Tristimulus
Veteran Member
Appreciate my Vixen Polarie even more when I read the comments here... :-D
Am curious and wish Benro luck with the new product. Will be exiting to see what is hidden behind all the cloudy messages.
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Benro Polaris smart electric tripod head
- Thread starter Pogo65
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Am curious and wish Benro luck with the new product. Will be exiting to see what is hidden behind all the cloudy messages.
Dominic Ryan
Forum Enthusiast
I so want the Polaris to nail all the big ticket items it claims, seems the details of all these features are pamphlet level overviews rather than anything of depth. This is a lot of money for me which really makes me a poor Kickstarter candidate, and while a 30% discount on the astro edition is tempting it is not uncommon for 15% discounts on black Friday once it has spent some time in the wild. If it wasn't for the backing of Benro I would have cancelled my pledge some time ago, I may regret it but I think I'll be withdrawing my pledge as details of any substance are just too sparse.
jlg84
Well-known member
I ordered one too, as soon as I saw the campaign. Are you keeping your order, now that you have a camera to replace potentially?
Lettermanian
Senior Member
Sorry, just replying now as I didn't get a notification. I decided to keep my order because regardless of my camera situation, I still want the main features of this all-in-one tripod head. I got in at the highest discount level and didn't want to lose that advantage. My Z5 is at Nikon Service (Canada) right now, as my insurance company needs their professional assessment before they'll replace it. If they do I'll likely get the money, and will decide if I'm going to stay with the Z5 (which is on the Polaris supported list), upgrade to Z6ii (not yet on the list), or go a different route (possibly return to Fuji). Not sure yet
nighthiker
Senior Member
Hi!
Despite the official end of the Kickstarter campaign you can still order the Polaris at a reduced price, now called 'basic' and 'strong' version. But the delivery time is late (September). Guess we will never see the announced base prices as real prices.
Despite the official end of the Kickstarter campaign you can still order the Polaris at a reduced price, now called 'basic' and 'strong' version. But the delivery time is late (September). Guess we will never see the announced base prices as real prices.
Trued1
Active member
All Kickstarters do this..... I am not surprised!
Astrophotographer 10
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No need for polar alignment caught my attention. Nice neat compact unit. Uncomplicated. Exactly what is needed.
I look forward to seeing some real world results though.
Does it require mobile phone coverage? What if your phone doesn't get a signal in a remote area?
Greg.
I look forward to seeing some real world results though.
Does it require mobile phone coverage? What if your phone doesn't get a signal in a remote area?
Greg.
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Not necessarily.
If it has accurate GPS info and accurate info about the angle it is at, then it might be able to calculate how far off polar alignment it is and adjust accordingly for drift in both axes.
But it probably doesn't work like that. It may be banking on the lens being wide angle and quite forgiving so even a half decent tracking will correct for star trailing if you only do 30 seconds.
Sharp Cap has a polar alignment tool which is fabulous and works something like that. It plate solves an image you take near the pole and then gives you a green star and arrow to manually centre on and you are done.
Greg.
If it has accurate GPS info and accurate info about the angle it is at, then it might be able to calculate how far off polar alignment it is and adjust accordingly for drift in both axes.
But it probably doesn't work like that. It may be banking on the lens being wide angle and quite forgiving so even a half decent tracking will correct for star trailing if you only do 30 seconds.
Sharp Cap has a polar alignment tool which is fabulous and works something like that. It plate solves an image you take near the pole and then gives you a green star and arrow to manually centre on and you are done.
Greg.
nighthiker
Senior Member
Hi!
If you have no mobile phone coverage you will not be able to use the mobile phone grid for remote control, but WiFi and Bluetooth will work. The mobile phone grid would allow a remote control over much longer distances.
Clearskydreamer
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I backed this project though sad to say its been well over 2 weeks now since the last official update. We were promised both a working animation of the Polaris (in action?) and that the dev team were taking the prototypes to a better location to test it under dark skies with "results soon" etc.
I can't understand the reticence to update the community who backed their project. My biggest fear I suppose is that Benro have over promised or have been taken aback by astro demand and are now running around trying to make it work.
It will also be just over 3 months till the product supposedly ships and, speaking as someone who works in a manufacturing company, they are running out of time to set up a working production line to produce goods at scale in my opinion. I can see this being delayed which I can live with - just tell the backers sooner than later!
(Rant over)
I can't understand the reticence to update the community who backed their project. My biggest fear I suppose is that Benro have over promised or have been taken aback by astro demand and are now running around trying to make it work.
It will also be just over 3 months till the product supposedly ships and, speaking as someone who works in a manufacturing company, they are running out of time to set up a working production line to produce goods at scale in my opinion. I can see this being delayed which I can live with - just tell the backers sooner than later!
(Rant over)
PaulRickwood
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I'm 99.999% certain it will be delayed.
This I don't mind, I hope they spend the time to get it right.
I also have doubts about what they can deliver and even if conceptually the star tracking will work with any degree of accuracy. Yet I still backed it and this is despite being burnt on other failed KS 'tech'. I had promised myself that I would not do this again on sizeable investments but here I am...
Let's hope Benro pleasantly surprises me with something that delivers everything it promises.
This I don't mind, I hope they spend the time to get it right.
I also have doubts about what they can deliver and even if conceptually the star tracking will work with any degree of accuracy. Yet I still backed it and this is despite being burnt on other failed KS 'tech'. I had promised myself that I would not do this again on sizeable investments but here I am...
Let's hope Benro pleasantly surprises me with something that delivers everything it promises.
There is an update on the star tracking function: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/benropolaris/polaris-smart-electric-tripod-head/posts/3176814
There is still no further explanation about how it actually works. The test at the link used 10 minutes worth of 30 second exposures with a 600mm lens. The target was nothing special, just a star field. (A great example of poor marketing.) They also show jpegs of the twenty “original images,” although it is unclear whether these are the sub-exposures after cropping or before.
There is still no further explanation about how it actually works. The test at the link used 10 minutes worth of 30 second exposures with a 600mm lens. The target was nothing special, just a star field. (A great example of poor marketing.) They also show jpegs of the twenty “original images,” although it is unclear whether these are the sub-exposures after cropping or before.
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nighthiker
Senior Member
Hi!
Jupp, still some open questions, but at least the tracking works somehow. I'm mostly interested in (U)WA or normal lenses and that will be OK if even 600mm work.
I need the real Polaris 'hands-on' to see how it works for me.
Delivery time is still the same, correct? So I will get mine (I'm an early bird) hopefully before winter.
Jupp, still some open questions, but at least the tracking works somehow. I'm mostly interested in (U)WA or normal lenses and that will be OK if even 600mm work.
I need the real Polaris 'hands-on' to see how it works for me.
Delivery time is still the same, correct? So I will get mine (I'm an early bird) hopefully before winter.
Bob in Baltimore
Senior Member
What ever happened with this product? There was much discussion some months ago, then nothing. It was supposed to have been out by now.
It looked interesting, if not inadequately explained in their Kickstarter campaign.
Jayling
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According to their kickstarter page, they shipped the first units out a week ago on November 20th, 2021. I haven't heard anything from users yet. It'll be interesting to hear some reports on it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/benropolaris/polaris-smart-electric-tripod-head/posts/3365224
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Lettermanian
Senior Member
There were developmental delays as they refined the final product, as was to be expected in light of world events. They didn't have great communication on their FB page, but did show some updates as the months went by. There is an app now, I may try to post some photos of it later. Units have started shipping and there are a few people in FB Polaris group who are about to receive it, so we should know soon about its initial functionality.
I am backer #449, and just this morning I received an email about choosing a shipping method (have to pay extra for faster shipping); I chose the faster version which should be shipped within 7-15 days. I ordered the astro edition, so hopefully I'll be able to get some winter astro shots within the month
nighthiker
Senior Member
I'm at a similar backer 'ranking' like Lettermanian, but the shipping is also depending on location and selected version. We will see ....
So we should have some models available in the near future.
So we should have some models available in the near future.
NY Skeptic
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Looking forward to your review/thoughts. I, too, Kickstarted this but about the 1,500th backer so it will be some time before it ever arrives. Missed a few meteor showers, including tonight's Geminids and Comet Leonardo. If you don't mind answering, how much more was the shipping than the $25US (if shipped to US) ? Good luck.
BJN
Veteran Member
I received my Polaris with astro attachment. WiFi version. The materials, fit and finish are great, but I have gripes about the design. The main two-axis Polaris has a clamp that orients the slot on the lens axis, so forget using any custom fit camera plates and L-brackets without using a secondary plate (or using a piggyback clamp). The second issue is both the main clamp and astro clamp to don't open wide enough to work with any slightly oversize dovetails. My Smallrig L bracket for my Z6 fits, my Smallrig L bracket for my Lumix G9 doesn't.
The software is nearly unusable, and I expect months of updates and fixes to do much of what is promised reliably. Also, the app has next to no controls when you don't connect the Polaris to a camera. There are a couple of "joystick" controls that move the head verrrrrry slowly, and that's it.
I was thinking the knobs would allow you to use Polaris as a precision 2 or 3 axis head. Not really. Precision heads provide clutches so you can quickly get a rough alignment. There are no clutches on Polaris, and the movement is so fine that you'll grow old and gray just adjusting the head tens of degrees.
I was unable to format a Samsung SD card (card is required) I put in my Polaris. Now I'll need to find out what cards people are having luck with. There's a Facebook Group that the Polaris team post on every so often. I thought I'd check to see what threads were active here.
The software is nearly unusable, and I expect months of updates and fixes to do much of what is promised reliably. Also, the app has next to no controls when you don't connect the Polaris to a camera. There are a couple of "joystick" controls that move the head verrrrrry slowly, and that's it.
I was thinking the knobs would allow you to use Polaris as a precision 2 or 3 axis head. Not really. Precision heads provide clutches so you can quickly get a rough alignment. There are no clutches on Polaris, and the movement is so fine that you'll grow old and gray just adjusting the head tens of degrees.
I was unable to format a Samsung SD card (card is required) I put in my Polaris. Now I'll need to find out what cards people are having luck with. There's a Facebook Group that the Polaris team post on every so often. I thought I'd check to see what threads were active here.
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