Lets look at blurry pictures of the moon!

Olympus 12-45mm /f4.0 Pro

01/03/2008 08:39:28 AM · #2

Not bad for a "first light" effort. You've discovered the curse of astrophotography - focusing. (Well, one of the curses) (Actually, one of the least expensive curses)

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

01/03/2008 08:43:35 AM · #3

Not sure how it works with a telescope, but doing astro work with my regular lenses, I've about given up on trying to focus through the viewfinder. I just try to use a decent aperture (not hard with the extreme wide-angle lenses that I favor) and use the focus range scale on the barrel. Not always perfect, takes a few tries, but drives me far less crazy than trying to squint a star into focus.

chris48083, those aren't bad for first time shots. Obviously the stars are too far out of focus, but the moon shots aren't bad - and they'll be really kick @$$ when you get them sharp!

(I'm not even sharing my first-time astro shots...I got them onto the computer and gagged, they were so bad...)

Olympus 12-45mm /f4.0 Pro

01/03/2008 08:59:18 AM · #4

Here is my first time a few years ago....focal length was 1125 mm + (f10, SC, 5")

bassbone

Nikon Df

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

01/03/2008 09:09:29 AM · #5

To get the sharpest images possible - don't forget to use a rock steady tripod. On my efforts at astrophotography with my 500mm, I can actually see the movement from the shutter release on some shots. I am not sure what you are using, but finding some way to dampen the motion really will improve the images.

typos corrected

Here is my best effort so far - most were quite blurry due to camera shake on shutter movement. I would agree with earlier comments that focusing using the distance ring might be a great way to go instead of trying to do it by sight. Taking a series of shots with minor adjustments of the focus should give you a pretty good shot.

Message edited by author 2008-01-03 09:43:24.

FocusPoint

XIAOMI Redmi Note 8 Pro

01/03/2008 09:23:54 AM · #6

This is the best I can do with my Sigma 70-300 APO DG.
Maybe I buy better zoom-lens for moon-shots in the future :D

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

01/03/2008 09:39:59 AM · #7

Originally posted by FocusPoint:

This is the best I can do with my Sigma 70-300 APO DG.
Maybe I buy better zoom-lens for moon-shots in the future :D

That's a really nice shot of the moon - I wish mine turned out that well!

Quasimojo

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

01/03/2008 12:36:36 PM · #8

Here's mine - shot in 2005 and not that great:

[thumb]628815[/thumb]

Shot with Canon 70-300 (the non IS cheap one) on a 300D. I've now got a Canon 100-400 f4 and a higher res 30D so I should try again.

I've also got a 2x extender - are these any good for moon shots, or is there too much degradation in image quality?

N

pjangel

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/03/2008 01:03:55 PM · #9

I shot this in July of 2006 and haven't been able to get a good shot of the moon since... I guess this was beginners luck!

chris48083

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

01/03/2008 04:19:38 PM · #10

Originally posted by bassbone:

The camera is mounted to the actual telescope which is on a tripod with beefy 1" diameter tubes. And i used a 2 sec delay (which brings the mirror up, delays and then just the shutter is moving).

But yeah, it was pretty bada** to shoot, unfortunatly i wont be back in town until march, so i cant shoot until then. but ill have my new d80 by then so things should get even more fun.

Ecce_Signum

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

01/03/2008 04:40:25 PM · #11

Before I got bored waiting for the eclipse ;)

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

01/03/2008 07:11:01 PM · #12

A suggestion I made in another thread was to put a piece of cardboard in front of the lens. Now, most shots with the full moon are quick, so stopping down and doing a manual exposure would help.

In my photo (above) I believe I did just that...I can't remember. My biggest problem in that shot was the fact I didn't have the scope aligned properly so tracking was a little bit of a problem.

Originally posted by bassbone:

Message edited by author 2008-01-03 19:11:48.

Quasimojo

Canon EOS-30D

01/21/2008 03:57:37 PM · #13

There's a lovely bright full(ish) moon outside so I grabbed the camera:

[thumb]636494[/thumb]
[thumb]636496[/thumb]
[thumb]636497[/thumb]

Anyone else shooting the moon at the mo?

N

Message edited by author 2008-01-21 15:57:54.

bassbone

Nikon Df

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

01/21/2008 03:58:49 PM · #14

Full moon is just about the worst time to shoot...Too much light!

Originally posted by Quasimojo:

There's a lovely bright full(ish) moon outside so I grabbed the camera:

Anyone else shooting the moon at the mo?

N

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

01/21/2008 04:03:40 PM · #15

Ditto. The full moon is the textbook definition of flat light. You can't make out the texture of the moon. Although, when done right a full moon has quite some detail.

Taking a photo of a crescent or gibbous is remarkable as you can see the shadow at the edge and depth of the craters.

There is an interesting point about that dark/light transition...it's actually sunrise on the moon. When observed through a telescope patiently, you can see the shadows change over time....very cool. (See my posting above for a shot I took)

Originally posted by bassbone:

Full moon is just about the worst time to shoot...Too much light!

Message edited by author 2008-01-21 16:04:12.

MudHut

Canon EOS-40D

01/21/2008 04:04:20 PM · #16

How's this for blurrrry :o)

LanndonKane

Nikon D800

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35 f/4 ED VR

01/21/2008 04:13:01 PM · #17

These are all nice, but my telescope has a wee bit more resolution...

icu1965

Sony DSLR-A200

Sony 75-300 mm f/4.5-5.6

01/21/2008 04:26:59 PM · #18

Show off! :)

01/21/2008 05:35:19 PM · #19

Hey...that's ME in that suit!

goc

Apple iPhone 4

01/21/2008 05:51:34 PM · #20

i can smell "conspiracy" here