Success with the SMC 1000mm f/8

rfortson · 01-21-2010, 09:27 PM

Finally got some calm conditions and went out to shoot the moon with my "new" lens, the Pentax SMC 1000mm f/8. Here are some background posts on the lens:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/86837-1000mm-goodness.html

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/87397-7-large-...0mm-f-8-a.html

The second thread talks about my trouble in getting sharp shots with this lens since it's so long and subject to the very slightest shake. Tonight was my best night shooting with it so far. I shot in manual, f/11, ISO 200, 1/10s using the wireless remote for 3s mirror lockup. I also shot both with and without SR (though the camera only recognizes lenses up to 800mm for manual input), and couldn't really tell the difference. Here's one of the shots, cropped (and resized for here - go to my Flickr stream to see the fullsized shot) and processed in LR to remove a touch of yellow fringing.

Anyway, it's a lot of fun when the image comes together.

**Ash** · 01-21-2010, 09:30 PM

Looks as good as it can be at this resolution (perhaps a little overexposed at the bottom pole), and the CA is only slightly noticeable here.
A good result overall.

rfortson · 01-21-2010, 09:40 PM

Originally posted by Ash

Looks as good as it can be at this resolution (perhaps a little overexposed at the bottom pole), and the CA is only slightly noticeable here.
A good result overall.

The pole is bright, but it's not clipping, so I think it's just inside the exposure box. I was mainly aiming for something sharper than I'd been getting and this is it.

imtheguy · 01-21-2010, 10:29 PM

Forget the clipping, exposure and all that camera stuff. I look at it and feel like I'm in a capsule orbiting a few thousand miles up. Fine shot. Now its off to your Flickr page.

PentaxPoke · 01-21-2010, 11:02 PM

Excellent shot Russ! I saw that same moon tonight, but it was a bit cloudy.

Did you use LV to zoom and manual focus, or did you find that you didn't need to? Also, did you stop down to f/11 for optical reasons, instead of using a faster shutter speed? It seems to have worked for you since I don't see any motion blur.

rfortson · 01-22-2010, 05:51 AM

Originally posted by PentaxPoke

Excellent shot Russ! I saw that same moon tonight, but it was a bit cloudy.

Did you use LV to zoom and manual focus, or did you find that you didn't need to? Also, did you stop down to f/11 for optical reasons, instead of using a faster shutter speed? It seems to have worked for you since I don't see any motion blur.

I used the VF. I tried LV for some other, earlier shots, and it really jumped around. I probably should have tried it for this shot as it was really calm.

Wide open is f/8 on this lens, so I just stopped down to f/11 figuring it might sharpen it up a tad. No real experience saying that it does. Now that I know I can take a shot like this, maybe I'll repeat with some more defined conditions.

**Ex Finn.** · 01-22-2010, 09:57 AM

Try it wide open and with faster shutter.
My ED refractor is 900mm f 7.5 and depending on conditions I shoot anywhere from 1/180 to 1/750.
Main reason I keep the shutter speed up is to try to minimize effects from atmospheric turbulence.
Nice shot by the way.

Cheers, Mike.

PentaxPoke · 01-22-2010, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by rfortson

I used the VF. I tried LV for some other, earlier shots, and it really jumped around. I probably should have tried it for this shot as it was really calm.

I notice that too when I shoot through a telescope with live view, and the LCD zoomed. It shows how much motion is caused by just slightly touching the focus mechanism, even on a massive telescope tripod! It seems to me to be the best way to "nail" the focus through the scope.

**dadipentak** · 01-22-2010, 10:14 AM

Nice work, Russ! Ain't it fun?

rfortson · 01-22-2010, 12:22 PM

Originally posted by Ex Finn.

Try it wide open and with faster shutter.
My ED refractor is 900mm f 7.5 and depending on conditions I shoot anywhere from 1/180 to 1/750.
Main reason I keep the shutter speed up is to try to minimize effects from atmospheric turbulence.
Nice shot by the way.

Cheers, Mike.

Yeah, I do need to get the shutter speed up. I can get a couple of stops by doubling the ISO to 400 and opening the aperture to f/8. Just those two things would give me 1/40 to 1/60s. It's still clear here, so I may try again tonight.

stevebrot · 01-22-2010, 02:59 PM

Originally posted by rfortson

Yeah, I do need to get the shutter speed up. I can get a couple of stops by doubling the ISO to 400 and opening the aperture to f/8. Just those two things would give me 1/40 to 1/60s. It's still clear here, so I may try again tonight.

Yeah...after all, it is the moon! Think desert landscape in full sun. Isn't there something called the "Luney 11" rule for moon shots... ISO 200, 1/250 @ f/11? You should be able to get the shutter speed up quite a bit more.

Steve

Mechan1k · 01-22-2010, 10:00 PM

Good to see you are getting better results with this now.
Looking forward to more refined results.

01-21-2010, 09:27 PM	#1
rfortson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Houston TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,129	Success with the SMC 1000mm f/8 Finally got some calm conditions and went out to shoot the moon with my "new" lens, the Pentax SMC 1000mm f/8. Here are some background posts on the lens: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/86837-1000mm-goodness.html https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/87397-7-large-...0mm-f-8-a.html The second thread talks about my trouble in getting sharp shots with this lens since it's so long and subject to the very slightest shake. Tonight was my best night shooting with it so far. I shot in manual, f/11, ISO 200, 1/10s using the wireless remote for 3s mirror lockup. I also shot both with and without SR (though the camera only recognizes lenses up to 800mm for manual input), and couldn't really tell the difference. Here's one of the shots, cropped (and resized for here - go to my Flickr stream to see the fullsized shot) and processed in LR to remove a touch of yellow fringing. Anyway, it's a lot of fun when the image comes together.

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01-21-2010, 09:30 PM	#2
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Looks as good as it can be at this resolution (perhaps a little overexposed at the bottom pole), and the CA is only slightly noticeable here. A good result overall.

01-21-2010, 09:40 PM	#3
rfortson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Houston TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,129 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ash Looks as good as it can be at this resolution (perhaps a little overexposed at the bottom pole), and the CA is only slightly noticeable here. A good result overall. The pole is bright, but it's not clipping, so I think it's just inside the exposure box. I was mainly aiming for something sharper than I'd been getting and this is it.

01-21-2010, 10:29 PM	#4
imtheguy Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,950	Forget the clipping, exposure and all that camera stuff. I look at it and feel like I'm in a capsule orbiting a few thousand miles up. Fine shot. Now its off to your Flickr page.

01-21-2010, 11:02 PM	#5
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411	Excellent shot Russ! I saw that same moon tonight, but it was a bit cloudy. Did you use LV to zoom and manual focus, or did you find that you didn't need to? Also, did you stop down to f/11 for optical reasons, instead of using a faster shutter speed? It seems to have worked for you since I don't see any motion blur.

01-22-2010, 05:51 AM	#6
rfortson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Houston TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,129 Original Poster	Originally posted by PentaxPoke Excellent shot Russ! I saw that same moon tonight, but it was a bit cloudy. Did you use LV to zoom and manual focus, or did you find that you didn't need to? Also, did you stop down to f/11 for optical reasons, instead of using a faster shutter speed? It seems to have worked for you since I don't see any motion blur. I used the VF. I tried LV for some other, earlier shots, and it really jumped around. I probably should have tried it for this shot as it was really calm. Wide open is f/8 on this lens, so I just stopped down to f/11 figuring it might sharpen it up a tad. No real experience saying that it does. Now that I know I can take a shot like this, maybe I'll repeat with some more defined conditions.

01-22-2010, 09:57 AM	#7
Ex Finn. Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern Maryland. Espoo. Kouvola. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,975	Try it wide open and with faster shutter. My ED refractor is 900mm f 7.5 and depending on conditions I shoot anywhere from 1/180 to 1/750. Main reason I keep the shutter speed up is to try to minimize effects from atmospheric turbulence. Nice shot by the way. Cheers, Mike.

01-22-2010, 10:01 AM	#8
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411	Originally posted by rfortson I used the VF. I tried LV for some other, earlier shots, and it really jumped around. I probably should have tried it for this shot as it was really calm. I notice that too when I shoot through a telescope with live view, and the LCD zoomed. It shows how much motion is caused by just slightly touching the focus mechanism, even on a massive telescope tripod! It seems to me to be the best way to "nail" the focus through the scope.

01-22-2010, 10:14 AM	#9
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Nice work, Russ! Ain't it fun?

01-22-2010, 12:22 PM	#10
rfortson Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Houston TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,129 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ex Finn. Try it wide open and with faster shutter. My ED refractor is 900mm f 7.5 and depending on conditions I shoot anywhere from 1/180 to 1/750. Main reason I keep the shutter speed up is to try to minimize effects from atmospheric turbulence. Nice shot by the way. Cheers, Mike. Yeah, I do need to get the shutter speed up. I can get a couple of stops by doubling the ISO to 400 and opening the aperture to f/8. Just those two things would give me 1/40 to 1/60s. It's still clear here, so I may try again tonight.

01-22-2010, 02:59 PM	#11
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by rfortson Yeah, I do need to get the shutter speed up. I can get a couple of stops by doubling the ISO to 400 and opening the aperture to f/8. Just those two things would give me 1/40 to 1/60s. It's still clear here, so I may try again tonight. Yeah...after all, it is the moon! Think desert landscape in full sun. Isn't there something called the "Luney 11" rule for moon shots... ISO 200, 1/250 @ f/11? You should be able to get the shutter speed up quite a bit more. Steve

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01-22-2010, 10:00 PM	#12
Mechan1k Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,891	Good to see you are getting better results with this now. Looking forward to more refined results.