[2-Step SkySafari Camera Mount Alignment System] Point DSLR > Take DSO Image With DSLR > Using Phone Take Photo Of DSO Image On DSLR LCD > Plate Solve Camera's Center

SS8 Plus User Review & System Setup / Implementation:

I recently downloaded and installed Sky Safari 8 Plus. I am not sure you realize how important this version is to us astrophotographers. I have 3 systems....a seestar that basically runs itself, a standard rig using ASIair that finds objects and auto slews to them, and a Move Shoot Move Nomad tracker that polar aligns but has no goto capabilities. I have been trying to figure out how to do goto with the Nomad using my Canon R8 and my 50mm prime and my sv535 at 105mm. I have tried about everything and then wondered if sky safari 8 plus would work. It does. First it is almost perfectly aligned with the actual sky which means when I use it to point to an object when my phone is mounted on top of my camera the object is fairly well centered in the viewfinder of my R8. That is HUGE. I have found other products to be off by as much as 30 degrees which is close to unusable. But there is more. I use Sky Safari to get me close to my target by centering the target in the phone lcd. Now what if the target is invisible like a nebula? It is still probably close to center but now I can check. I take a photo with the canon r8 and display it on the camera's LCD. I then take a photo of the lcd with my iphone, crop it in fairly tightly and plate solve it in sky safari using what my target name is as the target id. Once it successfully plate solves I have it map it onto the skychart. I can now see where my target is relative to my frame. If it is slightly below it I can just drop the camera lens down a few degrees and center. I use the degree height and width of the frame to estimate how much I have to move the lens. I can plate solve one more time just to make sure my target is centered. I now have a fully operational manual goto that allows me to slew to targets that are invisible to the naked eye in the night sky, just like I can using my seestar or asiair. BRAVO!!! You solved my problem. I couldn't be happier. This is an outstanding application!