A Photo of the Moon

[gary_hendricks]

Here's a shot of the moon that I took some time back with my Lumix FZ-20. Feedback is welcome.

http://gallery.greatestjournal.com/albums/up3/873/891873/Image008%7E0.jpg

[Bluedog]

Very good Gary. I struggle @ night getting the exposure correct. What settings did you accomplish it with?

Here's one I got this afternoon cropped 150% from orgionial:

http://img202.echo.cx/img202/660/img04840sp.jpg

[AllanC]

i love both of those pics. i like the one taken during the day, one of my favorite things is to see the moom in a blue sky-loved it since i was a kid. here's a shot i took a couple of weeks ago on my EX P-600. it was taken at 4X optical zoom handheld(didn't have a tripod at the time), f/4.3, 1/80th sec, appeture priority and using the cameras spot metering. hope you like and feel free to C&C.


Allan.

[speaklightly]

Gary, Bluedog and Allan-

Thanks for the Moon photos. They look great.

Sarah Joyce

[chrismw2]

woow all the moon photo are great, i wish i have along tele, so i can take the the moon too,but....

[Bald Eagle]

this my moon. Hazy afternoon, working on getting better shots.

[Balrog]

Nice shot, Bald Eagle! Camera details / settings?

[Geoff Chandler]

this my moon. Hazy afternoon, working on getting better shots.
That's great - it's really hard to get one like that was it a very long zoom or lots of crop

[Bald Eagle]

Actually it was a combination of both. I am using a Canon EOS D60 with a 100-300 telephoto lens with 2x converter on tripod with remote shutter release, settings are ISO at 100, 5.6 at f8 On Av on manual focus. The 2x converter is a new addition, great to have. There was some cropping as well and minor sharpening. thanks for the kind words, will be practicing a lot more.

[Balrog]

waitaminute ... 300mm lens * 2x teleconverter * 1.6 digital crop factor = 960mm equivalent FOV?!? :eek: sweet!

[EAP]

How come planets are perfectly spherical? Why aren't they, say, egg-shaped? Any astro-physicists out there?

[Bald Eagle]

According to Proffessor Derek Sears (cosmochemistry), it is caused by the gravitational field, in larger masses, gravity acts like it is coming from the center. The process is called Isostatic Adjustment. In smaller masses, such as asteroids, they have a weaker gravitational field. Also stated, planets are not entirely spherical, the bulge out slightly around the equators. :)

[snaz]

Taken w/ Canon G6 in RAW, converted and resized. Can't do much with moon shots without telephoto lens.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nogutsnoglory89/CRW_0005r.jpg

[Bald Eagle]

I like the trees in the foreground, very nice touch. Here is my night time attempt. same camera. setting of ISO of 100, Remote shutter release, on tripod . Tv 1/20 f8 5.6 let me know what you think.

[Bluedog]

Speed up the Shutter a little bit and use Mirror Lockup if your camera supports it. That image looks good just a little blurry.

[Bald Eagle]

Thanks Bluedog, i will try it. Hopefully i can continue to improve on this subject. :)

[Thalas'shaya]

as previously stated, planets bulge a little around the middle... they're like fat watermelons. (the darkly green stripy ones that are ALMOST round) the bulge is caused by centrifugal (center-fleeing) forces. those forces are the same ones that keep a yo-yo out at the end of its string, instead of falling to the floor, when you swing it around above your head.

the equator is moving faster due to rotation about the polar axis than say, greenland or new zealand is. this is a strong enough physical phenomenon to pull against gravity (slightly) on the equator and the surface near it, allowing those parts of the world to get a little further from the center.

the general sphericality comes from gravitational pull applying equally in all directions from the core of a planet as the planet forms. the bigger it is, the more nearly spherical. furthermore, most planets get enough radiation energy to stay a little "soft" so they're like doughballs rolling around on a table... their softness and the constant rolling action keep them round. if you bake them, and then cool them to solidity, they flatten out into cookies, or biscuits, or asteroids. :)

[AllanC]

as previously stated, planets bulge a little around the middle... they're like fat watermelons. (the darkly green stripy ones that are ALMOST round) the bulge is caused by centrifugal (center-fleeing) forces. those forces are the same ones that keep a yo-yo out at the end of its string, instead of falling to the floor, when you swing it around above your head.

the equator is moving faster due to rotation about the polar axis than say, greenland or new zealand is. this is a strong enough physical phenomenon to pull against gravity (slightly) on the equator and the surface near it, allowing those parts of the world to get a little further from the center.

the general sphericality comes from gravitational pull applying equally in all directions from the core of a planet as the planet forms. the bigger it is, the more nearly spherical. furthermore, most planets get enough radiation energy to stay a little "soft" so they're like doughballs rolling around on a table... their softness and the constant rolling action keep them round. if you bake them, and then cool them to solidity, they flatten out into cookies, or biscuits, or asteroids. :)


what a fantastic piece of information, thanks for that.

great foto's guys. They def. are getting better!!

Snaz my pic, although clearly not the best, was taken with my handheld p-600 on max optical zoom(X4). then resized in photoshop.

[SOD]

I used prime focus with my Canon Rebel EOS and my Nexstar 80 to capture these images

[SOD]

One more with the same setup

[gary_hendricks]

SOD, wow do you have a picture of your set up? I'd very curious.

[SOD]

SOD, wow do you have a picture of your set up? I'd very curious.
Gary, I do not have picture of my setup, but I could tell you what I do. I have a telescope Nextar 80GTL. I could take a lens off my Canon 6.3 mega pixels camera and attach it using t-ring to my telescope. My telescope now becomes a telephoto lens for my camera, which gives I believe 11 x magnifications. I do not use any eye piece, which means I'm doing prime focus. I’m not sure I could recommend this setup because my camera gets lots of dust after each session. By the way, here’s the picture of the sun with the same setup, but of course with the solar filter.
Thank you.
Mila.

[jeff31]

http://sonyv3.free.fr/lune1.JPG

1/800s, f/4, Shutter priority, 4x optical zoom

[Balrog]

Here's one I did last night, with a friend's Canon G5 ... no postprocessing other than crop. Best I could do with 4x zoom :)

[snaz]

Pretty happy with this shot taken tonight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nogutsnoglory89/moontree.jpg

[Bald Eagle]

very nice photo, the trees in the foreground really help make the picture. :)

[DiJ]

By the way, here’s the picture of the sun with the same setup, but of course with the solar filter.
Thank you.
Mila.

Wow!! Now this is interesting. I have never seen anything other than bright and blown out versions. Please do more of this! BTW the color looks odd. Is it the color of the solar filter?

[Bluedog]

Good job guys and I finally had some success tonight. 125mm X 1.6 = 200mm|TV 800|f-5.6|ISO 100:

http://www.pbase.com/smith_xt/image/42390331.jpg

[SOD]

Wow!! Now this is interesting. I have never seen anything other than bright and blown out versions. Please do more of this! BTW the color looks odd. Is it the color of the solar filter?
The color of the sun disk is dictated by the exposure time. If you overexpose the picture the sun would be absolutely white and no sunspots would be seen. I processed the picture in Photoshop, but I only changed the brightness and contrast. This sunspot was huge. It was bigger than Jupiter.
If you are interested in photographing the sun I could recommend looking into H-Alpha filters. They are very expensive, but you could see not only sunspots, but also prominences and it is really a sight to behold. H-Alpha filter could cost few thousands dollars. I bought recently so called PST (personal solar telescope). It costs 500 dollars. You still could see prominences, but sun surface details are much worse than with H-Alpha filters. I cannot attach my camera to PST, yet I want to take pictures of prominences. I take my camera and try to hold it still next to the eyepiece. This method of astrophotography is called “afocal.” My results are not so great. Prominences in real life are 80% better. Besides they are moving. Anyway here’s one of my latest attempts. Prominences sometimes create arches at the sun edges. Here’s one, which looks like letter “M”. My name is Mila. Did the sun wanted to give me a present?
Please, note that surface details are not seen at this picture. One cannot get the surface details and prominences in the same shot because they require different exposure. Most photographers combine their many shots in one, but I am too lazy to do it.

[Geoff Chandler]

Pretty happy with this shot taken tonight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nogutsnoglory89/moontree.jpg
I like that one - the tree is nice too - can't tell if it was fill in or not probably not as the lighting isn't flat like flash - but I like tree photos too
Maybe we should start a seperate tree thread, there's so many different ones and they can be quite interesting.

[Bald Eagle]

tonights attempt

[DiJ]

tonights attempt

Wow very sharp and detail. Much better than your last one. What did you do? Maybe try to expose a little more but this is close to perfect.

Now I want a scope that lets me spy on martians on a distant galaxy.

[Q B@LL]

Wow BE!!! I that's a great pic! Did you use the same 100-300mm lens and did you zoom and crop? Do tell!!!

Great pic again!

[Bald Eagle]

Thanks for the compliments. this is what i tried tonite. Its a Canon EOS D60(oldie) using a tripod with a remote shutter release. A 2x Teleconverter on a 100-300 lens. Settings are as follows, Tv 1/250, f5.6, ISO of 200 at max of 300 on zoom. minor correction as to sharpness and a minor crop, And, I held my Breath. My next step is to add a telescope.(for the martians) :)

[Q B@LL]

My next step is to add a telescope.(for the martians) :) :D

Here is my attempt from tonights moon. Taken with Tamron 75-300mm, tripod, and a drink. Sharpened, not stirred :p

[Bald Eagle]

very nice moon .a little shaky(lol) but a great shot. Just imagine if you had 2x teleconverter. :)

[jeff31]

Sony DSC-V3 in back of a 6" telescope (1500mm focal length, f/10)

[Geoff Chandler]

Sony DSC-V3 in back of a 6" telescope (1500mm focal length, f/10)
Jeff - that is seriously good!
What a great pic - clearly the combination works very well. I'm jealous - maybe I should get a telescope... :D

[Bald Eagle]

Awesome, very awesome, Do tell, what kind of telescope did you use? I need one too. :)

[jeff31]

Thanks a lot all.
This pic is certainly not the best i wish to obtain with this configuration. It's only the first one taken when the sky is still very bright. In visual the image is clearly more detailed.
By comparison here some old images taken with the telescope and a basic webcam : telescope + webcam (http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/canterbury/222/jeff.htm)
To be continued...

Jeff

[DiJ]

Sony DSC-V3 in back of a 6" telescope (1500mm focal length, f/10)

Wow! OK I am getting one too. How do mount the camera to the telescope?

[jeff31]

The camera is hold in one's hand in back of an 32mm eyepiece mounted in the telescope.

[adrian]

Just thought i's pop by and post my moon photo.
Taken with an iSight Web Camera and a Skywatcher 130 using a 2x barlow and a 25mm wide long eye
http://homepage.mac.com/a.moore/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2005-04-22%2023.27.57%20-0700/Image-84F40CDEB3C011D9.jpg

[Balrog]

nice pic .. i'm curious - how does the optical zoom on the camera work in conjunction with the telescope?
Also, are you using the AF on the V3, or just set to infinity?

[jeff31]

The zoom and the AF continue to work very well. The problem with the zoom is the vignetting increase when the zoom factor increase. Another consequence is that aperture reduce whitch generate some chromatic aberation.
The best configuration i've found is to have the biggest aperture and used the zoom in a range [1.4x ; 2.0x]. The AF works well in spot or center average metering mode. To focus the macro mode has been chosen on the camera.
I hope you understand me. :rolleyes:

[Bald Eagle]

I just picked up a Bausch and Lomb Criterion 4000 Telephoto lens. It has a 1200 focus range and is 4in. in diameter. extremely light. And it came conveniently with a "T" fitting for my Canon D60. These are the first pics with it, please be kind. Note to self, dont breathe while taking pics with this lens. comments very much appreciated.

[Q B@LL]

That's awesome BE!!! I think it's funny that I was just out there trying to take pics of the moon, but I was gettin' eaten alive by mosquitos so I gave up...DOH.

Great pic once again!

Q

[Bald Eagle]

Thanks QB@LL. We must have the same kind of mosquitoes. Mine wait right by the door, as soon as they see the tripod, they get happy. ;)

[MacHeadCase]

Just thought i's pop by and post my moon photo.
Taken with an iSight Web Camera and a Skywatcher 130 using a 2x barlow and a 25mm wide long eye


Hello hello my friend Adrian! Nice picture of the Moon with your iSight webcam! I love it.

[Balrog]

Looks kinda soft, but very nice pic, BE! Is that the full frame, or a crop?

[palmbook]

Nikon D70 + Sigma 70-300mm APO Super Macro II @ 250mm :)

[palmbook]

Lunar Photography :)

[palmbook]

Last one :)

[Bald Eagle]

Love the colors on the moon shots, excellent. :) Balrog, This shot was full frame, no cropping. I have to stabilize the lens a little better. No post processing at all. :)

[Balrog]

That's sweet! so the T-ring means you attach the telescope instead of a regular lens? or is it added at the end of a lens?
And what's the aperture on the telescope? (i'm guessing the camera won't tell you, but maybe you could meter something through it, then go to shutter priority and meter the same scene with a regular lens, to find the equivalent?)

EDIT: Oh and Palmbook .. gorgeous red/blue color contrast on the last moon image :) did it come out like that, or have you post-processed it some?

[palmbook]

EDIT: Oh and Palmbook .. gorgeous red/blue color contrast on the last moon image :) did it come out like that, or have you post-processed it some?
Not really. It's about White Balance on your camera :)

[Bald Eagle]

The "T" adapter attaches to the body of the camera. They call it prime focusing. it really is awesome, but, beware, have an adequate tripod or additional support for the lens. :eek:

[Bald Eagle]

heres one from today.

[AlkaPhunk]

Great moon you got there Baldeagle !!
I like this "croissant" !! Maybe too much on the left side no ? It cropped a small edge of the 'lady moon'...

[Rhys]

Just thought i's pop by and post my moon photo.
Taken with an iSight Web Camera and a Skywatcher 130 using a 2x barlow and a 25mm wide long eye

I love the picture.

At one time I bought a cheap webcam from a junkbox and started to build a telescope around it, using cheap plastic reflectors. The project was to build an astronomical telescope for under GBP 5. Sadly the webcam turned out not to work so the project was abandoned.

Have you a photo of your setup?

[jeff31]

A new shot taken this night. :)

http://sonyv3.free.fr/lune5jours.jpg

Jeff

[Bald Eagle]

AlkaPhunk, These were the first shots with the Criterion 1400(1200mm lens). not cropped, just not lined up like it should be. no enlarging at all. JEFF,You have an awesome Capture of the moon, Very impressive. :)

[adrian]

I love the picture.

At one time I bought a cheap webcam from a junkbox and started to build a telescope around it, using cheap plastic reflectors. The project was to build an astronomical telescope for under GBP 5. Sadly the webcam turned out not to work so the project was abandoned.

Have you a photo of your setup?

Yep! Here you go....The iSight webcam however is around £90, but i already had it, i would like to get a dedicated web cam for Astro-Photography that has the "long exposure" hack applied to it!

[jeff31]

I've just increased the distance between the eyepiece and the camera lens:

http://sonyv3.free.fr/lune_macro1.JPG

Post processing: unshap mask, cropped to remove the vignetting

[Bald Eagle]

So............ Wheres the Cheese? sorry, had to say it. Truly an amazing shot. You're taking some outstanding photos of the moon, up close and personal. Have you been focusing on other stars as well? If you are, We'd love to see those as well.

[Balrog]

Yeah, really great stuff! Can you try Saturn or Jupiter sometime?

[jeff31]

I've tried to shot Jupiter last week but without success. With Jupiter the exposure time must be increase and the telescope must be motorized to avoid to have blurring images.
The AF works very well on the Moon but on Jupiter or Saturn it's beyond it.
Jeff

[Q B@LL]

a variation on the moon...hope you like! :D

[Bald Eagle]

a variation on the moon...hope you like! :D
A very nice Variation, great idea. thanks for sharing it.

[Q B@LL]

Thanks for the comliment!!! Trying to get a lil' artistic if that's possible :)

[samantha]

Comments welcome

[Bald Eagle]

Comments welcome
Thats a very good photo, The only idea i might have is to crop the left side some more. What really makes this shot is the trees in the shadow of the moon. It looks great.

[Bald Eagle]

Comments welcome
Thats a very good photo, The only idea i might have is to crop the left side some more. What really makes this shot is the trees in the shadow of the moon. It looks great.

[Bald Eagle]

Comments welcome
Thats a very good photo, The only idea i might have is to crop the left side some more. What really makes this shot is the trees in the shadow of the moon. It looks great.

[samantha]

Bale Eagle, Thanks for your comment.

[jeff31]

Yeah, really great stuff! Can you try Saturn or Jupiter sometime?
Here a shot on Jupiter. Not very good but it will be difficult to give one better with my configuration.

http://sonyv3.free.fr/jupiter.jpg

[Bald Eagle]

That looks like it was a very tough photo to take, great effort, thanks for sharing it.

[Bald Eagle]

comments and opinions always welcome. thanks.

[Balrog]

Nice shot, jeff! :) the planet is easily recognizable... better than I was expecting, really ..
And BE - another great moon picture :) though this one is rather noticeably overexposed, imo..

[aparmley]

What lens were you using BE? thats in there tight! has to be spotting scope or a small telescope with the camera mounted, prime focus or piggy back?? let me know I am wanting to get into astrophotography... if not thats one big lens you have there... 1000mm+ unless thats a crop

[Bluedog]

comments and opinions always welcome. thanks.

I'd say very nicely done.

[aparmley]

My poor attempts at the moon... just not enough reach (this is a large crop) at 300mm and I can't seem to hold it steady enough...

[aparmley]

This is as close as I can get at 300mm... now a few weeks ago we had a huge orange moon what I would have given to have this lens back then... soon enough I'll see that large moon again though...

[Bald Eagle]

My poor attempts at the moon... just not enough reach (this is a large crop) at 300mm and I can't seem to hold it steady enough...
those are very good attempts, i cant tell you how many i've taken, looking for that one great shot, are you using a tripod, it would help greatly

[aparmley]

I have tried both handheld and my tripod... on my tripod my lens still shakes as bad as in my hand, I do not know for sure if this is a function of the lens fully extended, therefore moving the center of balance away from the tripod mount and thus indicating I need one of those dodads that go around your lens and mount to the tripod, or if in fact my tripod sucks the big one and I need to invest a hundred or so (yikes, I don't want to) in a new one...

The moon is moving into full so its getting larger everynight... being thats its friday and nice out, I will attempt a few more tonight...

[Q B@LL]

This may sound stupid, but have you tried using the timer? Before I did that I was manually pressing the shutter button down and no matter how gently you think you're doing it, it still "shakes" the camera a little. I set the timer on and let it go and the results are much better! Even better yet is using the shutter release cable that you can get for the XT...bout 26 dollars. Or if you are a DIY person, you can make one for about 15 (I did and I'm no DIY'r..hehe).

The tripod may also be an issue. I have a real cheapy that I use here and there because it's light to carry around, but the best shots that I have gotten are from the beast of a tripod my wife had from back in the day. Weighs a ton but is real steady.

[aparmley]

Q-
Thanks for the advice.. and yes I use the timer... I think whats getting me is that when the camera opens the shutter there is enough shake that when I am fully extended, not only focal lenght speaking, but also with the focus set to infinity (makes my lens the longest) when shooting the moon I think its enough to screw with my pictures just enough... I have tried adding counter weight in the form of a few bottles of water in plastic bag hanging from the hook at the bottom of my center column... I think I just need to invest into something not so light weight and built more for the reason a tripod was intended... to beat the living death out of the locals who are trying to steal your gear! LOL :D I am thinking about the remote shutter release as well. but, if my problems is as how I described it, that will not help either...

[Bald Eagle]

I will be upgrading to a heavier tripod myself soon, but for now i too am using a lightweight tripod. but, i have connected my Criterion 1400mm telephoto lens to my camera as well. the remote shutter release is a God send. i will take some pics tonite to share.

[phistio]

jeff, BE and aparmley...

i'm just absolutely sick with envy! litterally my dogs came running to my rescue as i screamed out explicatives at the computer screen. something along the lines of "what the f......?!?!?!?!?!" you get the idea...

fantastic work all of you! i'll have to try sometime ;)

[Phill D]

All those great moon shots just made me have to have a go myself. These were taken with the FZ20 at full stretch and f8 fairly early in the evening. I tried to get the trees in focus as well but couldn't get far enough away (our house got in the way!). I probably should have gone out again later to get more shadow enhanced detail in the moon - maybe another day. I certainly enjoyed myself & was suprised at what the camera could do. Sorry for posting the links I just couldn't decide which to post.

[Bald Eagle]

All those great moon shots just made me have to have a go myself. These were taken with the FZ20 at full stretch and f8 fairly early in the evening. I tried to get the trees in focus as well but couldn't get far enough away (our house got in the way!). I probably should have gone out again later to get more shadow enhanced detail in the moon - maybe another day. I certainly enjoyed myself & was suprised at what the camera could do. Sorry for posting the links I just couldn't decide which to post.
I like everyone of them, what really makes theses pics is the composition and framing, great shots.

[Bald Eagle]

This is my attempt at the Moon last night, no cropping whatsoever, hope you like.

[jeff31]

A little one for the fun ;)

http://sonyv3.free.fr/moon_180605_1.jpg

[Bald Eagle]

excellent shot, is it reversed? or taken at a diff time.

[jeff31]

Yes reversed by the telescope. Taken there is one hour ago.

[Bald Eagle]

That is amazing, Here, its the afternoon, the time difference always gets me. great shot though. What settings did you use?

[jeff31]

Camera held by the hands behind the telescope, aperture priority f/4, AF, macro mode, unshap mask with paintshop pro, framing and rezize to 35%.
(Taken at 10pm)

[Bald Eagle]

the fact that you're holding the camera while taking the shot, makes it very impressive indeed.

[aparmley]

Im not sure why I am posting this after those pictures from Jeff (Wow!) and BE (Excellent, maybe a little overexposed??)....

anyway heres my little moon from tonight, about 20 minutes ago... LOL :D

Jeff - what type of telescope do you have??? My dad bought one a few years ago an Orion SkyView Pro 8" EQ Reflector ... its amazing here it is here (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=112929&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=8&iProductID=112929) its a little too powerful for the moon and very non portable...

[Phill D]

Thanks for the kind words Bald Eagle I felt I had to work a little with the framing to do something a bit different to get shots worth posting here. I had to crop my images by about 40% to get them I wouldn't be able to get close to your excellent uncropped shot.
Jeff31...phew! what a shot hand held behind a telescope you must have very steady hands. What are you going to do next..."small world on the moon"? how about capturing a little moon bug in the next shot :D As AP asked, I too would be interested in what telescope you used. And finally below the Moon from the UK last night - Still had to crop about 40% but probably about the best I am going to be able to get though.

[Phill D]

Just a quick follow-up, not sure it's better but a bit of fun anyway. ;)

[aparmley]

LOL...

jeff, BE and aparmley...

i'm just absolutely sick with envy! litterally my dogs came running to my rescue as i screamed out explicatives at the computer screen. something along the lines of "what the f......?!?!?!?!?!" you get the idea...

fantastic work all of you! i'll have to try sometime ;)

:D Thats funny...

I'll take that as an extraordinary compliment! Thank you very much.

Phill D great shot of the moon at night, I like the color and detail!

[jeff31]

Im not sure why I am posting this after those pictures from Jeff (Wow!) and BE (Excellent, maybe a little overexposed??)....

anyway heres my little moon from tonight, about 20 minutes ago... LOL :D

Jeff - what type of telescope do you have??? My dad bought one a few years ago an Orion SkyView Pro 8" EQ Reflector ... its amazing here it is here (http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=112929&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=8&iProductID=112929) its a little too powerful for the moon and very non portable...
About my telescope, i've a maksutov 6", 1500 mm focal length. Strange that you found the skyview Pro 8" too powerful for the moon because this telescope has only 1000mm focal length. The powerful is done mainly by the eyepiece. With a higher focal length eyepiece (30mm for example) you could surely have the entire moon in field of this telescope.

[ReF]

Hi,
Could anyone here with a dslr post a few uncropped pictures of the moon at 320mm, 450mm OR 480mm, and 640mm? To be more clear, those values are after the 1.5 or 1.6 crop factor. Or 200mm, 280mm, 300mm, and 400mm before a 1.6x crop factor. The reason I am asking is because I am trying to decide which telephoto lens to buy next. I chose to use the moon to compare focal lengths because it seems to be roughly the same size from most places unless it is very close to the horizon. So even if the picture is not of a full moon and the picture is compressed to a low quality, it will do just fine as long as the moon is not too close to the horizon and therefore larger than usual, and picture is uncropped so that I can compare it’s size to the frame. Thank you all very much!

[meillana]

great and interesting shots!
excellent work jeff
here's my first moon shot
fresh from the cam, f5.6 iso400 1/500
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/meillana/P1050201.jpg

[Bald Eagle]

[QUOTE=meillana]great and interesting shots!
excellent work jeff
here's my first moon shot
fresh from the cam, f5.6 iso400 1/500
Great shot, but, i would crop the picture so theres more moon and less empty space, just my opinion.

[wall]

great and interesting shots!
excellent work jeff
here's my first moon shot
fresh from the cam, f5.6 iso400 1/500

As wonderful as the giant moon pics are, its quite a refreshing change to see a "life size" one. Beautiful.

As soon as I get a clear night here, I'll try to get a moon shot with my new S2. Meanwhile, here's an old photo I took with the FZ5:

F/3.3; 1/80; ISO 80; 432 mm (35 mm equiv.)
http://img32.echo.cx/img32/2751/moonbw6hm.jpg

[meillana]

copy that BE... thanks for the tipe!

here's another cropped about 50% with unsharp mask
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/meillana/P1050168_r.jpg

[Bald Eagle]

Thats a great improvement, looks much better.

[Phill D]

Nice looking moon shots. I notice you said you used unsharp mask. As a novice to digital manipulation what does the unsharp mask do and why would you use it rather than use the sharpen tool?

[BristolFlorida]

this is sort of a cop-out...

[meillana]

Nice looking moon shots. I notice you said you used unsharp mask. As a novice to digital manipulation what does the unsharp mask do and why would you use it rather than use the sharpen tool?

hi phill d, actually just took advise from one of our company's official photographers.... uncannily, it "sharpened" the pic. i just tried out and it worked well for this cropped shot. :)

[Warin]

Here is my first attempt at taking a moon shot:

Nikon D70s, 300mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor, 1/250, f/11

http://members.shaw.ca/jwgreene31/full moon.jpg

Shot in NEF, cropped to current size, converted to JPG, used auto colour to eliminate the yellowish colouration and get a nice whitish gray.

Any suggestions for sharpening?

edit: heh. Looking at this thread and my own photo has me jonesing for an episode of Space: 1999. I think I'll drag the DVD's out tonight :D

[iplayazi]

Never realised how hard it is to take a pic!

Heres my 2 cents! Not bad for hand held!

[snowrdr]

You guys inspired me to try to get the moon also.
Shot on the tripod and color removed. :D

[Balrog]

ooh, lovely, snowrdr ... I was hoping someone would post a moon-shot with the S2 IS .. can you post shot settings? and is that a crop, or the whole frame?

[snowrdr]

ooh, lovely, snowrdr ... I was hoping someone would post a moon-shot with the S2 IS .. can you post shot settings? and is that a crop, or the whole frame?

That shot is with the 1.5x tele on and is a 100% crop... :D
By using spot metering, the S2 focused pretty well. I used Av mode at F4.0 and 1/125sec.

[iplayazi]

I just ordered a new tele lens and adaptor for my s2 from henrys.com and a tripod from ebay

I am super stoked!! cant wait! :D

[XOO]

S2, Spot metering, tripod, B300 lens, cropped, luminance channel sharpened.
http://myweb.cableone.net/wsumrall/IMG_2455_sm.jpg

[snowrdr]

Great capture Bill.

Tonight the moon is 100% full again. Everyone shoot and post up your results!!! :D

[x3ro]

Great capture Bill.

Tonight the moon is 100% full again. Everyone shoot and post up your results!!! :D

here's my moon shot i took tonight! Panasonic FZ5, 12x zoom... Image was cropped.. ISO100, 1/800th of a sec...

Anyone care to share how to get a better pic?

[snowrdr]

This shot is from 5 days ago. F5.0 and 1/60sec in manual mode.
Converted to B&W in levels :D

[snowrdr]

This one is from tonight. P mode at F4.0 and 1/400 sec.

[XOO]

This one is from tonight. P mode at F4.0 and 1/400 sec.
I took shots from dark until midnight. None are as impressive as when the moon is not full. The sunlight hitting those mountains, craters, or whatever from an angle would give it some definition. Not so last night.

[XOO]

S2, B300.
http://myweb.cableone.net/wsumrall/IMG_2539_sm2.jpg

[snowrdr]

I took shots from dark until midnight. None are as impressive as when the moon is not full. The sunlight hitting those mountains, craters, or whatever from an angle would give it some definition. Not so last night.

I agree, the full moon doesn't have the shadows needed to provide contrast. :(

[XOO]

Taken several nights ago. Thought the difference was worth noting:
http://myweb.cableone.net/wsumrall/Moon_comparison.jpg

[Nikon Mania]

Aug 21, 2005 1:11am; Camera: Nikon Coolpix 8800; Resolution: 8M Extra;
Flash Mode: No flash; Focal Length: 356mm; Shutter: 1/250; Aperture: F5.2;
ISO Speed: ISO 50; Light Source: None; White Balance: Auto; Saturation: 0;
Sharpness: Normal; Converter: None; Tripod: Yes; Vibration Reduction: Off;
Shutter Release: Wireless remote.

Will be updated when my 3.2X telephoto lens arrived. :D

[D Thompson]

Here is my attempt at Sunday night's moon. Wish it was better. It seems my 75-300 never does too well @ 300mm.

Dennis

Canon 20D, EF75-300 f4-5.6 @ 300, 1/400 @ f5.6, ISO 100, cropped & levels, tripod & timer release.

[NYAngel98]

Wow, you guys are good!!! I am still learning... have a loooong way to go! LOL ;) I just got the Nikon 8800 - here's the moon one night. Was testing night shots... normal lens, just used zoom, no flash.

[Dawoofo]

Finally getting the hang of it, I hope. :) My first attempts had lots of noise and the moon was overexposed as the sky got darker.

Anyway, this was taken with my hand held Canon Powershot S2 IS at 432mm zoom, no post-processing except for cropping.

http://www.opforsol.com/member/Grounded/miscellania/crescent.jpg

[eastbluffs]

Wow, you guys are good!!! I am still learning... have a loooong way to go! LOL ;) I just got the Nikon 8800 - here's the moon one night. Was testing night shots... normal lens, just used zoom, no flash.
You sure there was no flash? Looks really lit up to me :D
OK, here's my attempt from a few weeks ago. Lense is fuzzy so tried sharpening, shows hua? Have to try again stopping it down some.

[Dawoofo]

^Nice and BIG!

Here's one from tonight using different settings (ISO 50 as opposed to ISO Auto). Still hand-held and no post except for cropping:

http://www.opforsol.com/member/Grounded/miscellania/moon091005.jpg

[gary_hendricks]

Very nice indeed. The way the colors come out, especially.


^Nice and BIG!

Here's one from tonight using different settings (ISO 50 as opposed to ISO Auto). Still hand-held and no post except for cropping:

http://www.opforsol.com/member/Grounded/miscellania/moon091005.jpg

[pappekak]

http://www.outlawcreek.com/images/fz3/P1020324.jpg

FZ3, hand held - cropped and and sharpened slightly.

[Dawoofo]

That's a nice one, Pappekak.

Here's another from tonight. Sorry, not trying to give a play-by-play of the moon phases, just trying to get my settings better. I like the color and contrast of this one better than the others I've taken, but I don't like the red fringe around the moon. Seems like there are always compromises with this camera or I just don't know what I'm doing. :p

http://www.opforsol.com/member/Grounded/miscellania/moon091105.jpg

[pappekak]

Dawoofo, the harvest moon should appear Saturday. Be ready to take some great shots :)

[Dawoofo]

Dawoofo, the harvest moon should appear Saturday. Be ready to take some great shots :)


I'm frantically practicing for that very event. :) Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

[Glenn Kennedy]

The tripod and camera have been sitting by the front door since I stumbled onto this thread. Lovely sunny days (really odd for this country) and cloudy, misty, moonless nights....

I'll post something here.. eventually. :mad:

[pappekak]

I'm frantically practicing for that very event. :) Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Scope out an area to shoot from tonight or on Friday. Use the following link to find when the moon rise begins in your area.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html

Use spot exposure at the edge of the moon. I shoot ISO 100 for a normal moon with speed priority.

Practice tonight and tomorrow night and see what works.

Take plenty of shots: when the moon is just coming up horizon, up a bit more, and then a little more more. Some of the most dramatic shots are when the moon isn't fully up.

Bracket expose might be nice to try since it will give you three exposures to choose from.

Use a tripod and a remote or a timer if you have one. I don't have either so I just shoot hand held.

Make sure your batteries are fully charged and your have a free memory card so you don't have to stop in the middle of shooting :)

[Tyger]

here's my attempt:)

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8882/moon6mx.jpg

[astro]

Here's a moonshot I took with my Pentax *ist DS with a Super Takumar 300mm F/4 prime lens I got from ebay for only $105!

http://astroguy.org/moon1.jpg

[Tyger]

nice astro, that badboy is nicely detailed.

[Dawoofo]

Thanks Pappekak. I use spot exposure and just recently found out the edge of the moon works well, and am going to try shutter priority tonight (provided we don't have clouds like last night). I also purchased a 9.5 inch tripod (adjustable to 41 inches) today that feels sturdy and should work perfectly for me (I have a large one but it's too large to carry around with me on my walks). Going to try the timer shot repeatedly and see if I can get crisper details.

Thanks again!


Scope out an area to shoot from tonight or on Friday. Use the following link to find when the moon rise begins in your area.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html

Use spot exposure at the edge of the moon. I shoot ISO 100 for a normal moon with speed priority.

Practice tonight and tomorrow night and see what works.

Take plenty of shots: when the moon is just coming up horizon, up a bit more, and then a little more more. Some of the most dramatic shots are when the moon isn't fully up.

Bracket expose might be nice to try since it will give you three exposures to choose from.

Use a tripod and a remote or a timer if you have one. I don't have either so I just shoot hand held.

Make sure your batteries are fully charged and your have a free memory card so you don't have to stop in the middle of shooting :)

[pappekak]

Scoping for the harvest moon.

http://www.outlawcreek.com/images/fz3/P1060666-(medium).jpg

[Dawoofo]

Was out doing the same thing last night. :)

[pappekak]

Was out doing the same thing last night. :)

Great job Dawoofo. Nice colors and composition.

[dust]

saw the most amazing red on the moon driving home - no cam in car :( my attempt from a few hours ago

dsc-v3 + old ass binoculars = out of focus mess :/ well i tried :p

http://www.ire.za.net/dust/binocmoon1.jpg

-

http://www.ire.za.net/dust/binocmoon2.jpg

-

http://www.ire.za.net/dust/gatewaytothestars.jpg

:o

[iain]

I posted this on "First night shots" but I guess I should have posted it here!

After finally getting a tripod off of eBay I decided that my first attempt should be on a nice full moon that was out last night (UK). I tried using M but had loads of problems. Eventually I switched to TV and used various speeds and finally got this one.

I used my EOS 350D with 55-200MM @ 200MM 1/500, ISO100, f5.6

I've had to use Photoshop to zoom in and I cropped the image.

I'd love to get a shot as sharp as Astro's though!

[dust]

http://www.ire.za.net/dust/mDSC01651.jpg

[Tyger]

nice dust, had the same shot last night but i forgot my tripod in the car...was late and too lazy:)






here's one from tonight....makes me wish i had a telescope.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2677/moon27ez.jpg

[Spot focus]

Hi Tyger can you tell me what lens and settings you used for that shot?

[Tyger]

used my canon 70-200mm f.4 L, I sold the Sigma today, but can get similar results with it.

Tripod mounted

I used 1/200 @ f/8 at 100 ISO
cropped and adjusted levels in PS

Give it a try it's fun!

[JTL]

Not a particularly great shot...really done as an experiment to demonstrate the S2, the TC-DC58B teleconverter and full digital zoom together...

http://jtl.smugmug.com/photos/36610886-L.jpg

[Spot focus]

Thanks I intend to give it a go :)

[Dawoofo]

Nice pictures all. I never thought the moon would be my favorite subject to shoot, but it really is. :)

Here's one from tonight (handheld, no post processing other than cropping):

http://www.opforsol.com/member/Grounded/miscellania/IMG_6010.jpg

EDIT: and other just for the heck of it...this one has some sharpening.

http://www.opforsol.com/member/Grounded/miscellania/moon091805.jpg

[astro]

hehe it seems like everyone went out to get shots during the day of the chinese moon festival.

I just got a 2x JC Penny teleconverter for $2 on ebay.
Used it with my 300mm F/4 prime lens on my Pentax *ist DS.
Here's what 900mm and F/16 with a tripod/mirror lockup can do.
http://astroguy.org/moon2.jpg

Now I just need a telescope...

[astro]

I posted this on "First night shots" but I guess I should have posted it here!

After finally getting a tripod off of eBay I decided that my first attempt should be on a nice full moon that was out last night (UK). I tried using M but had loads of problems. Eventually I switched to TV and used various speeds and finally got this one.

I used my EOS 350D with 55-200MM @ 200MM 1/500, ISO100, f5.6

I've had to use Photoshop to zoom in and I cropped the image.

I'd love to get a shot as sharp as Astro's though!

That's still a pretty good shot with 200mm zoom lens!
I have a suggestion though, try shooting at around F/16. It's the sweet spot for lens sharpness with telephoto.
Use mirror lockup on top of the tripod, even more stability :)

[astro]

nice dust, had the same shot last night but i forgot my tripod in the car...was late and too lazy:)






here's one from tonight....makes me wish i had a telescope.

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2677/moon27ez.jpg

That's a nice shot with zoom lens!
Which one did you use? The 200mm L lens or the 300mm sigma?

[Tyger]

canon 70-200mm, I sold the Sigma yesterday:)

[nwpoland]

Saw these posts last night and thought I'd give 'er a go as we had a beautiful full moon. This is with Nikon D50 and Sigma 18-200DC. Couldn't get the exposure right until reading some of the posts here more closely. At first I was going for smaller aperature/longer shutter speed. But moving to f/6, 1/500 did the trick. I wouldn't have guessed I could use such a quick shutter speed and get a good shot.

[dust]

thanks tyger - i really like cloudy moon shots :p

now if i could just figure out how to get those clouds to stop moving :(

[iain]

That's still a pretty good shot with 200mm zoom lens!

Cheers Astro - I'll give it go. If the clouds ever go away!!
:)

[jeff31]

My contribution
Sony V3 back to a telescope f/10-1500mm focal length

http://sonyv3.free.fr/lune_bg_format.jpg

[Norm in Fujino]

My contribution
Sony V3 back to a telescope f/10-1500mm focal length

WOW! that is an incredible image, Jeff. Your own tele?

[nwpoland]

My contribution
Sony V3 back to a telescope f/10-1500mm focal length

http://sonyv3.free.fr/lune_bg_format.jpg


I'm packing up my equipment...can't compete with that!!! :D

That's beautiful! What kind of telescope is it and how does it interface with your camera? Gotta get me one of those!!

[jeff31]

Yes it's my own telescope.
The telescope is an Intes Micro M603. You could have more information at this link:
http://www.lafterhall.com/m603.html

[astro]

Yes it's my own telescope.
The telescope is an Intes Micro M603. You could have more information at this link:
http://www.lafterhall.com/m603.html

wow that is an awesome shot, and a very nice telescope!
Reminds me of the old days when I had my 8" dobsonian.
So you got any nice deep space shots with that nice mount?

[jeff31]

A maksutov-cassegrain optical formula is great for planetary shots but less for deep sky. A dobson is more appropriate to capture deep sky objects.
But to capture deep sky objects you need to realize long exposure. Generaly a basic camera is not enough to do that. A astronomical CCD camera is more useful.

[nwpoland]

A maksutov-cassegrain optical formula is great for planetary shots but less for deep sky. A dobson is more appropriate to capture deep sky objects.
But to capture deep sky objects you need to realize long exposure. Generaly a basic camera is not enough to do that. A astronomical CCD camera is more useful.

Yeah, just as I suspected...the good 'ole maksutov-cassegrain optical formula. I gotta get me one of them! :) ...whatever it is...

Guess I need to find some web info about telescopes which can be used with dSLRs. Does it matter which camera you have or not? Or is it just a matter of having the right telescope and mount?

[astro]

You'll need something called a T-Mount to hook your DSLR up to the focuser of your telescope :)
Orion telescope at www.telescope.com sells a wide variety of these for different mounts ;)
It'll work with any telescope/dSLR :)

[ReValveiT]

Here's one I just got this morning. Hand held 70-200 f/4L @ 200mm cropped and resized. No PP.

Really shows up the sharpening of the 20D this'n...Might have to turn that down a notch.

http://www.dtsabers.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/pics/moon_1.jpg

Turned out ok IMO.

[ReValveiT]

And this one I got just now. :)

Manual mode, Manual Focus (inf.) 200mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec. ISO-200. Again just cropped and resized.

http://www.dtsabers.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/pics/moon_2.jpg

Lot of fun this.

[jeff31]

With autofocus, Raw format
Post processing tools: Neatimage, Photoshop

http://sonyv3.free.fr/album/Moon/moon_230905_1.jpg

[snowrdr]

Here is my moon shot from tonight.

Canon S2IS w/1.5x tele at F5.0 for 1/50sec :D

[Erad]

this is my attempt from tonight.

[Dawoofo]

This evening's moon...

http://usera.imagecave.com/Grounded/Sunsets_Clouds_and_Nature/luna.jpg

[Rhys]

Hand held - hence the slight blurring. Tamron 70-300 at f5.6. 1/600th at 200 ISO

[reisende54]

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b153/reisende54/FZ20P1020037_moon10-16-05_crop.jpg

File: - FZ20P1020037_moon10-16-05.JPG
Make - Panasonic
Model - DMC-FZ20
Orientation - Top left
XResolution - 72
YResolution - 72
ResolutionUnit - Inch
Software - Ver1.0
DateTime - 2005:10:16 00:44:49
YCbCrPositioning - Co-Sited
ExifOffset - 418
ExposureTime - 1/400 seconds
FNumber - 4.00
ExposureProgram - Normal program
ISOSpeedRatings - 80
ExifVersion - 0220
DateTimeOriginal - 2005:10:16 00:44:49
DateTimeDigitized - 2005:10:16 00:44:49
ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel - 4 (bits/pixel)
ExposureBiasValue - 0.00
MaxApertureValue - F 2.83
MeteringMode - Spot
LightSource - Auto
Flash - Not fired, compulsory flash mode
FocalLength - 72.00 mm
FlashPixVersion - 0100
ColorSpace - sRGB
ExifImageWidth - 2560
ExifImageHeight - 1920
InteroperabilityOffset - 6652
SensingMethod - One-chip color area sensor
FileSource - DSC - Digital still camera
SceneType - A directly photographed image
CustomRendered - Normal process
ExposureMode - Auto bracket
WhiteBalance - Auto
DigitalZoomRatio - 0.00 x
FocalLengthIn35mmFilm - 432 mm
SceneCaptureType - Standard
GainControl - None
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal

[Firas]

Hi all. I just bought my first digital camera and have been spending quite a bit of time with it recently. My wife thought I was little strange spending so much time out taking pictures (of the moon). I was so relieved to find this thread. I guess I'm not the only one :) Here are my first few attempts with my recently acquired PowerShot S2. I can't wait to get my teleconverter !

http://www.alragom.com/v/astronomy/

[Dawoofo]

Very nice, Firas. :) I enjoy taking moon pictures with my S2 also...great camera, and my wife has finally quit worrying about me being strange. :p

[JTL]

I can see all of the werewolves were out again tonight!

http://JTL.smugmug.com/photos/40490210-L.jpg

[A.Crosby]

Here are two moon shots I took last night they are not as nice as I would have hoped for but here they are just the same!

6096

6098

[Firas]

http://www.alragom.com/d/647-2/moon_6.jpg

[Firas]

http://www.alragom.com/d/655-1/moon_7.jpg

[Glenn Kennedy]

I tried to take some moon shots the last time we had a clear night and a visible moon (about 3 weeks ago !!). The shots were cr@p.

This was taken tonight. D70, NEFF with a AF Nikkor 70-240mm D series @ 240 mm. Some unsharp mask & cropping in CS2 and a bit more sharpening using the high pass filter + overlay.

I really don't like the result. Many of the rest of you have done exceptionally well.

So advice, please?

[Phill D]

A Crosby - love that silouette, nice to see something a bit different. I tried a similar idea on holiday earlier in the year with some pine needles but it didn't work anywhere near as well as yours did. Thanks for posting.

[A.Crosby]

A Crosby - love that silouette, nice to see something a bit different. I tried a similar idea on holiday earlier in the year with some pine needles but it didn't work anywhere near as well as yours did. Thanks for posting.

Thank you very much! I am glad you enjoyed the shot...I hope to try again with my new zooom lens soon but the skies have been a bit cloudy here at night!

[jaimeme]

Here is one with a star near it shot with a sepia tone. http://www.internetjibaro.com/gallery/d/188-1/IMG_1195.JPG
Canon S2 IS 8X Zoom

[Dawoofo]

Here's one from earlier tonight...F5.0 and 1/250.

[Vich]

Here are two moon shots I took last night they are not as nice as I would have hoped for but here they are just the same!

Like the creative leaf shot.

[meillana]

WOW! excellent work jeff.
may i ask what lens you used and exif data. thanks!


With autofocus, Raw format
Post processing tools: Neatimage, Photoshop

http://sonyv3.free.fr/album/Moon/moon_230905_1.jpg

[pestalnmore]

Wonderful moon shots. Thought I would share some real amateur shots. Trying to capture the reflection of the setting moon. Some people say the shadows resemble the face of Jesus. Next time you see a setting moon, try to find the image in it. Carla;)

[pestalnmore]

real distant moon, kinda different.....

[deadman]

Zoomed, cropped and light levelled. Shot with Canon Powershot S2 IS at 12x on a tripod.

[Vich]

With autofocus, Raw format
Post processing tools: Neatimage, Photoshop

http://sonyv3.free.fr/album/Moon/moon_230905_1.jpg
Jeff, that's really something! What lens?



Wonderful moon shots. Thought I would share some real amateur shots. Trying to capture the reflection of the setting moon. Some people say the shadows resemble the face of Jesus. Next time you see a setting moon, try to find the image in it. Carla;)
Let us not confuse "The man in the moon" with "THE Man in the moon".

On this site; religion is practiced in the camps of The Canonites and Nikonians. Personally; I think I see a little spaceman holding a 5D with a 24-105 f4.0L IS. :)

[pestalnmore]

Oh Vich...
That's great about the Canonites and the Nikonites.. Got a good laugh this morning with that one:D . I guess that makes me Roman :eek: Olympusitee
Have a great day, carla

[BonjiB]

Here's my moon. Nothing spectacular. Shot it tonight in full manual mode on my fz30. This was originally a tiff. ISO 80, f 3.7, 1/1000 shutter speed i think. I can't remember. I used the fastest shutter and the lowest f jigger and it came out fairly decent. This is all at full 420mm. Don't have my tcon 17 with me at the moment. No postprocessing other than the crop and convert to jpeg. I think it'll be better once it's not as full. Let me know what you think!

[pestalnmore]

Bonji,
Great moon. Tonight is was orange when it came up in ARK, also had a humpty Dumpty oval shape. Was on my way in from deer hunting and didn't have camera, kicking myself,missed the same opportunity last month! DUH.. Keep up the good work, carla:)

[Pianoforte]

Hello everyone, some really great moon photos here! I just joined dcr so I could post my latest attempt Nov.17th with S2 IS 12x optical + 1.5x tele-converter, on a tripod. I used some :eek: digital zoom but resized it smaller and sharpened it afterwards :) I always use the timer set at 3-5 seconds to avoid camera shake & I usually turn off the image stabalization (I bet I forgot this time!). I'll fiddle more with the exposure in the camera next time and turn off the digital zoom. I have some nice daytime moons too!

http://www.michaelpowell.ca/images/stars/img_5323_small.jpg

[deadman]

Here is a daytime moon :)

[coldrain]

A hazy moon trying to peek through the fog.

[Norm in Fujino]

Here is a daytime moon :)

Nice effect. A bit more contrast/saturation might also be nice.

[deadman]

Nice effect. A bit more contrast/saturation might also be nice.

How about this then? :)

[Firas]

That looks much better !

[kodakmemories]

Wow, all the pictures are lovely. I struggle with dark pictures as well, never been quite good at it, I've been trying though. Keep up the good work.

[black_z]

Some REALLY nice pics in this thread!!:D

[photo118]

here is my first post.

[Hsuperman]

Just got my Canon S2 IS last week and was dying to try it out. Took me some tries but I got it. What else could I do to make it better?

http://home.comcast.net/~ushneb/Moon_A.jpg

[Dawoofo]

Just got my Canon S2 IS last week and was dying to try it out. Took me some tries but I got it. What else could I do to make it better?


Hi Hsuperman. Looks like you got the exposure down well—great job! I'm not sure if you used digital zoom or if you zoomed in with software, but I would suggest definitely no zoom of any kind other than optical as anything else will make the image much less sharp. In my moon pictures I've found that if I turn sharpness setting to its highest on the camera my moon pictures come out pretty nice.

[Pianoforte]

http://www.88-keys.com/photos/moon/2005-12-14_img_6025.jpg
December 14th, 2005 - Canon S2 IS w/1.5x tele converter, F8.0, 1/200, Center Weighted Average (although spot works better at extreme tele). Resized, converted to greyscale, high-pass sharpened with Corel PSP X.

[Pianoforte]

http://www.88-keys.com/photos/moon/dr_moon_img_6031.jpg
Dec. 14, 2005 - Canon S2 IS, F2.7, 6mm focal length, 15 sec exposure, resized and added one of my other full moon shots over the blown moon for an interesting effect :D

[ReF]

jeff, thats a great shot, with all those craters being lit from a nice position. your shot inspired me to see what i can come up with.

here's one at 100% that i did recently with my canon XT and new canon 400 f5.6 L + 1.4x II TC wide open at f8, manual focus. the focal length + 1.6x crop factor already brings the total FL to 896mm, so i wonder what jeff31 was using to get such a large image :confused: (i guess he's keeping it a secret;) ). i hope it still looks okay after uploading. i wonder how much of a difference there would be without all the smog and light (as in city lights, not "mild") pollution here in southern california

[Phill D]

Ref thats a pretty impressive shot with just a camera & lens combination well done. I suspect as you implied jeff is using a small telescope of some sort. In fact I do seem to remember somewhere in one of the posts he did say but I couldn't find it. No matter how they are done the shots here are brilliant. I also liked your compilation Pianoforte, it's nice to see something different now & again.

[trev.perks]

8544Hi all.
just read through some of these pages and am amazed at how good the pics are.:eek:
Heres a pic of the moon i took with my nikon coolpix 880 through a pair of binoculars.:)

[Hawkstone]

Some fantastic shots here especially by Jeff31 and ReF

Very nice trev.perks, particularly like the colouring...

[ReF]

thanks hawkstone & phill d!
i'm used to shooting the moon with the 70-200 + 1.4x TC and the mediocre sized images it produced, so when i got the 400mm lens i just put the TC on and did my usually shooting without really checking the results i was getting. when i saw jeff's shot yesterday i decided to see how far off i was from results like that. so i took a closer look at some recent shots and i was shocked! :eek: it certainly softens the blow of how much this lens costs :)

phill D: I suspect as you implied jeff is using a small telescope of some sort. In fact I do seem to remember somewhere in one of the posts he did say but I couldn't find it.

i was thinking the same. that, or he was using a REALLY big lens. the thing i found funny about your telescope comment was that just the other day some guy asked if i was using a telescope - and i'm already using the smallest of canon's 400mm lenses! i guess sometimes us photogs are too busy shooting and forget how we look to other people. :p

[JTL]

Boy, you guys are REALLY bad at reviewing older posts...Jeff31 has mentioned at least 3 times the details about how he does his shots...you would think you guys were a bunch of noobs or something! Since everyone finds it so hard, here's one for you...while I'm at it, do you want to get up and get you a beer as well? :D


About my telescope, i've a maksutov 6", 1500 mm focal length. Strange that you found the skyview Pro 8" too powerful for the moon because this telescope has only 1000mm focal length. The powerful is done mainly by the eyepiece. With a higher focal length eyepiece (30mm for example) you could surely have the entire moon in field of this telescope.

[Phill D]

Hi JTL that beer would be really nice thanks for the offer ;) & also for proving that my memory hasn't completely gone with age. My excuse is that time was limited & I knew that there would be someone here more adept at reviewing the forums than me.

[ReF]

Boy, you guys are REALLY bad at reviewing older posts...Jeff31 has mentioned at least 3 times the details about how he does his shots...you would think you guys were a bunch of noobs or something! Since everyone finds it so hard, here's one for you...while I'm at it, do you want to get up and get you a beer as well? :D

LOL, my excuse is that the info was on the page before his last moon photo - what was he thinking? :D ;)
seriously though, i don't spend even a decent amount of time looking through these galleries and i should. and thanks for that "elusive" bit of info JTL ;)

[hallbilly]

Here is one i got a while back with that cheap opteka 600-1300mm lens with 2x converter...

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/hallbilly/moon/mooncorner.jpg

Get the manual focus down a little bit more and i think that cheap ole thing can do allright.

[nelman]

Here's one of my many attempts :)
No PP except for cropping.

[Dawoofo]

Had to try out my new teleconverter. :p

http://usera.imagecave.com/Darron/IMG_2337.jpg

[beachluvr]

Handheld test shot using Konica Minolta 5D with Anti Shake turned on. Object was in total darkness, illuminated only by moon and onboard camera flash.

[glf_sproull]

Had to try out my new teleconverter. :p

Absolutely fantastic shot of the moon! No question! I'm really wanting to buy a tele-photo for my S2 as well. The results are outstanding! Seeing this picture make me want one even more.
Here's my contribution to the thread. It was taken on 2/06/06. Settings were f/3.5, 1/500, ISO 50, 14x zoom (unfortunately I had to use digital zoom). From now on I'm going to turn up the sharpness of the photo on my camera like it was suggested, it might help the quality a bit!
p.s. BTW no pp editing!

[sod1]

Some amazing shots here.
I took this picture today an sun rise and moon set

[Esoterra]

I am very impressed with these great pictures. Thanks for posting them!

[The Mangler]

I shot this one with my Canon digital Rebel XT, 1/50th exposure time, ISO 400. It was shot through a 90mm telescope with a focal lenght of 1200mm.
One of my first attempts shooting with my telescope. The focus isn't as good as I would like (the focus is very touchy on my telescope when using a camera), and there's a small smudge in the lower left corner... I don't think it's too bad for a beginner though. What do you guys think?
http://photobucket.com/albums/e133/TheMangler/?action=view&current=IMG_0268.jpg

[Glenn Kennedy]

It's better than I've ever done....

[Dawoofo]

Nice job nellman and Mangler!

Thanks glf_sproull, yours is very well done sir. :)

Sod1, very enchanting composition and colors!

[nelman]

Nice job nellman and Mangler!
thank you very much, sir! congratulations on your new teleconverter, your moon shot is simply gorgeous :)

[DonSchap]

I thought this might be a switch...

9601

Now, that's what I call depth of field!

[danielg]

I'd like to share some of mine taken last week. These were taken the day I got the Sigma 18-200mm. I think i need to look for an extension tube or 2X adapter to give me more reach.

http://static.flickr.com/6/100464016_77b80ddb4e.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/28/100464028_03076468c6.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/6/100463969_a61ab25c8c.jpg

[The Mangler]

Nice job nellman and Mangler!
Thanks. :)

[sod1]

The Moon and Mercury

[Kushnirenko]

Kharkiv, Ukraine. Fuji FinePix S9500. Feb, 13, 2006

[Dawoofo]

Couldn't resist. :p I never get tired of trying to get a good photo of the full moon. :)

http://usera.imagecave.com/Darron/Moon3126.jpg

[Prospero]

Now that I have my first Telelens (the Sigma 70-300) I just had to give it a try :):

http://www.xs4all.nl/~dolkens/pictures/moon.jpg

[scupking]

With my A75 threw my telescope.


http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/dc09ad45.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/66800919.jpg

[avi777]

Here's one I took with 12x zoom, and no tripod. Not bad. Could have been better with a telephoto.

[mumbles420]

Well there are some excellent moon photos here.

Here's is one i took a few weeks ago. Early mourning with no tripod.

[avi777]

With my A75 threw my telescope.


http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/dc09ad45.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d154/scupking/66800919.jpg

Scupking, I thought those pics were taken with an A60. Good pics

[scupking]

Scupking, I thought those pics were taken with an A60. Good pics

Yes, you are right they were taken with my old A60. I have to many pics of the moon with different cameras all in one folder.

[Chem]

It's full again, so here we go.

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/445/maanud5.jpg

[BUTL950]

fire island,NY

[SpecialK]

These are over Los Angeles from the Getty Center. The first one has a helicopter in front of the moon. I did not look through the viewfinder for any of them.

[drama]

Great shots guys

A recent shot on a cloudy night

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/168/406432519_da3a4ceb37_b.jpg

[n20capri]

Nice thread. I finally figure out how to get a decent shot! My old P&S would just produce blobs! lol

Canon Xti with a 50mm Sigma - No pp and no tripod! :)
http://www.mikemartinelli.com/Moon2.jpg

[darksyde]

1st pic I have ever taken. It was just a point and shoot deal at full digital zoom.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/406263737_e3e80c5c98.jpg

[mikeC]

Actually it was a combination of both. I am using a Canon EOS D60 with a 100-300 telephoto lens with 2x converter on tripod with remote shutter release, settings are ISO at 100, 5.6 at f8 On Av on manual focus. The 2x converter is a new addition, great to have. There was some cropping as well and minor sharpening. thanks for the kind words, will be practicing a lot more.

sorry to resurect this, and im sure it has been answered elsewhere

is your convertor, one of the extenders (to go between the lens and the body) or one of the ones that goes onto the end of the lens

I am looking to get one, to go on my sigma 70- 300 but my lens is a 4 - 5.6 and seeing as hwo you lose two stops, im just a bit concerned that f11 wont be good enough for moon shots

(my body is a nikon d50)