[Wasp]

Here in South Africa we will only see the start of the eclipse. And we have to get up at 04h30 to see even that. I will probably let this opportunity pass me by.

[tuco]

...
That exposure is almost 12-stops darker than Lunny f/11 rule for exposing the uneclipsed moon.

Remember the 2017 Solar Eclipse? I concluded the there was about a 9-stop difference between an exposure at totality vs daylight and the Sunny 16 Rule with my one sample of the event. The Lunny 11 rule is just for the surface of the moon and not recording say a landscape shot by moonlight. Whereas the Sunny 16 encompasses the light levels of the land on a peak summer day at mid latitudes when the Sun is high up in the sky. The rule typically places your shadows around Zone 2.

While I think probably 99% of the people who took a Solar Eclipse picture just took a picture of the eclipse only with long lenses. My totality picture of the event was with a normal lens and I included a foreground object that needed to be exposed for. I did it on film and used a one-degree spot meter.

At totality, I metered a point in the sky 2/3rd the way up to the eclipse and got a reading of EV 4.3. I rounded that off to EV 4 and placed that value 2 stops below my middle grey exposure. You can see in the picture that placed the highlights and shadows all within recordable range of the film's medium.

[ipowell]

So, I have gotten myself in an interesting situation, I will be in very north Canada for the eclipse. I could use some advice before as I ran into some questions with my dry run tonight. Pls excuse me if they seem dumb. I stayed with ISO 100, F 5.6 and 1/125 at 300mm on a sigma 70-300. I chose the f stop as what the green button seems to know where the lens is sharpest in the MTF P mode.... right? It's a K1 mark 2. Someone mentioned 1/80 and F 8. Is the depth of field an issue or something, Most lenses I have are sharpest at about 5.6 is that about right? 2)I tried an extension tube and got a blurb instead of a moon and I have no idea of what went wrong. 3)I wonder about the teleconverter 's for PKA' and don't know what that is and if it is recommended. The 300 wasn't enough and I got noticeable grain structure. 4)I tried the pixel shift option and saw no difference, is it my perspective or is there a reason it wouldn't improve the image? 5)I tried multi exposure and stacked 5 images again, it was fine, just fine, should I edit the pics, (contrast and sharpness) first then stack? annnnd 6)any suggestions for the northern lights? If I should expose once for the start and something different for the Aurora? I didn't know how much I didn't know until just tonight..... I'm in a one shot situation so would appreciate some advice.

[ipowell]

Oh, I tried both a tamron and sigma 70-300 1.4-5.6, The first image is edited with 'capture one' single image, the last is 5 images in photoshop. f5.6 1/125 the rest were comparing Sigma and Tamron pixil shift and not,

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[Gary H Perth]

I don't get to see anything this time (Sandy is right, this time Australia is not the place to be), but I had a great view of a blood moon last year. I took a number of shots hand-holding an Adaptall 60-300mm. They were good but not great, next time I'll use a tripod, and compare the 60-300mm with a Tamron SP 500mm mirror lens, and with the 55-300 Pentax PLM. I have a 01F teleconverter that may work on the two Adaptalls, but the loss of shutter speed and/increased ISO may prove it is not worth the change.

Here's the details for Sunday's eclipse from the Perth Observatory:

Penumbral eclipse begins (Moon below horizon)
10:36

Partial eclipse begins (Moon below horizon)
11:33

Total eclipse begins (Moon below horizon)
12:41

Maximum eclipse begins (Moon below horizon)
13:12

Total eclipse ends (Moon below horizon)
13:43

Partial eclipse ends (Moon below horizon)
14:50

Penumbral eclipse ends (Moon below horizon)
15:48

[c.a.m]

(Sandy is right, this time Australia is not the place to be)

Ottawa is a prime location for the upcoming full lunar eclipse, so I'm extending an invitation to all Aussies (and others who live in the Southern Hemisphere) to come to Canada's capital. I'd be happy to host the first Pentax Forums Inter-Hemispheric Eclipse Party...

Max total eclipse will be at midnight Sunday night.

Mind you, it's a 20-hour trip by air (from Sydney via Vancouver). Also, the current weather forecast for Sunday night is a bit iffy: cloudy periods, 60% chance of snow flurries (light sporadic snow), and minus 25 C, so dress warmly -- We're in a bit of a cold spell this week, but I think Pentax gear can handle it. I understand that you Aussies are suffering under warm weather these days, so you might appreciate some cooling off...



- Craig

[Riggson]

So, I have gotten myself in an interesting situation, I will be in very north Canada for the eclipse. I could use some advice before as I ran into some questions with my dry run tonight. Pls excuse me if they seem dumb. I stayed with ISO 100, F 5.6 and 1/125 at 300mm on a sigma 70-300. I chose the f stop as what the green button seems to know where the lens is sharpest in the MTF P mode.... right? It's a K1 mark 2. Someone mentioned 1/80 and F 8. Is the depth of field an issue or something, Most lenses I have are sharpest at about 5.6 is that about right? 2)I tried an extension tube and got a blurb instead of a moon and I have no idea of what went wrong. 3)I wonder about the teleconverter 's for PKA' and don't know what that is and if it is recommended. The 300 wasn't enough and I got noticeable grain structure. 4)I tried the pixel shift option and saw no difference, is it my perspective or is there a reason it wouldn't improve the image? 5)I tried multi exposure and stacked 5 images again, it was fine, just fine, should I edit the pics, (contrast and sharpness) first then stack? annnnd 6)any suggestions for the northern lights? If I should expose once for the start and something different for the Aurora? I didn't know how much I didn't know until just tonight..... I'm in a one shot situation so would appreciate some advice.

I'm not an expert but I'll try my best to answer your questions:
1) As a rule of thumb, most lenses are sharpest around f8 give or take a stop or 2. Best thing to do is shoot a target while changing the aperture (and shutter speed to get a proper exposure) and see for yourself where your lens is sharpest
2 & 3) An extension tube is used for macro (close up) photography. When using an extension you will loose the ability to focus at infinity. Basically you're making the lens near-sighted so you can see minute details. A teleconverter will increase the focal length of your lens, commonly 1.4x, 2x or 3x. The trade-off is the image (usually) won't be as sharply focused. Again, shoot some test shots and decide for yourself if the trade-off is acceptable.

4) Not sure. I'll have to defer to someone more knowledgeable than I.
5) Not sure if you're trying to astrostack or focus stack.
6) To include an aurora you will likely need to merge shots; one for the moon and one for the aurora. Moon shots need to use a relatively quick shutter speed to keep motion blur to a minimum and auroras (going by what I've read, don't have any in my area) usually need a longer exposure of several seconds. Depending on what you want to show, you might even need to use a telephoto for the moon and a wide angle for the aurora.

[Ex Finn.]

It is supposed to clear up late Sunday for where I am but calling for 14 MPH winds, so not sure about seeing being very good.

[aslyfox]

interesting article on relationship between January Full Moon and the Wolf:


January Full Moon
The very first full moon of the year is known in many cultures as the Full Wolf Moon, which is appropriate given the deep, ancient ties between wolves and January’s full moon. . . .

https://www.moongiant.com/fullmoon/january/

____________________________________

my local forecast [ subject to change of course ] is for mid 20s ( F) with " feel like " mid teens, less than 10 MPH winds but

partly cloudy sky

_______________________________________________________________
another article on the lunar eclipse:

" "This one is particularly good," said Rice University astrophysicist Patrick Hartigan. "It not only is a supermoon and it's a total eclipse, but the total eclipse also lasts pretty long. It's about an hour."

The whole eclipse starts Sunday night or early Monday, depending on location , and will take about three hours.

It begins with the partial phase around 10:34 p.m. EST Sunday. ( 9:34 my local time ) That's when Earth's shadow will begin to nip at the moon. Totality — when Earth's shadow completely blankets the moon — will last 62 minutes, beginning at 11:41 p.m. EST Sunday.
( 10:41 my local time )

If the skies are clear, the entire eclipse will be visible in North and South America, as well as Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Portugal and the French and Spanish coasts. The rest of Europe, as well as Africa, will have partial viewing before the moon sets.

During totality, the moon will look red because of sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere. That's why an eclipsed moon is sometimes known as a blood moon. In January, the full moon is also sometimes known as the wolf moon or great spirit moon.

So informally speaking, the upcoming lunar eclipse will be a super blood wolf — or great spirit — moon.

In the U.S., the eclipse will begin relatively early Sunday evening, making it easier for children to stay up and enjoy the show. Plus the next day is a federal holiday, with most schools closed. But the weather forecast for much of the U.S. doesn't look good.

Parents "can keep their kids up maybe a little bit later," said, Hartigan, who will catch the lunar extravaganza from Houston. "It's just a wonderful thing for the whole family to see because it's fairly rare to have all these things kind of come together at the same time."


"The good thing about this is that you don't need any special equipment," he added.

Asia, Australia and New Zealand are out of luck. But they had prime viewing last year, when two total lunar eclipses occurred.

The next total lunar eclipse won't be until May 2021.

As for full-moon supermoons, this will be the first of three this year. The upcoming supermoon will be about 222,000 miles (357,300 kilometers) away. The Feb. 19 supermoon will be a bit closer and one in March will be the farthest.

Read more here: Total lunar eclipse meets supermoon Sunday night | The Kansas City Star

[robgski]

Now that I own a K-1 and a K-5, I might set one up with a wide angle and use either interval shooting, or multiple exposure, and try to get a sequence. The other camera will have my 500mm Mirror and 2x TC on it for some close ups.

This all depends on the weather being clear, though, and that is always subject to change here.

[Just1MoreDave]

Partly cloudy is such an annoying forecast. Sure, get all ready, there might be a chance! Or it'll be partly cloudy right in front of the moon. The forecast here has improved over time, so maybe I'll get something.

I think the fully eclipsed moon will be too dark for a mirror lens and 2X TC. You'll have to raise ISO a lot to get a reasonable shutter speed. The moon is moving so you have to allow for that. Also focusing is hard.

[reeftool]

We have 24 inches of snow forecast for Sunday. Whether or not the skies clear out enough to view this is questionable. 20 - 30 mph winds behind the storm and below 0F temperatures aren't going to make for pleasant viewing and that snow is going to be blowing around a lot. The moon should be clear of my hemlock trees by that time of night.

[aslyfox]

ok stupid question time

should the visibility work out, it looks like ( judging tonight's moon ), I might set up on a back deck or back yard and perhaps capture the event ( current forecast - " partly cloudy " )

should I set up the tripod and camera and leave it outside or bring it into the house when I am not actively trying to capture the images

I am worried about bringing it in from the cold to the heated house and vice versa.

[robgski]

ok stupid question time

should the visibility work out, it looks like ( judging tonight's moon ), I might set up on a back deck or back yard and perhaps capture the event ( current forecast - " partly cloudy " )

should I set up the tripod and camera and leave it outside or bring it into the house when I am not actively trying to capture the images

I am worried about bringing it in from the cold to the heated house and vice versa.

IF you are outside in the cold for more than a few minutes and bring the camera inside, you will get condensation on the lens, at a minimum this will blur the image, I'd leave it out the entire time, with a fresh battery in it. I doubt the cold would drain a battery too quickly.

[aslyfox]

that is what I thought

ok, now I just have to worry about the tripod holding up

I'm a firm believer in " Murphy's Law "

and Finnigan's corollary to it - " Murphy was an optimist



guess I will set it up so I take the camera and lens off the tripod but keep every thing out in the cold