Photographing the Moon
 

I had an attempt to photograph the moon on Thursday and decided to post the results with what I did.

At 21:30 or so I noticed the moon emerging from the East and set up my kit 200-400VR f4 with TC17E teleconverter to give 680mm at f6.3 placed on a tripod.

I left ISO 125 from a previous assignment, selected spot metering and snapped my first (below) using mirror lock up (MLU). I noticed it was soft and stopped the lens down progressively but did not yield sharpness. VR on the lens was turned off because of rock steady tripod and MLU combination.

Thoughts, Visibility was moderate (approx 10k) on the day in question and the moon was low in the sky. ISO 125 was a limiting factor to shutter speed even with MLU 1/20 or so was extremely low at 680mm.

Next time I shall use ISO 400 or greater, wait until moon is higher in sky which should negate some visibility induced softness and maybe use shorter focal length using TC14E teleconverter instead of TC17E.

Here's one I took the other night. It was just a quickie, handheld to catch the colour. The moon was low on the horizon and I thought the colour was extraordinarily rich. Being handheld it's not very sharp. I wish now that I had got out a tripod.

Beautiful colours, Dan. My shot had the moon around 25 degrees above horizon. The moon appeared yellow to the eye but white balance changes in RAW conversion made it white(er).

How high above the horizon was the moon in your Shot, Dan?

Also my first attempt. Not having a long lens I attached my camera to my scope. Giving a focal length of 1500mm. As this gives a fixed aperture of f13 I had to set the camera to ISO800 to get a shutter speed of 1/100sec. Time around 8:50. Sky just going dark. I do not have mirror up so had to use anti shock mode and the additional stabilty of a second tripod. I will take a picture to give you a laugh. :D

The problem is definately haze. I feel the air has to be clear to the horizon or it will impact on the final image.

Stevie looks at the stars and I keep searching for the Hasselblads left on the moon, hence the picture title. :D

Don

It's really a false horizon. By that I mean that the ground rises as it stretches towards the road. The moon was about 15 degrees above the top of the rise.
If it's the same colour tonight I'll probably try again using a tripod.

Nice job, Don.

During a search I found this website (below), looks useful when planning a moon photo. Note the section titled 'Moon Visibility'

http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/

Done a few moon pics over the last year or so, using digiscoping technique just like Don. I'd agree that have seens to be a major limiting factor.

Phase of the moon is important. A full moon really doesn't work, it's too bright and flat and there's no texture to the surface. Wait a couple of days until the light is more angled across the moon and this will pick up the surface textures much better.

Here's a couple of my better examples.

Duncan

Well here it is. :D

Nikon ED82A scope with FSA-L1 adaptor. The scope is naturally quite tail heavy so adding the camera then pointing it all skywards makes it worse. As the moon is moving, the camera body is only resting on the ballhead plate. Even though it is quite hefty, the 501 head gives a bit much twang with this angle of operation.

The riflescope gives a 4x dead on finder as it has fine cross hairs.

Don

This might be obvious to everyone, but even if you have a rock steady tripod, there is a limit to how much detail you can obtain with an unguided camera and lens, for the simple reason that the moon moves relative to the Earth. To get critical sharpness, you need a driven mounting (termed an equatorial mounting) that compensates for the Earth's rotation. (The motion of the moon relative to the stars is small relative to the motion of the stars.) One way to improve sharpness without using a driven mounting is to increase the film/sensor ISO to allow shorter exposures. (I've not done the numbers to work out what you can get away with.)

As an aside, many people think that the best time to photograph the moon is when it is full i.e. fully illuminated. That is not really true, as most of the detail is washed out, since the light hits the moon head on, and there are no shadows. More detail is seen when the moon is a crescent as seen in Don's photo. In the region between the light and dark areas, shadows pick out numerous craters, otherwise invisible in a full moon image. I've seen composite pictures of the moon made by combining photos taken at various phases, so as to show craters over the entire surface, and not just at the terminator.

Leif

This makes a lot of sense and explains why I failed to get a sharper image by stopping down the lens. I noticed the moon moving remarkably fast needing camera and lens reposition every shot, 40-50 seconds or so. I predict 1/100 at ISO400 f6.3 is realistic for my next attempt.

Yep, the speed of the moon is quite amazing, you're constantly having to move with it's arc. I prefer a minimum of 1/125 sec at around f8.

As has been said and common to all long distance photography, but even more important here, the atmospheric polutants play a big part in a sharp image.

I'd also forget about trying to shoot 'big moons' that are low to the horizon, they pick up even more astmospheric rubbish.

Here's my favourite, when I (o.k. accidentally) got a airliner across the moon. In fact it's amazing how often you do see aircraft and birds crossing the face of the moon at night.

Thats a cracking image Andy.

Just rummaging through Stevies Astronomy links and found this Moon calender.
http://www.paulcarlisle.net/old/MoonCalendar.html

Don

Here's one I took late last year.
Canon 20D + 100-400mm L IS, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 100, MLU, tripod.
It's a 100% crop, and has been sharpened. From what I rememember, the moon was quite high in the sky.
http://www.sypix.co.uk/gallery/album...on17112005.jpg

This has really surprised me not being a long lens owner. Very impressive for 400mm.

Don

Most of that atmospheric rubbish is moisture drawn in from the oceans however an East wind does bring pollution from the European continent. Here is my pic with one of those airliner thingies spoiling an otherwise top moon shot :D .

Seriously it does show a big moon about 35 degrees above the horizon.

Brilliant, it must have been bright to realise 1/250 f8 at ISO100. It seems shutter speed is the key to a sharp photo

If anyone is interested in having an attempt of photographing the moon. The weather forecast tonight in the United Kingdom is for clear skies, low humidity and the moon will be showing in the first quarter stage (almost half moon).

Thanks Stephen, I will have to give it a go and see if I can get better shots than I already have. The good weather is down to me I ordered it for the wedding Sunday.:D

Christine,
It might be my tripod but after a series of tests I found that I needed 1/250 s to produce sharp images. The test shots were of a brick wall at about 40 m with the tripod legs fully extended and the centre column down. MLU was not employed. The focal length was 400 mm, crop factor 1.6 and enlarements to A4.

By the way here is another moon shot.

John

Thin high cloud here. Through the scope it gets quite soft by 50x. I'll give it a go tomorrow.

Don

Well I had a go. The first one was done with 1/200s, F8, ISO 100 MLU.
2nd one 1/250s, F8, ISO 400, MLU. I probably should wait untill its dark but couldn't resist trying.

They seem nice and sharp to me. Which lens and focal length?

John.

Sorry John I forgot it ls in attachments. its was a Sigma 170-500mm. 400mm.

Glad you are giving it a go and thanks for the weather dancing you have been doing, it seems to have paid off :cool:

Here is my second real attempt, 680mm f6.7 (lens f4) 1/160 ISO400. As the subject was smaller then my previous attempt I had problems with focus and metering. At one point I set ISO 1600 and showed a huge difference, from 1/400 to 1/1600. I may fool around with the spot metering circle size in my camera or use manual exposure in future. Image taken between 21:15 and 21:30. Interesting how the view differs from Saphire's shot taken at roughly the same time even though we live approx 50 miles East/West of each other.

I now seem to have reasonable sharpness and I shall pursue to moon another time using approx 500mm focal length.

Good images. I was tempted to take out the bins and scope last night, and drive to a dark area, but laziness prevailed. At 10pm it was still not dark. I suppose that is not surprising since we are close to the Summer Solstice. At least we do not live in Finland. Sadly clear nights are a rarity here in Southern England, though I have noticed that the mornings are often cloud free. Maybe a weather wonk can explain why.

Leif

Yes the south has seen a bit of a nuclear winter with all the cloud cover for the past few weeks. I can't believe that in a few weeks time the evenings will start to draw in again. New wildlife seems to taken a hit with this cold period. But today makes up for it. Lets hope we get a clear sky to night and I see if I can get a crack at it.

Took this one at 2100 tonight - bit of cloud but quite pleased with it.

D70 - TC1.7 + afs300 f4 ISO 200 f26 at 1/125

I have just been dragged out to try a D2X version, but after setting everything up the current moon is a NO GO. With the scope I am limited to f13, and at ISO800 that is 1/8th sec. Will have to wait until its brighter. :( Also it is quite low so is suffering from atmospheric haze.

Don

Finally just about bright enough last night, at 1/80 sec at f13 at ISO800 taken through my Nikon ED82A scope with the D2X. When using the scope I am limited to a single aperture of f13 which is seriously limiting as well as being on my diffraction boundry.

As I am still waiting for my remote, I cobbled something up to allow use of a cable release. I have remade it today, and will post a pic tomorrow when the paint is dry. :)

Don

Here is a different approach: why wait until dark?

No need for a tripod if you get the shutter speed up: 20D, 500 f/4 and Canon 1.4TC, ISO 200, wide open at f/5.6, a 1500th, hand-held, Lake Mungo, outback New South Wales, taken just after sunrise.

Nice one Tannin, and a well different approach.

Its OK for you guys with long lenses. :)

With my scope I am limited to f13 and trying to focus is a nightmare. :(

Don

Here's one from last night. 300mm + 1.4x tc, handheld 1/80th @ f8, ISO250
I can't remember taking a shot of the moon in this particular phase before.

Thats one top shot using 420mm at 1/80 - respect to you.

Cheers, Stephen. It surprised me as well... I'm a great photographer at 3.30am, it's the rest of the day when it all goes pear shaped :D

Amazing shot Andy. I did a double take over the handheld bit.

Don

:eek:

You should see a doctor about those stiff joints.

That's quite some technique you've got there.

Great thread Stephen deserves bumping.Excellent shots guys the moon is a good test for your equipment.I use the good old CP4500,just screw in eyepiece and slide into telescope -easy,pitty the LCD wasnt bigger tho sometimes it's hard to tell if its in focus & you don't find out till you download onto computer .First shot is one of those, would have trashed it but decided to give it a face lift in Photoshop.You can really pile on the sharpening with a full moon (second shot) and ajusting in levels helps heaps . In the last shot iv'e converted to gray scale,this gets rid of colour fringing and added a few sign posts of the more famous landmarks.At present i think moons coming up to quarter so keep those shots coming:D

Well time flys and I cannot seem to keep up the Moons cycle. I was reminded of a decent moon by Nick R's photo.

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...php?photo=9065

So if anyone wishes to photograph the Moon then the next few days should be good. In the United Kingdon weather forecast looks like good clear skies also.

Please see moon phase calender for further information
http://www.shetline.com/java/moonphase/moonphase.html

Well I did try last night. My outfit for such occasions is a bit cumbersome. See post 9.

The scope gives a fixed aperture of f13 which makes focussing a bit tricky to say the least. The scope does not have a fine focus control and in this level of light viewfinder focus confirmation does not work. Focussing is a bit of a nightmare

So the whole thing is a bit hit and miss & I thought this a bit soft. By the time I had looked at this on the pc, shifted position onto the patio, a more stable surface, and set up again the moon dissapeared behind cloud. Waited for over an hour after that then gave up. :(

Focus is not dead on so I have added rather a lot of usm to compensate.

Taken at ISO400 1/125sec at f13. Exposure increased by 1EV in NX raw conversion.

Don