Tonight's Waning Gibbous Super Moon

[cooltouch]

I usually don't shoot the moon when it's full because it looks rather flat. I like to shoot it either one day before full or one day after. Tonight it will be the day -- or night -- after. According to one site I visited, it'll still be 99% full.

I plan to use my NEX 7 and three lenses. My Tamron 55BB, the second version of their 500mm f/8 mirror, my Tamron 60B, the 300mm f/2.8 LDIF, with a dedicated Tamron 2x teleconverter, which will give me an effective 600mm f/5.6, and my old standby, my Century Precision Optics 500mm f/5.6 Tele Athenar T-mount preset telephoto.

I'm doing this mostly to compare the Tamron 500mm and 300mm lenses. I've already done a brief comparison between the CPO and Tamron 55BB and found them to be essentially equivalent in sharpness, although the old Century had a slight edge in contrast. I think the 60B, even with a teleconverter, will compare very well, and may even edge out the other two lenses in sharpness by a slight amount.

Well, 12 hours and counting before showtime. Here's hoping we'll have clear skies here tonight.

[DConvert]

I think the moon rises here in about half an hour, while the rain has just started to get heavier...
Perhaps I should have shot it on Sunday night (when we had clear skies) but TBH I'd rather give it a few more days to get more definition in the creators.

[Lightshow]

Overcast here.

[devinw]

[Lloydy]

Throwing it down with rain here, but I got this shot with the Tamron 55B last night.



I tried the slower Tamron SP 670AU 300 / 5.6 but was disappointed with the results.

[dnas]

[woodrim]

Got it last night.

[Mr G]

Totally overcast last night, by 11pm no joy, at 5.30 this morning I was being taunted on my way to work by a splendant semi-full moon. Will have another go tonight!

[kds315*]

[redguy22]

[devinw]

[Kei]

I also tried the tamron 300mm f5.6 (54B) + 2x TC (01F) and tried the 1.4x TC (140F) but the results were a bit soft. The nikon 300mm f2.8 produced better results.
Lunar by Kyle, on Flickr

[woodrim]

Nice, sharp image.

[marcusBMG]

Dismal weather has confounded my supermoon effortd, but tonight there was a gap in the clouds. Just from the back garden so nothing fancy. All 1:1 full size crops (click on the images to view them in their own windows - they look better).

1. K5 + tamron adaptall 31A 200-500mm @500mm, f11
2. K5 + tamron adaptall 31A 200-500mm + kenko 1.4x TC @500mm, f8
3. NX20 + canon FD 400mm f4.5 @ f8
4. NX20 + novoflex noflexar 400mm f5.6 @f8


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[url=http://forum.mflenses.com/userpix/201611/big_6337_SAM_5133_1.jpg]

[Lightshow]

I just came across this shot from a PENTAX Q and an MTO, I thought it was impressive considering it's not a camera you would think was capable of this kind of IQ/sharpness, I'm not sure if this is stitched or not, another moon shot of his looks like it is.

Moon 16.08.2016 by Michal Jeska, on Flickr

[kansalliskalaCafe]

saw it rising - took my wife's 100D, kit lens on 55mm - snap and crop

#1


and got in on the front page of our biggest evening paper

#2

[cooltouch]

Some great shots, folks. Sorry I didn't post anything from the other night. I fell asleep! So, last night I finally got out there. Definitely not a full-looking moon anymore, but the shots were useful. My goal was to compare my Tamron 500mm mirror with my Tamron 300/2.8 with 2x. I also included my CPO 500mm just for good measure. The results? Honestly, I find them to be a toss-up. Equivalent all the way around.

The camera is a Sony NEX 7 set to ISO 100, with manual exposure mode engaged.

Following are three shots, one from each lens. I had to adjust the exposure so that the photos look like what I saw. I resized them for viewing here and cropped the images. You're viewing 100% crops that were downsized for viewing here. One thing all three photos clearly illustrate: the moon is definitely not monochromatic!

Tamron 300mm f/2.8 LDIF with dedicated Tamron 2x @ an indicated f/11 (f/22):


Tamron 500mm f/8 Mirror (55BB):


CPO 500mm f/5.6 @ f/9

[woodrim]

[cooltouch]

Hrm . . . even at 1200mm with a 35mm camera, the moon will fit in the frame.

[Lightshow]

This is the one I suspect was stitched... https://www.flickr.com/photos/67901606@N05/30952084946/in/album-72157669880432595/
1000mm and more than a 5x crop factor.

[cooltouch]

Hrm . . . honestly I don't know why he bothered. There's no more detail in that shot than there is in the sharpest ones above. I just checked with my originals and blew them up to about the same size to check. Not much real difference at all.

[RichA]

[quote="cooltouch"]I usually don't shoot the moon when it's full because it looks rather flat. I like to shoot it either one day before full or one day after. Tonight it will be the day -- or night -- after. According to one site I visited, it'll still be 99% full.

You can shoot the moon with pretty unsophisticated equipment. This shot was with a 10mp Panasonic G1 m4/3rds camera and a 1000mm f/8 doublet telescope lens. No field-flattener, cost me about $250 for the lens which I mounted in a tube and attached a focuser. The trick with the moon is to shoot it when it's as high in the sky as possible on a night where the air is still (no stars twinkling due to an unstable atmosphere).

[cooltouch]

Excellent shot, Rich, and good advice. But having a good lens does help, and that telescope lens of yours does look like a good 'un. It's worth noting however that a "good" lens doesn't necessarily have to cost a lot of money.

The reason why you want to take the pic when the moon is high in the sky is because, when the moon is at its zenith, you're shooting through the least amount of atmosphere. As it moves away from or toward a horizon, you're having to shoot through an increasing amount of atmosphere, which will soften your shots noticeably.