[Torleif]

Dear Pentax Forum members,
I am looking for a super-telephoto lens for photographing the moon. Recommendations would be very much appreciated. I will use this lens for moon photography only.

[VoiceOfReason]

To be honest I'd probably get the 600 if you can find it and possibly one of the twleconverters to go with it. You want focal length for moon shots.

[Adam]

An A 600mm I guess? Though I'm not sure why you'd use the 645Z for shooting the moon.

[Torleif]

To be honest I'd probably get the 600 if you can find it and possibly one of the twleconverters to go with it. You want focal length for moon shots.

Thank you for your recommendation.

---------- Post added 06-23-15 at 08:13 PM ----------

An A 600mm I guess? Though I'm not sure why you'd use the 645Z for shooting the moon.

Thank you for your comment.
I was thinking that the high resolution combined with a super-telephoto lens would give good results.

[Adam]

Thank you for your recommendation.

---------- Post added 06-23-15 at 08:13 PM ----------



Thank you for your comment.
I was thinking that the high resolution combined with a super-telephoto lens would give good results.

I was thinking that the high resolution combined with a super-telephoto lens would give good results.

A 36Mp FF sensor, or even the K-3's 24Mp sensor with just a 400mm lens (i.e. 300mm + 1.4x TC) would yield a similar or greater effective resolution, and will likely be more stable on your tripod.

[Torleif]

Thank you for the comment Adam. It seems like a better solution.

A 36Mp FF sensor, or even the K-3's 24Mp sensor with just a 400mm lens (i.e. 300mm + 1.4x TC) would yield a similar or greater effective resolution, and will likely be more stable on your tripod.

[alfa75ts]

It really depends on what you're after, the whole moon or details of features.

And as VoiceOfReason said, It's all about focal length.

To fill the frame with the Moon will take about a 2000mm focal length.

In the following image the top half was taken using a Kx on a 6" reflector telescope and the bottom half using a Q.

Both 12 Megapixel cameras.

The telescope has a focal length of 1250mm, that means about 1850mm with the Kx and 7500mm with the Q.

Both are 100% crops showing Copernicus ( plus Mare Imbrium on the Kx).

Attached Images

 

[fredralphfred]

An A 600mm I guess? Though I'm not sure why you'd use the 645Z for shooting the moon.

I think "shooting the moon" happened when he purchased the 645Z.

[BlakeShellman]

Just wait ...someone will soon want a recommendation for lens for shooting the rings around Uranus.

[narual]

Guessing telescopes don't produce a large enough image circle for medium format?

[alfa75ts]

Guessing telescopes don't produce a large enough image circle for medium format?

Looking into it, there are some but basically you're right. Too many other factors, contrast, focal length etc.

A telescope will still give you the "best bang" for photographing the moon.

If you want the best photograph then it's APS-C or FF and the right conditions, if you want the best image then it's stacked "web cam" frames (and the right conditions).

[kaipa]

I used A* 600 + 2x-L converter on K5 with excellent results. This combo makes the moon to cover almost full APS-C frame. K5-IIs or K3 may be even better in terms of sharpness. Stacking may help as well. For 645Z -- I guess A* 600 + 2x converter should do the job as well. Just checked ebay -- there are few on sale.

[Torleif]

Hi Kaipa,

Thank you for your comment!

I did see a few 645 600mm on sale on ebay and also one that was sold on Pentax Forum earlier this year for a very reasonable price.
I posted to hear if someone had experience with such a set-up for moon photography or if another solutions would be better. I very much appreciate all the comments and recommendations!

I used my Canon 5D Mark III with a 400mm lens a few months back to photograph the moon. I did not use a converter and needed to crop a lot in post. I did not get the result I was looking for.
You can see one of the moon photographs on my website - Home - Aerocam

I would like to photograph the whole moon.

I might invest in a 1.4 or 2 converter for the FF 5D III with the 400mm lens. Would be a more affordable solution and might give better results. Even though I won`t be able to fill the frame with the whole moon with this combination.

Thanks!

I used A* 600 + 2x-L converter on K5 with excellent results. This combo makes the moon to cover almost full APS-C frame. K5-IIs or K3 may be even better in terms of sharpness. Stacking may help as well. For 645Z -- I guess A* 600 + 2x converter should do the job as well. Just checked ebay -- there are few on sale.

---------- Post added 06-24-15 at 11:39 PM ----------

Looks amazing!

It really depends on what you're after, the whole moon or details of features.

And as VoiceOfReason said, It's all about focal length.

To fill the frame with the Moon will take about a 2000mm focal length.

In the following image the top half was taken using a Kx on a 6" reflector telescope and the bottom half using a Q.

Both 12 Megapixel cameras.

The telescope has a focal length of 1250mm, that means about 1850mm with the Kx and 7500mm with the Q.

Both are 100% crops showing Copernicus ( plus Mare Imbrium on the Kx).

[alfa75ts]

Torleif,

To give you an idea as to what you can achieve, this is a shot (not mine) from a 5D mkII, 400mm 2.8 with stacked 1.4x and 2x TCs https://www.flickr.com/photos/xenedis/15151455521/
It is among the best I have seen from a camera/lens (which doesn't mean there aren't better out there).

[Torleif]

Thank you for the link, looks great!

Torleif,

To give you an idea as to what you can achieve, this is a shot (not mine) from a 5D mkII, 400mm 2.8 with stacked 1.4x and 2x TCs https://www.flickr.com/photos/xenedis/15151455521/
It is among the best I have seen from a camera/lens (which doesn't mean there aren't better out there).

---------- Post added 06-25-15 at 07:23 PM ----------

This looks amazing! I have never before seen such great details in any moon photographs
If you could give some more details on the reflector telescope I would appreciate it a lot.

It really depends on what you're after, the whole moon or details of features.

And as VoiceOfReason said, It's all about focal length.

To fill the frame with the Moon will take about a 2000mm focal length.

In the following image the top half was taken using a Kx on a 6" reflector telescope and the bottom half using a Q.

Both 12 Megapixel cameras.

The telescope has a focal length of 1250mm, that means about 1850mm with the Kx and 7500mm with the Q.

Both are 100% crops showing Copernicus ( plus Mare Imbrium on the Kx).