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Last Supermoon, 2014 · 01:49 PM

troika · 09-10-2014, 01:20 PM

Well done. Do you know where your aperture was? I can never get my photos of the moon to look like..well, the moon.

45 Mike · 09-10-2014, 06:44 PM

Originally posted by troika

Well done. Do you know where your aperture was? I can never get my photos of the moon to look like..well, the moon.

The trick with the moon shots is that the area of frame that the moon covers is quite small, and the light meter sensor wants to average that light in a very dark background.

With 400 speed film, a shutter of 1/500 and an aperture of f11 or f8 will get you pretty close.
With a digital, an ISO of 400, shutter 250 and aperture of about f11 or f8 will be fairly good as well.

The lens I used on these does not have an aperture control ring. The "aperture" is controlled by choosing a focal length f8 at 650mm and f11 at 1300mm.

I used 1/250 shutter speed, and focal length of 650 and 1300mm. As you can see, the shots came out pretty good in that f8-f11 range.

Hope that helps!

troika · 09-10-2014, 06:47 PM

They came out great. Thanks.

Mine always look like a street light through a drunken haze...

45 Mike · 09-10-2014, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by troika

They came out great. Thanks.

Mine always look like a street light through a drunken haze...

Yeah, mine did also, until I realized that I was not photographing reflected light, but a light source. (even though technically it is reflected light).

Technically we should use the sunny 16 rule, because the full moon is reflecting full sunlight, but then because of atmospheric condition, we need to drop 2 or 3 stops.

troika · 09-10-2014, 10:57 PM

On it!

Thanks for the tips.

EDIT - Just tried it with a short zoom and it worked beautifully. Never could quite get that, thanks. Will have to try with my longer zoom next good moon.

Dasher · 09-10-2014, 11:42 PM

Hi, this is a similar shot to yours from down under in Melbourne Australia.

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Last edited by Dasher; 09-10-2014 at 11:56 PM.

45 Mike · 09-11-2014, 10:11 AM

Originally posted by Dasher

Hi, this is a similar shot to yours from down under in Melbourne Australia.

Nice shot! you have the technique down as well!

willskywalker93 · 09-11-2014, 12:13 PM

Here's one I took the other night with a Sigma A series 28-200, ISO 200, f/18 1/25 s. There wasn't all the crap in the black space in the DNG until I exported, so I blame JPEG artifact. It's not quite as detailed as the ones you guys put up since I only had 200mm and the K-x is only 12MP.

EDIT: The artifacts must have been in the flickr preview, they are gone now.

redcat · 09-20-2014, 03:20 PM

holy ... 650-1300 I'm I reading it wrong, a nice tool for a skillful photographer !

45 Mike · 09-21-2014, 10:44 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by redcat

holy ... 650-1300 I'm I reading it wrong, a nice tool for a skillful photographer !

It is a monster. This is 650mm, at 1300mm it is about a third longer. There is no auto focus, and the aperture is controlled by focal length. It is rather soft, which I expected and is extremely hard to focus. It almost needs two tripods to hold steady. I have taken hand held shots with it, but with no great success. It came with a doubler, which makes it a 1300mm - 2600mm. Yeah, good luck with that, LOL. :-)

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09-10-2014, 10:57 PM	#6
troika Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 1,753	On it! Thanks for the tips. EDIT - Just tried it with a short zoom and it worked beautifully. Never could quite get that, thanks. Will have to try with my longer zoom next good moon. Last edited by troika; 09-10-2014 at 11:06 PM.

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09-10-2014, 01:20 PM	#2
troika Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 1,753	Well done. Do you know where your aperture was? I can never get my photos of the moon to look like..well, the moon.

09-10-2014, 06:44 PM	#3
45 Mike Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,350 Original Poster	Originally posted by troika Well done. Do you know where your aperture was? I can never get my photos of the moon to look like..well, the moon. The trick with the moon shots is that the area of frame that the moon covers is quite small, and the light meter sensor wants to average that light in a very dark background. With 400 speed film, a shutter of 1/500 and an aperture of f11 or f8 will get you pretty close. With a digital, an ISO of 400, shutter 250 and aperture of about f11 or f8 will be fairly good as well. The lens I used on these does not have an aperture control ring. The "aperture" is controlled by choosing a focal length f8 at 650mm and f11 at 1300mm. I used 1/250 shutter speed, and focal length of 650 and 1300mm. As you can see, the shots came out pretty good in that f8-f11 range. Hope that helps!

09-10-2014, 06:47 PM	#4
troika Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Seattle, WA USA Posts: 1,753	They came out great. Thanks. Mine always look like a street light through a drunken haze...

09-10-2014, 10:17 PM	#5
45 Mike Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,350 Original Poster	Originally posted by troika They came out great. Thanks. Mine always look like a street light through a drunken haze... Yeah, mine did also, until I realized that I was not photographing reflected light, but a light source. (even though technically it is reflected light). Technically we should use the sunny 16 rule, because the full moon is reflecting full sunlight, but then because of atmospheric condition, we need to drop 2 or 3 stops.

09-11-2014, 10:11 AM	#8
45 Mike Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,350 Original Poster	Originally posted by Dasher Hi, this is a similar shot to yours from down under in Melbourne Australia. Nice shot! you have the technique down as well!

09-11-2014, 12:13 PM	#9
willskywalker93 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 407	Here's one I took the other night with a Sigma A series 28-200, ISO 200, f/18 1/25 s. There wasn't all the crap in the black space in the DNG until I exported, so I blame JPEG artifact. It's not quite as detailed as the ones you guys put up since I only had 200mm and the K-x is only 12MP. EDIT: The artifacts must have been in the flickr preview, they are gone now.

09-20-2014, 03:20 PM	#10
redcat Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Paris Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,939	holy ... 650-1300 I'm I reading it wrong, a nice tool for a skillful photographer !

09-21-2014, 10:44 AM - 1 Like	#11
45 Mike Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 1,350 Original Poster	Originally posted by redcat holy ... 650-1300 I'm I reading it wrong, a nice tool for a skillful photographer ! It is a monster. This is 650mm, at 1300mm it is about a third longer. There is no auto focus, and the aperture is controlled by focal length. It is rather soft, which I expected and is extremely hard to focus. It almost needs two tripods to hold steady. I have taken hand held shots with it, but with no great success. It came with a doubler, which makes it a 1300mm - 2600mm. Yeah, good luck with that, LOL. :-)

Landscape Last Supermoon, 2014

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