After about 10 years inactivity, I added a new page to the Astronomy Forum, and restarted an activity in the field of astronomy.
I used to concentrate in getting images of deep space galaxies using a cooled CCD with a telescope guiding it acurately, but now, I take an approach just the opposite.
I started timelapse shooting living in Fiji since 2011, and after comming back to Japan, in 2014 I started to use motion equipments to get motion timelapse images which made me crazy to work in this field.
A dynamic power of expression of motion timelapse fascinated me a lot, and I took many images mainly landscapes After all, as I grew up in astronomy world, I naturally entered the world of starry sky timelapse.
Timelapse is a movie consisted of 30 still images per second from hundreds or thousands still images taken with certain intervals.
The movement of clouds and men is played back fast forward.
Timelapse is taken with intervals of few seconds, but if we add motions to the camera during shooting by sliding on the rail for a few meters long giving a rotaion for Pan (holizontal rotattion) & Tilt (vertical rotation) rotators, the result will be really dynamic and powerful.
This kind of timelapse is called "Motion timelapse".
Ther is no doubt that a single starry sky still image realized with super tecniques to get high seistivity, fineness, and richness of colors is an excellent astronomical picutre.
However, starry sky timelapse realize a world of presentation of beauty showing a dynamic movoment of the starry sky and its depth to bring emotions
2. Equipments required for the timelapse shooting
Above picture is a SKYPIX (sold by Skypix Japan)'s astro dolly, AD6-E1700. It runs on a1.7ｍeter long wich is foldable to 1.0 meter long with a pan and tilt rotators.
A zoom motor is Installed to the hot-sue of the camera. With rail, pan and tilt motrs, totally four motors are controlling complex motions.
An orange box is the engine, and a CPU and the Li-ion battery are built in. A joystick controller enables you to set and operate the engine freely.
No notebook computer is required. I am sure that there is no other dolly like this with variousi functions and powerfulness and compactness in the world.
When I need more length for the rail, I use AD3-TD3000, which enabels me to assemble a long rail with 1 meter long units up to 6 meters long.
This is a SKYPIX's compact and light weight astro dolly sysytem, X3pt Pro-TS2000. A shooting scene with a 2 meter long rail, being assembled three 67cm long rail units being set slant.
Although this system accept only upto the weight of DSLR camera (The above AD6-E1700 can accept cameras up to 40Kg of wieght.), it is so easy to handle with, so I love to use it when I need to shoot easily, or in case that the transportation is not easy.
The X3pt Pro engine has pan rotator and Li-ion battery built-in in its cabinet. It has a tilt rotator mounted on top. It s extremely compact all-in-one system.
This is a combination of X3pt Pro and SKYPIX's ultra compact dolly, H350.
It is possible to set up with a single trypod. The upper rail and the lower rail go the other way, so that total movement is about the twice of the rail lengh.
This is really handy when I needo to shoot the timelapse clibming the mountan, or going to overseas.
CANON EOS 6D which is excellent with its sensitivity and low noise feature.
The main lense is NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED wich is excellent with its high contrast feature, and low coma aberration and limb darkening feature.
I use a lense converting adaptor to fit to the CANON body..
As the lense is so huge, I built a special powerful heater with two set of coils for 12V to prevent night dew.
I tried many times, and found it bright star images with a digital camera are not blurred as a film camera.
As a result, small stars can not be distinguished from digital noise, and therefore after the noise reduction processing, considerabel numbers of stars are disappeared.
Well, a star filter (soft filter) seems to be essential.
However, my principle lense, NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED does not accept any size of filters in the market because of its huge lense.
SKYPIX JAPAN manufactures only one star filter for this lense in the world. It has 140mm of diameter.
I bult a huge and strong unti-dew heater for this filter using two set of heater coils. It should be very powerful.
It is like this. It is big! This heater works perfect to prevent night dew in any environment.
SKYPIX's Astro dolly, AD3-TD3000 with a giant star filter and an unti-dew heater, waiting for the night to shoot starry sky timelapse.
This dolly system is very solid and powerful, and is just suitable for professional use. (capable to mount cameras up to 40Kg of weight)
This model has three units of 1meter long rail, and is able to set up 3 meter long dolly, mounting a pan and tilt rotators.
This is a snap shot when I shoot starry sky timelapse at Mt. Yatsugatake .
Timelapse shooting takes log time through the night maybe from 7 o'clock in the evening till 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, therefore a perfect preparation is expected.
While the shooting, it is important to watch the system all the way, as it moves physically, then wires may be tangles up or other unexpected accident may occur.
In case that the vehicle can be parked near by, AC power is supplied from the inverter at the vehicle, and all the equipments such as dolly, camera, heater are run with AC adaptor, otherwise exchanging battery works would be so busy during a long night shooting.
They can be by DC12V(13.8V) from the battery of the vehicle, however, long feed line for 12V result a drop of the voltage even though using a thick cable. Only in case that I have no other choice, I dare use that method.
3. Album of the Motion Timelapse images
* Click the thumb nail images below to see the streaming movie at Vimeo site.
| [4K] The Best Views of a solitary island in the distant sea, Aogashima [4min 8sec] |
[8K] Starry night at Mt. Myogi [2min 2sec] |
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| Place | Aogashima Island, The Izu Islands | Place | Mt. Myogi, Gunma |
| Commentト | A small volcanic island 380Km south of Tokyo, Aogashima Island. Surrounded by a steep cliff, the port is only place where we can reach to the seashore. From the top of the outer caldera, a 360 degree view of the horizon is visible. A completely darkness at night allows us to see the tremendous number of the stars. It is a paradise! | Comment | Starry sky timelapse in 8K. Shot at Mt.Myogi in Gumma prefecture. Unfortunately sky was not clear enough to show The Milky Way clearly, but even the faint stars are shown very sharply in the image with clear colors. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000, AstroLapse-T3 Camera : CANON EOS 6D, EOS 6D (IR filter modified） Lens : NIKON 20mm F2.8, 14-24mm F2.8G ED (Star filter) |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX AstroLapse-T3 Camera : NIKON D850 Lens : NIKON 14-24mm F2.8G ED, SAMYANG 12mm F2.8 (Star filter使用) |
| Meteor shower of Perseus [2min 15sec] |
[4K] The best views in Myanmar (Omnibus version) [6min 24sec] |
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| Place | Ojiya, Niigata | Place | Various places in Myanmar |
| Comment | This is not an art, but a timelapse for observation of the meteor shower of Perseus for 6 hours from 9PM to 3AM. Till the mid night, the moon light was bright to bother. The arrows show the appearance of the meteors, which are counted as 118. It is calculated that about 20 meteors per hour. | Comment | Images shot during three weeks running 2,000Km by car in Myanmar. The integrated version of both "The Ruins & Rocks of Miracle" Edition and "Pagoda & Buddha" Edition. Only one scene of starry sky. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000, AstroLapse-T3 Camera : CANON EOS 6D, EOS 6D (IR filter modified） Lens : NIKON 20mm F2.8, 14-24mm F2.8G ED (Star filter) |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS1500, Skate Dolly Camera : CANON EOS 6D, EOS 6D (IR flter modified） Lens : NIKON 14-24mm F2.8, 24-120mm F4 (Star filter) |
| [4K] Galaxy at Oku-Chichibu [52sec] |
[4K] Starry sky and a dawn of Mt. Fuji and The Southern Alps [37sec] |
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| Place | Momiji Lake, Chichibu | Place | Sun Meadow Kiyosato Ski Resort, Mountain foot of Mt. Yatsugatake |
| Comment | The Milky Way taken in a mountain of Oku-Chichibu. As there is very few manmade light here, the summer galaxy shows its beautiful details. | Comment | View from a peak of 1,930m at the mountainfoot of Mt. Yatsugatake. Head lights of night climbers shows the chain of light along with the climbing path on Mt.Fuji. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000およびAstroLapse-T3 Camera : CANON EOS 6D, EOS 6D (IR flter modified） Lens : NIKON 20mm F2.8, 14-24mm F2.8G ED (Star filters) |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX Q3-TD3000 + L-Pan/Tilt Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON 14-24mm F2.8G ED (Star filter) |
| [4K] Diamond sunset and shining winter Galaxy at Mt. Myogi [ 2min 2sec] |
Spherical Timelapse by RICHO Theta S −Unknown asteroids− [1min 55sec] |
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| Place | Lake Nozori, Gumma pref. （Elv.1,520m） | Place | Tanuki Lake, Shizuoka |
| Comment | A very clear sky till the horizen realized a diamond sunset shooting. After the 4th scene, IR modified camera and AstroLapse-T3 are used, and pink color of the Orion nebula and other parts in the Galzy came out so beautiful. | Comment | Just tried to make a unique work using Rciho Theta S with a playful spirit. Rotation of the asteroids? is given by a Pan rotator. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000, and AstroLapse-T3 Camera : CANON EOS 6D, and EOS 6D (IR Filter modified) Lens : NIKON 20mm F2.8, and NIKON 14-24mm F2.8G ED (Star Filters) |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro Camera : RICHO Theata S |
| The Milky Way and Stars mirrored in the Lake Nozori [ 45sec] |
Hyperlapse - Twilight and Starry sky at Urayama dam [ 1min 31sec] |
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| Place | Lake Nozori, Gumma pref. （Elv.1,520m） | ||
| Comment | After the midnight, the wind stops completely, and the surface of the lake turns into a mirror to reflect the Milky Way and stars clearyly. It was absolutely fantasitic scenry. | Comment | Hyperlapse is a kind of Timelapse, and it is shot with moving a camera for more than hundreds of meteres. I was succeded to shoot hyperlapse even for the starry sky, which is hardly to find in the world. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000 Camera : CANON EOS 6D (IR Filter modified) Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED + SKYPIX Star Filter |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX AD3-Hyperlapse Dolly Prototype2 Camera : SONY Alfa7R Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 20mm F2.8G ED + Kenko Pro1D Soft Filter |
| Mt. Myogi 24 hours （without Star Tracker version) [2min 41sec] |
The summer Milky Way over the Jyobu mountain district [52sec] |
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| Place | Mt. Myogi, Gumma pref. （Elv.720m） | Place | Mt. Myogi, Gumma pref. （Elv.720m） |
| Comment | At Mt. Myogi from the daylight to sunset, all thruough the nigt till the sun rise. The shot of the northern sky being centered to the polar star shows the movement of the stars for more than 10 hours. | Comment | I modified the IR firlter of CANON 6D by replacing it with an astro IR filter which passes H-alpha light. It is amazing to see such a big difference. I am sure that I will never be able to lose it. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000 Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED + SKYPIX Star Filter and NIKON NIKKOR 24-120mmF3.5-5.6G ED + KENKO PRO1D |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000 Camera : CANON EOS 6D (IR Filter modified) Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED + SKYPIX Star Filter |
| Day & Night of the Air Corridor "Sky Bridge" [1min 33sec] |
Mt. Myogi 24 hours （with Star Tracker version） [2min 51sec] |
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| Place | Ueno village (Elv. 700m), Gumma pref. | Place | Mt. Myogi, Gumma pref. （Elv.720m） |
| Comment | A big rope bridge in the air in the deep in the mountainous area in Gumma pref. The moon rises in the dawn. | Comment | At Mt. Myogi from the daylight to sunset, all thruough the nigt till the sun rise. The reveresed trails of the stars in the northern sky for 10 hours by Star Tracker is inserted. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX AD3-TD3000 Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED + SKYPIX Star Filter and NIKON NIKKOR 24-120mmF3.5-5.6G ED |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-TS2000 Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED + SKYPIX Star Filter and NIKON NIKKOR 24-120mmF3.5-5.6G ED + KENKO PRO1D |
| One Night at the Pass [54sec] |
Starry sky at Ayamedaira [26sec] |
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| Place | Mugikusa Pass, Mt. Yatsugatake (Elv. 2127m) | Place | Ayamedaira. Oze （Elv.1962m） |
| Comment | One night at the Mugikusa Pass of Mt.Yatsugatake （Elev. 2,127m）. Fog blows heavily. Moon sets and Galaxy shines. | Comment | Ayamedaira located at 1,962m of elevation, looking down Oze wetland. Just an unblievable wonderful landscape. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX AD3-TD3000 Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro-H350 Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED + SKYPIX Star Filter |
| Galaxy in the mist at Lake Motosu [36sec] |
The Milkyway above the head [14sec] |
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| Place | Lake Motosu, Mount foot of Mt. Fuji | Place | Onioshidashi, Mt. Asama （Elv.1,736m) |
| Comment | Galaxy in the mist above thLake Motosu at the foot of Mt.Fuji. Light of the vehicles, airplane, and a town all make it nice. |
Comment | At the moutainside of Mt.Asama at 1,376m of elevation. Looking up the top of the sky. From the Eagle to Cassiopeia. |
| Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX AD6-E1700 Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED |
Equipment | Motion Equipment : SKYPIX X3pt Pro Camera : CANON EOS 6D Lens : NIKON NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED |
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