Kids Astrophotography

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BAM AVX

  1. Setup tripod facing north and level
  2. Attach Mount -- level and north
  3. Attach weight
  4. Attach Camera with decent live view of stars
  5. Ballance
  6. Set to home position.
  7. Lock clutches
  8. Plugin mount and anything else
  9. Turn on
  10. Handset
    1. Enter to begin
    2. Move to home index marks and Enter
    3. Select city if not already correct
    4. If AVX needs polar alignment
      1. Align Stars for computer model
        1. Select 2 star align Enter
        2. Loop while more stars needed -- Add a couple calib stars also
          1. Choose and select star Enter
            1. Mount will choose W or E -- to change hit Menu
          2. Mount will slew to target
            1. Use direction Buttons to center star Enter
            2. Use direction Buttons to fine center star Align
        3. Done hit Back
      2. Polar Align mount geometry
        1. Hit Align
          1. Scroll through choices with Right up and down arrows on key's 6 and 9
          2. Select Polar Align and Enter
          3. Select Align Mount Enter
            1. Choose a star closest to the south equatorial Enter (back to choose another)
            2. Center object and hit Enter
            3. Center object and hit Align
            4. Enter to continue
            5. Mount will slew to where it should be pointing. Now you have to adjust the screws on the mount to point it at the chosen star. Once it is perfectly centered hit Enter
            6. Position the Mount at the home position and power cycle. Start again and this time polar align low in the east or low in the west. Power cycle again and do a normal alignment. Now you are ready to use the mount.
      3. Slew to what ever object you desire and observe or take photos!


 Ameila's Cannon EOS M100

It's hard to focus this thing! Here's what works:

  1. Focus
    1. On Tripod
    2.  menu -> 1 -> Expo. simulation -- enable
    3.  menu -> 3 -> focus mode -- MF
    4.  menu -> 4 -> MF Peaking settings -- On High Red
    5.  -- Optional menu -> 5 -> Metering Mode -- spot
    6.  menu -> 7 -> Self Timer -- On 10 S
    7.  info (toggle till quick menu)
      1.  q (edit)
      2.  F5
      3.  ISO Max
      4.  Raw + L
      5.  Manual Focus
    8.  Take 4 second or more exposure and try and locate the brightest star
    9.  Try and center the star
    10.  Adjust the focus as best you can
    11.  Hit the zoom button on the bottom right
    12.  Adjust the focus as best you can
    13. The peaking red highlight is amazingly helpful. You man not see the dim star at all, but the red highlight will show up on the star if it's focused. 
  2. Exposure
    1. Turn it up high to see things better in the display
    2. Turn it as low as you can to get less noisy images
    3. Goes up to 30, then bulb which will need some sort of remote access to make longer, so stick with maxing out at 30
  3. Apeture 
    1. Always put this at the lowest setting, as it lets in the most light that way
  4. Things to try 
    1. Try setting your White Balance to "Tungsten" 
    2. https://www.wimarys.com/canon-eos-m100-setup-guide-with-tips-and-tricks/


Martins GZ-HM650BU

  • I.AUTO (physical button on the side)
    • This needs to be turned off to do manual settings!
  • Manual Focus
    • To get manual focus select the physical i.auto button
    • Setup the user button under menu to be manual focus
      • UI will show up on screen
  • Things to try:
    • Brightness Adjust
      • hit up and down arrows after selecting from menu
    • Backlight compensation
      • On - ignore areas of high illumination 


Benjamins Apeman 

  • Focus is always infinate
  • Long exp
    • Swipe down
    • Settings
    • Long Exposure
  • ISO
    • Auto seems to be fine
    • Camera Mode
    • Camera on lower right
    • ISO -- goes Up to 3200
  • Self timer
    • Set to 10
    • Camera Mode
    • Camera on Lower Left
    • Clock icon to set delay
  • Time Lapse
    • Good to do either with star trails or stacking 
    • Camera Mode
    • Camera on Lower Left
    • Time Lapse
  • Things to try
    • Low light

Papa's Camera A6000

  • View Stars 
    • Manual Mode on top of camera “M”
    •  Rotate right round button till Exposure = 30”
    •  Click right round button and rotate till ISO it is = 25600 
    •  Rotate Top non labeled dial to lowest Aperture = F3.5 
    •  Menu
      • Camera Icon
        • 2 – Drive Mode = Self-timer (Cont)
        • 2 – Focus Mode = Manual Focus
      • Gear Icon
        • 1 – MF Assist = ON (sets images to be large when focusing)
        • 1 – Focus Magnif. Time = No Limit
        • 1 – Grid Line = Diag. + Square Grid
        • 2 – Peaking Level = High
        • 2 – Peaking Color = Red
        • 2 – Live View Display = Setting Effect ON?
        • 5 – AF Micro Adj. = ON
        • 5 – Lens Comp. = All ON
        • 6 – Custom Key Settings - Custom Button 1 = Focus Magnifier
  • Night Sky Photo
  • Same as above except:
    • Click right round button and rotate till ISO it is as low as possible ~ 800 or less


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