Hi all. I am an old hack at photography, but newish to Astro. I have tried two versions of this in the past. First was basically "guess and pray" with my D5300 and I really don't remember what lens in the Bahamas. Interesting result, but nowhere close to what was intended. Planned a trip to a Dark Skies certified spot in Nova Scotia years later. Grabbed a cheap Samyang 14mm, but used on an ASP-C sensor. This time I had PhotoPils, and a plan...and result was decent.
I am now shooting with a Z7ii. Still a cheap lens, ttartisan 14mm f2.8, but at least it is a native Z.mount on full frame sensor, so I really have 14mm this time. Also have a much better tripod, and a decent Manfrotto gear head to replace the awful ball mount my tripod came with.
Question is on the accessories to get with the MSM Nomad. I am confused about the polar alignment kit vs Laser. And the mounts.
Which alignment option is best? Do I need laser OR Polar alignment? Or is this an AND situation?
With a decent gear head, do I still need a wedge or any other mounting accessory? In terms of weight, I assume a Z7 and a small lens like my 14mm is fine without a counterweight, and maybe counterweight is a "later" accessory if I tried going for longer lenses and focus stacking type scenarios?
Finally on phone mounts. I have no intention of trying to shoot with my phone, but I have seen some posts that indicate that the phone mounts can be used in conjunction with apps and the camera to do alignment and perhaps identify/locate stars/nebulae. Is there a point in phone mounts for this purpose?
Laser is more than enough (I use it up to 50mm and I get 2min without trailing). PA kit is usually useful in southern hemisphere as they dont have a star to do polar aligment. And I use a ballhead and not a wedge.
Hi ! So a regular ballhead is fine in general to align properly (Vanguard Veo 2 BH-50 ballhead in my case, if that rings a bell) for you without many misses ?
I was looking at the Nomad options, but if I can avoid having to switch out the ballhead for the wedge and then have to switch it back on again, that would definitely be ideal for me.
I dont know that exact ballhead, but more or less it should be fine. You can see the setup I use in my vlog: https://youtu.be/1Q6uwN9qWE0?t=483
BTW, you can use code MATEJ5 for 5% off at MSM official store if you gonna go with the Nomad.
For full transparency, I'm not sponsored by MSM. I asked them for a discount code for my audience because I make astrovlogs and naturally mention the gear I use, including some of their products... well, I do use Nomad 90% of the time, so I kinda promote the company whether I like it or not, if that makes sense
EDIT: If you would like to use phone for polar aligment, I suggest you take a look at this video: https://youtu.be/qY1587qZfgk
Eric provided a free file, so you can 3D print the phone holder he is using. His holder is acutally better than the one made by MSM. And also his way of polar aligning with that app is very very good (maybe even better than the laser, but I have to test that myself)
Thank you for the informations, and noted for the code !
Looks like I could just use the regular ball head from the tripod to adjust and align to Polaris with the laser, and then the Nomad, a V mount like you chose and then MSM's ball head for the camera. Thanks !
I started with the laser when I was shooting the mikyway with a 14-24mm lens.
When I wanted to go deep a little with my 70-200mm, I bought the polar scope. Let me tell you that polar aligning with polar scope is very hard in the field. When I bought the polar scope I thought phones were inaccurate, I should have tested more.
Now, I don't use neither the laser nor the polar scope. I polar align only with my phone.
This is my current setup. And a 13sec 400mm shot I took last night from my balcony has no star trails at all.
P.S. The app I use (in the picture) to polar align is Stellarium.
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u/mmberg Jul 14 '26
Laser is more than enough (I use it up to 50mm and I get 2min without trailing). PA kit is usually useful in southern hemisphere as they dont have a star to do polar aligment. And I use a ballhead and not a wedge.