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The Moon
Posted By: v5planet, 01-13-2011, 10:10 PM

I have been trying my hand at a bit of astrophotography, mating my K-7 to my Meade LX90, which functions as a 2000mm ƒ/10 lens.

Here is a composite of the moon taken from about 6-8 frames.



It's possible I was a bit too aggressive with the tone mapping, but I wanted to bring out a bit of the detail in the lunar surface.

I have a ways to go yet on collimating the optics, minimizing vibrations and really nailing the focus!
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02-16-2011, 08:46 PM   #16
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Great shots V5planet, but I was curious how you adapt your camera to a telescope and if you knew off hand if the same thing could be done with spotting scopes?

02-16-2011, 09:38 PM   #17
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Didnt think it was possible to 'out do' yourself and first shot,but,yowser!
Starting to agree with camp that prefers partial phase waxing or waning over
full,thought being contrast suffers because of overall brightness.
Whats your experience?
02-17-2011, 12:05 AM   #18
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cool pics thanks for the in site to telescopes and yes the moon is upside down in the south
02-17-2011, 12:44 AM   #19
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I've started photographing the moon this month. I haven't seen it for a few days although the weather today looks promising. Here's slightly beyond first quarter from last week. 10" refelector 26mm eyepiece, K5 and K35mm f3.5 handheld:



02-17-2011, 02:18 AM   #20
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magnificent
02-17-2011, 02:57 AM   #21
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That last shot with a telescope is probably the most detail I've ever seen, but I think one can get pretty good moon pics with 300mm and 400mm lenses. Check out this thread:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/46612-shooting-moon-1.html
02-17-2011, 03:38 AM   #22
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Excellent!

02-17-2011, 07:48 PM   #23
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great moon shots.
02-17-2011, 08:09 PM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by C-Factor Quote
Great shots V5planet, but I was curious how you adapt your camera to a telescope and if you knew off hand if the same thing could be done with spotting scopes?
The photos I posted in this thread were done by connecting the camera directly to the telescope in lieu of an eyepiece. You basically unscrew where the eyepiece holder goes, add a telescope-T-adapter, and then get a K-T mount adapter for your camera.

I'm not sure if this is possible with spotting scopes, but you can also just line your camera up handheld to the eyepiece and take a series of shots to digitally combine later (photoshop's built in photostitch functions worked really well). I'm assuming that's how Dr. Orloff prepared the beautiful photo of the moon above. It's also how I did this one (50/1.4 Super Takumar wide open, maybe 10 shots or so stitched through a wide FOV eyepiece):




Honestly, the moon is so bright that the handheld business through an eyepiece works just fine.

Bill - the moon is definitely more interesting while it is less than full, for just the very reason you stated. The light is hitting it at an angle so you can see shadows and surface detail in a more three-dimensional, sculpted way. I haven't taken photos of the full moon yet, but most photos of the full moon I've seen look flat (though when done properly they can be very interesting, because nothing is hidden in darkness).
02-17-2011, 08:11 PM   #25
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A note about shooting through the eyepiece with the camera handheld -- you will get SEVERE vignetting caused by aiming through a round hole. So you will need to take a bunch of photos, depending on your spotting scope's magnification, in order to get it all exposed well.

[edit] for instance, the photo above was stitched together from a bunch that looked more or less like this:


Last edited by v5planet; 02-17-2011 at 08:20 PM.
02-18-2011, 01:00 AM   #26
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Hi, my above photo was a single shot, which is why it is a bit fuzzy at the edges. I haven't tried the stitching technique yet. This is straight throught the scope with the T adaptor. Unfortunately I can't get prime focus without a Barlow, which does cut down the light hugely and the quality:

02-18-2011, 08:29 AM   #27
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dr Orloff Quote
Hi, my above photo was a single shot, which is why it is a bit fuzzy at the edges. I haven't tried the stitching technique yet. This is straight throught the scope with the T adaptor. Unfortunately I can't get prime focus without a Barlow, which does cut down the light hugely and the quality:
Really! What eyepiece were you using that afforded such a wide FOV?
02-18-2011, 10:07 AM   #28
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A bog standard 26mm. I'd like a 32mm ideally, or a 40mm, so I can fit the waxing gibbous in.
02-19-2011, 02:04 AM   #29
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if you didnt try stacking, you shuold try.
the results will probably be unbelievable i think.
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