Appendix IV: The Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly
The
Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly
provides more convenience and
control for mounting your photographic payloads. The
Fine-Tuning Element
gives you pointing control for horizontal movements, and for Declination
adjustments when SAM is used in its polar-aligned equatorial mode. Use
its adjustable clutch to make large changes in pointing directions, or make
precise adjustments witl7 its fine-tuning control knob.
One of the most useful features of the
Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly
is that it lets you perform the advanced polar alignment procedure with
your camera gear already in place. You no longer need to remove the
Polar Scope
after the procedure is completed. This greatly reduces the
risk of bumping SAM out of alignment, which can happen when adding
your camera gear after the polar alignment procedure has been done.
You can also use more gear with the
Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly.
Add
the optional SAM
Counter Weight
set and increase SAM's payload capacity
to 4 kilograms! That's enough to carry a small telescope, so you can use
SAM as an equatorial tracking mount for visual astronomy!
Or, use the
Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly
to mount a second camera.
Just remove the
Fine-Tuning Element
to reveal a second mounting screw.
Attach a second ball mount and camera and double your photographic
productivity!
With its versatile design the
Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly
is a must
have accessory, particularly if you are going to use SAM extensively for
astrophotography. Configure it as you like to make your outings more
productive.
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The Fine-Tuning Mounting
Assembly can be configured in
different ways to give you all
sorts of configuration options.
Fine Tuning
Element
Camera
Attachment
\
Adjustable
Clutch
SAM Has Many Possible Configurations
SAM can be configured with your ball mount, tilt/pan head, camera and
tripod in many ways. For
Regular
and
Long-Exposure Time-Lapse
videos all
you need to do is mount SAM to your tripod and your camera to SAM. Using
a ball mount between SAM and the camera is highly recommended as it
gives you much more control over your compositions.
The most recommended configuration for
Astrophotography
and
Astra
Time-Lapse
is shown below and to the right. Here, the
Equatorial Wedge
is mounted to the tripod. SAM is attached to the wedge via the supplied
mounting adapter, and a ball mount (see below) is then attached to SAM.
SAM configured for
Regular and Long
Exposure
Time-Lapse Videos
SAM configured for Astrophotography and
Astra Time-Lapse Videos with and without
the Fine-Tuning Mounting Assembly
...
,
A ball mount is a necessary
item for astrophotography as it
permits you to aim your camera
to any location in the sky.
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