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TP: How to photograph the moon

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revdocjim View Drop Down
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Posts: 8607 		Post Options Post Options   Quote revdocjim Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 May 2007 at 16:57
Originally posted by polossatik polossatik wrote:

AF? i think you can consider the moon to be at infinity....
If this is not far enough then i think you need your lens checked for back focus :)


My experience is that the moon is never quite at infinity. If using MF mode I always have to back up from infinity just a little. Maybe it is because many lenses go past infinity; I'm not sure. But I have used at least 4 or 5 lenses to shoot the moon and had the same experience with all of them. (Kenko 500/8 mirror, Sony 75-300 kit, beercan, big beercan, Minolta 80-200/2.8G, Minolta 200/2.8G and 2x TC)
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polossatik View Drop Down
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Posts: 1013 		Post Options Post Options   Quote polossatik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 00:44
Originally posted by revdocjim revdocjim wrote:

Originally posted by polossatik polossatik wrote:

AF? i think you can consider the moon to be at infinity....
If this is not far enough then i think you need your lens checked for back focus :)


My experience is that the moon is never quite at infinity.


Ho well, and I thought the moon was a quite decent "infinity" object :)

What has the world become? ;)
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brettania View Drop Down
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Posts: 20649 		Post Options Post Options   Quote brettania Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 00:50

Having shot the moon with just about every lens I have that is 200mm and more, I can attest to the fact that manual focus is best as there is an over-run which is noticeable -- caused by the lens going to a point beyond infinity.

But the good news is that the earth is flat. LOL

Edited by brettania - 03 May 2007 at 00:52
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polossatik View Drop Down
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Posts: 1013 		Post Options Post Options   Quote polossatik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 00:54
And I was hoping to use the moon as "reference" to *stop* my MC MTO-11CA 10/1000 focusing beyond infinity...

Anyone a better object suggestion? Orion?
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jimbo View Drop Down
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Posts: 906 		Post Options Post Options   Quote jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 00:56
Originally posted by polossatik polossatik wrote:


AF? i think you can consider the moon to be at infinity....


Indeed - however many lenses (especially long lenses) turn slightly past infinity, so you can't just whack it against the stop. (AFAIK to allow for shifts caused by temperature changes, long lenses are more sensitive to this)
In any case, the image on the focusing screen is the same as the picture captured (with all cameras) so there's no BF issues.

Originally posted by Turerkan Turerkan wrote:

especially when shooting at F8 :)


Large DOF at 500mm?

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Posts: 511 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Timbuctoo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 00:57
Better Prime lenses are more accurate at infinity. Cheaper zooms tend to travel past infinity. I have tested all my lenses for lightning photos and that seems to be the trend.
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Posts: 906 		Post Options Post Options   Quote jimbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 01:03
Originally posted by polossatik polossatik wrote:

Anyone a better object suggestion? Orion?


Well, that would depend on the star, as they are all at different distances.

Personally, I would suggest the galaxy Andromeda, which at @ 2.5 million light years should be sufficient.

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KonicaA3 View Drop Down
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Posts: 1305 		Post Options Post Options   Quote KonicaA3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 14:16
Found this interesting site for determining exposures for photographing the moon with digital cameras.

Keith
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Posts: 759 		Post Options Post Options   Quote alberto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 14:39
Originally posted by polossatik polossatik wrote:

And I was hoping to use the moon as "reference" to *stop* my MC MTO-11CA 10/1000 focusing beyond infinity...

Anyone a better object suggestion? Orion?


It is located 1500-1600 light wears away, I hope that can be considered infinity .... Anyway, you should have asked this one in the M42 subforum, obviously :) :)

You have some giant starts at more distance, say Deneb (1800 light years) and it is more easy to focus that a nebula like Orion.

Edited by alberto - 03 May 2007 at 14:42
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Posts: 2824 		Post Options Post Options   Quote TallPaul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2007 at 16:46
Interesting thread, I have had a go at this in the past but with my 75-300 at 300mm (450 equiv) always produced a small moon. I just got a 2x TC secondhand bargin so I need to get out again, I tried the other night but at 600mm (900 equiv) I think handheld was a bit optimistic, not got the pics of the card yet.

Konica A3 - that link is for moonlit objects, it just advises the sunny 16 rule for the moon itself, interesting page none the less though.
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brettania View Drop Down
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Posts: 20649 		Post Options Post Options   Quote brettania Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 October 2007 at 13:06

Just putting a recent shot with the 500 mirror in this thread.

Exif in pic.

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FineArt View Drop Down
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Posts: 1692 		Post Options Post Options   Quote FineArt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 January 2013 at 09:41
Here are a few more things to consider:

Atmosphere- You are shooting through a few km of turbulent air. "Seeing" is the first of several things to check on the local astronomy forecast.

Humidity- If you see a bright glow around the moon like a big halo, water vapor is refracting the light of the moon. Expect a fuzzy picture. The same if you live near a coastline. High dry areas are better.

Light pollution- Get away from a big city. Most of us live in areas where we can only see a few of the brightest objects. If you get away from street lights you will see a massive number of stars. You will also see a big orange bubble of light over the city in the distance.

Terminator- Not Arnold, look for the edge of the shadowed area. shadows across craters add massive contrast to what is otherwise a flat, bland picture.

Sharpening- use deconvolution sharpening not USM. USM techniques will put a bright white ring inside the edge of the moon. It looks very fake.



Edited by FineArt - 03 January 2013 at 01:31
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