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Super Moon
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PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2012 10:37 pm    Post subject: Super Moon Reply with quote

Saturday night was the closest the Moon get to us this year, so I decided to take some shots.

Equipment:

Zenit TTL
Optomax 6.3/400
ADS 3X teleconverter
HP5 film
Tripod

The tripod was attached via the lens screw, but with a combined focal length of 1200mm, I could see vibration every time I touched the camera. Unfortunately the Zenit doesn't have a very gentle mirror/shutter mechanism, so even using the self timer to fire the shutter may not be enough to prevent shake.

I calculated the exposure by "sunny 16" as the Moon was bathed in sunlight, but I have convinced myself I probably have missed some theory about diffraction of light over a quarter of a million miles.

It will be a while before I see the results, so just to cheer me up, does anyone have any comments about techniques used (or should have used)? I am going to fail with these shots, aren't I? Crying or Very sad


PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 12:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember a few rules about photography under moonlight but I can't recall one for actually photographing the moon.

Do not despare ! B&W film has a wide exposure range and this is how we learn after all Wink


PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have no clue regarding the use of film, so I can't comment on that.

But, when shooting the moon I'll always start at f11 and 1/250s, ISO100.
Never shoot a full moon, it's too bright and you can't capture the texture and surface details properly. I find 3 or 4 days either side of full moon to be best.
The higher the magnification the faster the moon moves across the frame. I'll set my chosen focus point just ahead of the moon's leading edge and wait for it to come to me.
Manually focus each shot, use mirror lock up and timer plus remote control, (live-view flips the mirror up anyway) tripod, of course.
The playback on the rear of a digital camera should have the moon looking grey rather than white. If it looks white it will be over-exposed, adjust settings accordingly.

So that's the basics which usually work for me, I use my longest lens; Canon 100-300L manual focus only.
Very Happy


PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think it was 100iso for the moon .,,,using a digital camera I could work it out over a number of shots ,there is a thread somewhere with the correct details.....Search moon shots.

I kick my self as we have a full moon here and I missed it last night,big bright and a little closer than normal...nothing but cloud tonight. Sad Could you put the Camera on a bean bag or a bean bag on the camera to dampen the mirror slap?


PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was a photo major, I remember the rule being f8, 1/250th. What I can't recall was if that was for 100 or 400 ISO.


PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did bracket my shots, first by aperture and then by shutter speed. Focus at infinity.

I think the issue is going to be camera shake - even at 1/500th. A bean bag would have been better, as Mo suggested.


PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2012 1:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I look forward to seeing your "film" shots...so much harder than digital.. Very Happy How long before you see the results?


PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2012 4:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did some of these recently. Only had a 200mm f2.8 tele.
Stopped it down to f11 of the top of my head, set shutterspeed to 1/400 and iso 200.
This is my first one I ever did, my worst one too. I have done much better full moon ones with more detail now. This is the only one I have inline just now.
But this at least shows how even a hazy moon shot freehand then cropped can still achieve an ok result. Nothing stellar, but ok.



PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2012 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It may be five days before I get the film back as the local lab doesn't do B&W, unfortunately.

Hood: If I get anything near that good I will be a happy man. With the "1200mm" lens, the moon filled the frame more or less, but the vibration has me worried.


PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is my attempt from last Saturdays full moon. I took this handheld with a Sony NEX-5N and Sony 18-200mm OSS lens. I had no tripod with me and this was the best of the shots I took. Not great by anyones standards but better than nothing! Rolling Eyes Laughing



PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2012 11:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That reflection is to die for Edgar


PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2012 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

skida wrote:
That reflection is to die for Edgar


+1 a terrific photograph!


PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It didn't work. Thin veil of cloud compressed by the length of lens = fuzzy. Crying or Very sad


B017797_N211_ID268113_FF_P001 by skida, on Flickr


PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2012 5:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not having seen many film shots of the moon, that result still seems pretty impressive to me even with the fuzzy look.