help with the moon

[dr4gon]

not sure if this is the right place, but the sony people are the best! :D

so while we are a few days out from a full moon and craters will be visible at the edges in the coming days, I want to see if I can improve my moon shots.

I did a bit of unsharp mask on photoshop and it seemed to help, but almost seemed to fake a lot of craters on the moon. so here is the original picture just saved as a jpeg from the original RAW. (click for the original).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2579582602_a2878579da_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr4gon/2579582602/sizes/o/)

exif:
a300
f/16
1/160 sec exposure
iso 400
300mm (tamron 70-300mm)

Thanks.

[Rooz]

you will only get so much sharpness out of that lens. i would suggest you use iso100 and wind back to f8 tops. there is no ned to shoot at f16 and by that aperture your lens will well and truly be suffering from diffraction.

[dr4gon]

I have various other shots from tonight, but this one seemed the best. With iso100 and an aperture of f8, what exposure would you recommend? How long at 300mm would it start to blur because of the earth's rotation?

thanks for the fast response :D

[Rooz]

exposure will depend on the phase of the moon so tough to predict. you're on the right track though. around 1/250s maybe right. take a few at different shutter speeds and pick the best.

[dr4gon]

alright, thanks for the pointers!

[DonSchap]

Look, you have the luxury of using a digital (no wasted film):

Set to Manual Mode
Fix your aperture to f/8
Set ISO to either 100 or 200
Initially go with no DRO compensation. (You can add it back in later, if so desired)
run a complete round of images from 1/125 thru 1/500. In fact, do it several times
examine each shot for what you want out of it.
If your have the α300 mounted on a tripod, shut off "Super SteadyShot" ... it can generate false shake compensation, when it has no real inertia feedback to fight, making the sensor move when it simply does not need to.
"Image shake" is your worst enemy, with this kind of shot. Any movement of the camera will degrade your image. If you can get a wired release (SONY part # RM-S1AM), do so ...

36941

it also limits shake to the camera from you physically touching the camera's shutter release button. (I feel these particular releases are so important, I carry one with both the α100 & the α700).
If you still have keen eyes, you could to "MF" mode and manually focus for a sharper image.


These can help provide for a sharper shot.

If you are still dissatisfied after all of that ... time to investigate some higher end glass for the front of that camera. The one pictured below may be about the best available for the SONY, at 400mm, other than ridin' the back of a telescope. At 400mm, the moon will be about 1/6th the width of your sensor. As you can see in your own shot at 300mm, it is only about 1/9th.

Minolta AF 400mm f/5.6 APO G
36942


To really zero in on that bad boy ... you need 800mm on an APS-C sensor. That will, more than like, fill the sensor from top to bottom. The 400mm f/5.6 w/ a 2x Teleconverter might be just the ticket.

[dr4gon]

yeah I would love to have a lens like that :D.

These were taken on Manual mode with most of the things you said. I don't remember if this one had DRO off. SSS should have been off too, at least for most of my shots :rolleyes: I will try again tonight at f/8! I was also using a remote shutter release (I think I read there's no mirror lockup feature on the a300? to help reduce movement).

What should my metering mode, autofocus mode, and AF area mode be on?

And yeah I wish I could use MF, but the difference between infinite focus and where it needs to be is ever so slight that it's hard to set it, so auto focus it is!

[DonSchap]

Use spot focus ... with AF Area.

Metering is unimportant, with the manual settings chosen. With this series of shots (take a lot), you will be manually evaluating your exposures ... not too concerned with getting what the "camera thinks" is right. You are literally shooting into your apparent light source.

By the weigh ... (little joke there) ... the AF 400mm f/5.6 is one of the heaviest lenses (4.2 lbs) Minolta ever made. Admittedly, the MF 200-500mm f/6.9 I use weighes in at 6 lbs ... but I have to agree, you need to rest this lens on something to get a steady shot. Without a tripod, you would be hurting using it. Backache galore and some very shaky images, to boot.

[dr4gon]

lol I can imagine, It'd be like holding a brick to your face trying to steady it, not to mention the outrageous zoom to pickup the shake!

[DonSchap]

A long lens of this quality usually is in the professional's bag, rarely the hobbiest's. Last I heard, this lens listed at $2000.

SONY is supposedly coming out with something similar and it's anyone's guess what kind of abhorrent price tag they are going to stick on it.

[dr4gon]

took some tonight but tonight wasn't as good (a bit hazy) and they pictures just didn't turn out as good, but there's always tomorrow night!

[DonSchap]

It can be an uphill battle, to be sure. It always amazes me the variations you can get from time to time. Atmospherics ... geesh.

I mean, how many times have you looked up, to a crystalized moon and said, "Doggone it, where's my camera, now?" LOL :D

[dr4gon]

I've been there a lot lately now that I actually have a camera! or I wish I had my camera on that vocation trip to whever..... lol

[dr4gon]

wow, it's been quiet in here the past couple days. Well yesterday was a full moon and it was pretty hazy (as you can tell from the orange glow), but this was probably my best shot of the night (last one too).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2593779681_ef94302a97_b.jpg

[DonSchap]

Yes ... it has that very familiar 300mmm look to it.

There isn't a look you can do ... when it is that time of the month ... and the weather is not your friend.

I have some lunar eclipse images (MF 500mm) that look oddly like this .. well, kind of ... A half and half effect and slightly defocused. LOL It wasn't my best round of lunar exposures. But, if you look at the proportional difference (this is not a crop), you readily see why you might consider a 500mm for your lunar shots, although there are, indeed, better 500's available than what I used that night.

37083


Here's a recent (May) lunar shot with the 80-400 zoom, set at 400mm. Again, note the proportionality change between the 500 and the 400. Again, I feel an 800mm would probably be prefect for using the full sensor for the capture.

37085

[dr4gon]

Thanks for sharing, that second shot is very nice and crisp and the first shot has a beautiful glow to it that we won't see for a few years (2010 for the next total lunar eclipse).

But lucky us, there'll be a lunar (partial) and solar (total :D) in august!

[sparkie1263]

Here is my attempt at the lunar eclipse.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/2281157558_d44507bb0d.jpg

[dr4gon]

That's very nice! Is that with the Tamron lens? (but I think you just got that), so I'm guessing the quantaray 70-300?

It's very nice!

[SONYNUT]

I've Been Mooned!!!!!!