ball head adapter 2: QHD-33
M-178V Tripod
Elevator bottom
BEFORE USE
M-178V Tripod for Polarie (If purchased as a package)
6
: Power OFF
: Preparati on
: Star-Scap e
Photograp hy
: Wide-Field
Astr oPhoto graphy
:
Solar track ing
:
Lunar tracking
Legend : Mode Description
Shuts off the power of Polarie.
Us ed fo r p ol ar al ig nm en t( Se t t o b e
parallel to the axi s of the diurnal mo tio n.) .
The built-in til t met er is backlighted in red
when the mode dial is set at this position.
A ha lf spee d of the celestial tracking rate
is selected for star-scape photography.
Ce le stial tr ac king rate is selected f or
wi de -f ield as tr op hotography with no
trailed stars.
Drives Polarie at the mean solar time.
Drives Polarie at the mean lunar time.
Lunar Tracking
Power OFF
Mode
Dial Pointer
Preparation
Solar Tracking
Wide-Field
Astrophotography
Star-Scape
Photography
Wi de -f ie ld ast ro ph ot og ra ph y : Ph ot og ra ph s of wid e- fi el d vi ew s of
constell ati ons and the Mi lky Way are ca lle d wide field p hot ography.
Usually night sca pes are no t inc lud ed in the frames of pho tographs
but they wi ll be in the b ack ground part of yo ur image.
Sta r-S cap e ph o to g ra p hy : P hot ogr aph s of w i de - fi e ld v iew s of
constell ati ons and the M ilk y Way plus ni ght landsc ape s under starry
skies th at are included i n t he frames of p hot ographs.
Color of the backlit legends on the mo de dial is chang ed if
the
rotating di rection of the tr acking motor i s s witched.
Track ing in northe rn hemisphere : Illuminated in red
Tracking in southern hemi sphere : Illum inated in green
BEFORE USE
Mode Dial
Wide-Fie ld astrophotograp hy vs. Star-Scape ph otography
The Polarie al low s yo u to not only take pi npo int photos of star s and
const ellat ions bu t also to crea te “star -scap e” photo s i n ni ght-sky
scenes by a ddi ng a mot ion l
ess night l and sca pe or si lho uet ted fig ure
in the foreground of your frame.
Star-Sca pe Photography
7
A ta bl e be lo w sh ow s ne ce ss ar y eq ui pm en t an d it em s th at a re u se fu l fo r as tr o- ph ot og ra ph y wi th t he P ol ar ie .
Es se nt ia l : N ee de d su bj ec t to c on di ti on s : Us ef ul :
Description
Po la ri e
2 x AA -s iz e
Ba tt er ie s
(So ld comm erci ally )
Ex te rn al P ow er
Su pp ly
(So ld comm erci ally )
Ca me ra T ri po d
(So ld comm erci ally )
Ba ll H ea d
Ad ap te r
(So ld comm erci ally )
Polar Axis Scope
(Optional)
DS LR C am er a
wi th L en s( 1)
(So ld comm erci ally )
Le ns S ha de
(So ld comm erci ally )
Need
Item
Need
Ultra- sma ll and handy sta r tracker.
Alkaline batteries or rechargeable Ni-MH or
rechargeable Ni-Cd batteries are recommended.
Battery performance decreases in cold weather.
Be sure to prepare spare ones.
Power supply with USB-output (USB-mini Type
: DC4.4~5.25V) can be used . It is convenient
for long exposure wide-field astrophotography.
The tripod pan head with UNC1/4” thread is
required. It is recommended to use a sturdy
tripod. Included if purchased as a package.
Used to mou nt your cam era on the Pola rie.
So li d ba ll h ea d ty pe is reco mm ended.
Includ ed if purchased as a package.
It allows for a more accurate polar alignment.
A digi tal SLR camera w ith wide-ang le le ns is
the most pref erable. Rem emb er to bring the
battery for the camera and storage media
(CF, SD a nd etc.)with you , a lso.
It is usef ul to avoid unwant ed stray light and
le ss en dew cond en sa tions on t he l en s
surfac e o f your camera .
Description
Sh ut te r Re le as e
Ca bl e( 2)
(So ld comm erci ally )
Timer or Stopwatch
We ak A dh es iv e
Ta pe
(So ld comm erci ally )
De w He at er
(So ld comm erci ally )
Pl an is ph er e,
St ar C ha rt
Re d Fl as hl ig ht
Ou tf it f or c ol d
weather,Repellant
Shroud, Plastic bags
Item
It is used to avoid moving the camera and also
to c ontrol shutter exposure times. Genuine
parts are recommended.
It is used to measure the shutter exposure times.
It is used to hold the position of the focusing
ring after you focu s the lens to the object.
Autofocus lenses with inner focusing systems
may not hold the focus.
It is used to prevent the lens surface from dew
condensing during the photography session.
It is u sef ul to c onf ir m the d ir e ct ion s of
constellations and the position of stars.
It is used to read star charts, setting up and
dismantling equipment.
Take pr ecautions agai nst t he cold. Use an
insect repellent if necessary.
It is useful to protect equipment from a sudden
rain.
BEFORE USE
Requirements and Useful Items
8
(1 )I t is s tr on gl y re co mm en de d that y ou r ca me ra have f un ct io ns
th at s at is fy t he f ol lo wi ng s pe ci fi ca ti on s.
A b ul b sh ut te r me ch an is m is needed for long ex po su re s. If i t is
no t available o n your ca me ra , both an ISO sp ee d setting f as te r
th an 320 0 an d a sh ut te r ex po su re time setting longer th an 30
se co nd s ar e re qu ir ed .
Sh ut te r re le as e ca bl es .
Wi de -a ng le d ph ot og ra ph ic l en se s ar e re co mm en de d.
Ma nu al Foc us is av ail abl e. Au to Fo cus re re ly wor ks in ni ght -
sk y sc en es .
DS LR cameras wi th an optical vie wf in de r or “L iv e Fo cu s” are
pr ef er ab le .
(2 )I t is best t o us e a remote re le as e ca bl e with functions to p re se t
th e shutter exposure times. In fr ar ed wir el es s re le as e models
ar e no t re co mm en de d.
BEFORE USE
Requirements and Useful Items
9
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