Going to bed at my regular bed time, around 3am, I suddenly remembered the
'Super Moon" and went to get camera, lens and
tripod. I realized 300 mm, even on APS, was going to be pretty small. So I
grabbed the Sigma 600/8 mirror and went out
front.
<http://galleries.moosemystic.net/MooseFoto/index.php?gallery=Tech/Sigma600%20and_Meade1000&image=_MG_6588croof80.jpg>
It wasn't my first time using live view with the Sigma 600/8, but the first
time ding the moon using live view. Really
nice! A much better view and easier focusing. After a few shots, including a
couple with the 28-300, I felt I'd captured
at least a couple of good shots.
On the way in, though, I thought about the Meade mirror telescope. With camera
adapter, it's a 1000/11 lens. So there I
was, trying to use it next.
Bad choices. I still had my travel tripod with moderate ball head, and it
really wasn't up to the camera and lens. Then
when I lined the moon up with the aiming scope, there it was in the viewfinder
- but nothing on the LCD in live view. By
now, it's getting on toward 4am, I don't have a flashlight in these pants,
what's going on?
I soldiered on, taking a few exposures. The moon image was about 70% of the
viewfinder height, so focusing wasn't too
bad, but the set-up was poor. Getting the head set right was tough, as the
whole thing flexed. Then I needed more than 2
sec. for the whole thing to settle down. At that magnification, the moon moves
significantly in the finder in 10 sec!
Processing the images today, I was pleased with the 600/8 images. good detail
and sharpness. You can see 3-D-ish detail
of the mountain range just above center and its shadows.
The 1000/11 images aren't as good. The combination of unsteady support, higher
ISO to keep shutter speed up and lack of
live view focusing - perhaps even lens quality, was too much. It's not a 'bad'
shot, but not up to the 600/8.
<http://galleries.moosemystic.net/MooseFoto/index.php?gallery=Tech/Sigma600%20and_Meade1000&image=_MG_6596croof30.jpg>
Today, I broke out the Manfrotto 3636 tripod (El Monstro) and geared head. The
load is a bit heavy for the head, but
some practice images in the garden proved it will work. That tripod hardly
notices the load. The 3047 head is stronger,
but won't aim high enough without using it backwards. That's awkward enough
anyway, with a three axis tripod, but really
hard with a moving target. And I found the setting that was giving a blank
screen in live view.
It won't be quite full, but later tonight, when the moon clears the trees on
the ridge to the east, I'll give it another
try, with serious tripod set-up, live view, remote release, etc.
On 5/5/2012 3:21 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> Fred Parker's "Ultimate exposure computer"
> <http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm> says:
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Shoot the Moon With a Long Lens: Use EV14. Bracket in half stop
> increments to one stop over and one stop under.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> EV 14 at ISO 100 would call for 1/125 at f/11.
My results suggest more like ISO 200, 1/125, f8, which is EV 12. The moon
itself has a fairly narrow brightness range.
EV 14 will work, but puts it pretty far down the histogram, leading to noise
when it's brought up in post. And at that
magnification, I'm concerned about movement blur, so would like higher shutter
speeds.
Loony Moose
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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