action cam on a star tracker

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plroberto avatar

Hi all.

I’m planning to buy an action cam not for astro use, but I know that I will eventually try to experiment with it on the night sky.

I am thinking of something modern such as the DJI Osmo Action 5, or the Insta350 Ace Pro 2. They both have a relatively large sensor (1/1.3”). Emphasis on “relatively”.

I’m having this crazy idea of trying to attach the action cam to a Move Shoot Move and try some milky way stacking the images, os simple timelapses on just the tripos, for a nearly pocketable setup to bring during “non astro weekends”.

I already have a full dedicated astro setup with a small refractor, a couple of mounts, and a dedicated astro OSC camera, as well as a astro modified DSLR, and I am well aware that the results won’t be nearly comparable, but the real question is: is it even worth trying? Or the results won’t even be watchable?

Has enyone already tried something like this? Is this a completely crazy idea and a waste of time?

Thanks for sharing any experience and thought.

Roberto

Well Written Respectful Engaging
Tony Gondola avatar

It’s fast at F/2.8 but I don’t know what the noise and internal processing looks like. I would say, just try it and see what you get.

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