Help, what settings to shoot the lunar eclipse?

GordonZA · 10-07-2014, 05:51 PM

Hi All,

I need some help on what settings to use to photograph the lunar eclipse tonight...

I will be using my Pentax K10D and 75-300mm most likely at 300mm on a tripod. I'm will set on manual focus and use RAW DNG. Now the question is considering the camera body which setting would be optimal for the least amount of noise?

I'm thinking maybe ISO400 to keep noise levels down but not sure? (the K10D gets pretty noisy above ISO400)

What would be the best shutter and aperture? (wide open at 300mm on that lens is around F5.8, is it best to go wide open or stop down a bit? shutter speed?)

Would you guys use completely different settings?

Looks like it's going to be a full moon tonight and hoping the weather plays nice here in Brisbane!!

Thanks for the help!
Gordon

**interested_observer** · 10-07-2014, 06:14 PM

I would put the camera in spot mode. This is useful since the moon is bright and the rest of the sky is black. If you use one of the averaging modes, it will try to average the black sky in with the bright moon - and you will greatly over expose. You will need to put the center of the sensor on the moon in order to meter.

If you want to shoot all manual, you can use the sunny 16 rule.

Its really cloudy out now for us with rain predicted this evening and all day tomorrow...

Hope you all get some good images!

**kiwi_jono** · 10-07-2014, 06:19 PM

The last shot I took of the super moon with my old Soligor 400 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/14698746247/) used the following settings:
* Manual mode
* MF focussed using max magnification in LV
* Aperture f8 (or was it f11 - I remember trying both)
* ISO 400
* Shutter 1/500
* WB: Auto (although does not matter for RAW).

I used ISO400 because its pretty clean on K-5. Then I experimented with a range of apertures versus shutter speed and found it was best to err on the side of faster shutter speed (due to movement of the moon relative to the photographer).

I imagine that for 300mm a slower shutter speed like 1/250 would be Ok.

Have fun!

Might want to bracket exposures too because correct exposure not overly obvious until you see it on a monitor.

**dms** · 10-07-2014, 06:21 PM

The exposure will be relatively low--as the earth is blocking most of the sun light. I suggest you pick an f stop where your lens is good (1 stop closed maybe?), and a safe shutter speed to avoid motion blur due to moving earth/moon, and spot meter to set iso. If you google moon photography you should find guidance on shutter speed for the FL you plan to use. Some zooms are poor in IQ at the long end and you may want to stop short of the end FL.

GordonZA · 10-07-2014, 06:35 PM

Thanks guys!

The sweet spot for my lens appears to be around F7.1/F8 so will try those. Then will experiment with shutter speed and ISO to see what works best. I don't have live view on the K10D as it is an older sensor but I do have the Pentax Remote Assistant that i might play with... Would love access one of the 80mm Pentax spotting scopes as I still have my PF-CA35 scope adapter but no time left to organise that now!

disconnekt · 10-07-2014, 07:28 PM

From what I read online, you should need something like f/11 @ 1/125th at ISO 100 or equivalents for different ISO speed or aperture.

GordonZA · 10-07-2014, 08:07 PM

I've started preparing my camera... RAW DNG, full manual control, ISO200 for now, manual AF, SR off for tripod. Going to try with aperture F7.1 to start. And 12 seconds timer. I don't think the K10D has mirror lock up?

disconnekt · 10-07-2014, 08:21 PM

Yeah it does.

GordonZA · 10-07-2014, 08:30 PM

How do I activate mirror up on the K10D?

---------- Post added 10-08-2014 at 05:32 AM ----------

Ah don't worry, the 2 second timer locks it up...

Do you know if the 12 second timer does the same?

**Just1MoreDave** · 10-07-2014, 08:57 PM

I was looking at my photos from April's eclipse. You can focus on the moon before the eclipse starts. It's better than trying it later. The moon was much darker than I expected in the middle of the eclipse, and I wasn't that happy with decisions I made on the fly. I think the biggest problems were motion blur from shutter speed being too slow, and worrying too much about lens quality. This time I'm shooting closer to wide open and using a high ISO, hoping to kill the noise in processing. I'm going to rely a lot on using a K-5 IIs instead of a K-7. Actually I plan to put my Tokina 400mm f5.6 on the K-5 IIs, an SMC Pentax 300mm f4 on the K-7 and a Tamron 90mm macro on the *ist DS. I plan to stop each lens down just a bit from wide open, try to keep shutter speed reasonable and see how ISO works out.

RAART · 10-07-2014, 09:46 PM

Originally posted by Just1MoreDave

I was looking at my photos from April's eclipse. You can focus on the moon before the eclipse starts. It's better than trying it later. The moon was much darker than I expected in the middle of the eclipse, and I wasn't that happy with decisions I made on the fly. I think the biggest problems were motion blur from shutter speed being too slow, and worrying too much about lens quality. This time I'm shooting closer to wide open and using a high ISO, hoping to kill the noise in processing. I'm going to rely a lot on using a K-5 IIs instead of a K-7. Actually I plan to put my Tokina 400mm f5.6 on the K-5 IIs, an SMC Pentax 300mm f4 on the K-7 and a Tamron 90mm macro on the *ist DS. I plan to stop each lens down just a bit from wide open, try to keep shutter speed reasonable and see how ISO works out.

Topaz Denoise is your best friend... Does amazing job in removing the ISO noise.

10-07-2014, 05:51 PM	#1
GordonZA Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Planet Earth Photos: Albums Posts: 351	Help, what settings to shoot the lunar eclipse? Hi All, I need some help on what settings to use to photograph the lunar eclipse tonight... I will be using my Pentax K10D and 75-300mm most likely at 300mm on a tripod. I'm will set on manual focus and use RAW DNG. Now the question is considering the camera body which setting would be optimal for the least amount of noise? I'm thinking maybe ISO400 to keep noise levels down but not sure? (the K10D gets pretty noisy above ISO400) What would be the best shutter and aperture? (wide open at 300mm on that lens is around F5.8, is it best to go wide open or stop down a bit? shutter speed?) Would you guys use completely different settings? Looks like it's going to be a full moon tonight and hoping the weather plays nice here in Brisbane!! Thanks for the help! Gordon

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10-07-2014, 06:14 PM	#2
interested_observer Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,707	I would put the camera in spot mode. This is useful since the moon is bright and the rest of the sky is black. If you use one of the averaging modes, it will try to average the black sky in with the bright moon - and you will greatly over expose. You will need to put the center of the sensor on the moon in order to meter. If you want to shoot all manual, you can use the sunny 16 rule. Its really cloudy out now for us with rain predicted this evening and all day tomorrow... Hope you all get some good images!

10-07-2014, 06:19 PM	#3
kiwi_jono Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,437	The last shot I took of the super moon with my old Soligor 400 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwi_jono/14698746247/) used the following settings: * Manual mode * MF focussed using max magnification in LV * Aperture f8 (or was it f11 - I remember trying both) * ISO 400 * Shutter 1/500 * WB: Auto (although does not matter for RAW). I used ISO400 because its pretty clean on K-5. Then I experimented with a range of apertures versus shutter speed and found it was best to err on the side of faster shutter speed (due to movement of the moon relative to the photographer). I imagine that for 300mm a slower shutter speed like 1/250 would be Ok. Have fun! Might want to bracket exposures too because correct exposure not overly obvious until you see it on a monitor.

10-07-2014, 06:21 PM	#4
dms Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: New York, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,192	The exposure will be relatively low--as the earth is blocking most of the sun light. I suggest you pick an f stop where your lens is good (1 stop closed maybe?), and a safe shutter speed to avoid motion blur due to moving earth/moon, and spot meter to set iso. If you google moon photography you should find guidance on shutter speed for the FL you plan to use. Some zooms are poor in IQ at the long end and you may want to stop short of the end FL.

10-07-2014, 06:35 PM	#5
GordonZA Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Planet Earth Photos: Albums Posts: 351 Original Poster	Thanks guys! The sweet spot for my lens appears to be around F7.1/F8 so will try those. Then will experiment with shutter speed and ISO to see what works best. I don't have live view on the K10D as it is an older sensor but I do have the Pentax Remote Assistant that i might play with... Would love access one of the 80mm Pentax spotting scopes as I still have my PF-CA35 scope adapter but no time left to organise that now!

10-07-2014, 07:28 PM	#6
disconnekt Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: SoCal/I.E. Photos: Albums Posts: 1,699	From what I read online, you should need something like f/11 @ 1/125th at ISO 100 or equivalents for different ISO speed or aperture.

10-07-2014, 08:07 PM	#7
GordonZA Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Planet Earth Photos: Albums Posts: 351 Original Poster	I've started preparing my camera... RAW DNG, full manual control, ISO200 for now, manual AF, SR off for tripod. Going to try with aperture F7.1 to start. And 12 seconds timer. I don't think the K10D has mirror lock up?

10-07-2014, 08:21 PM	#8
disconnekt Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: SoCal/I.E. Photos: Albums Posts: 1,699	Yeah it does.

10-07-2014, 08:30 PM	#9
GordonZA Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Planet Earth Photos: Albums Posts: 351 Original Poster	How do I activate mirror up on the K10D? ---------- Post added 10-08-2014 at 05:32 AM ---------- Ah don't worry, the 2 second timer locks it up... Do you know if the 12 second timer does the same?

10-07-2014, 08:57 PM	#10
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,339	I was looking at my photos from April's eclipse. You can focus on the moon before the eclipse starts. It's better than trying it later. The moon was much darker than I expected in the middle of the eclipse, and I wasn't that happy with decisions I made on the fly. I think the biggest problems were motion blur from shutter speed being too slow, and worrying too much about lens quality. This time I'm shooting closer to wide open and using a high ISO, hoping to kill the noise in processing. I'm going to rely a lot on using a K-5 IIs instead of a K-7. Actually I plan to put my Tokina 400mm f5.6 on the K-5 IIs, an SMC Pentax 300mm f4 on the K-7 and a Tamron 90mm macro on the *ist DS. I plan to stop each lens down just a bit from wide open, try to keep shutter speed reasonable and see how ISO works out.

10-07-2014, 09:46 PM	#11
RAART Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Oakville, ON Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,095	Originally posted by Just1MoreDave I was looking at my photos from April's eclipse. You can focus on the moon before the eclipse starts. It's better than trying it later. The moon was much darker than I expected in the middle of the eclipse, and I wasn't that happy with decisions I made on the fly. I think the biggest problems were motion blur from shutter speed being too slow, and worrying too much about lens quality. This time I'm shooting closer to wide open and using a high ISO, hoping to kill the noise in processing. I'm going to rely a lot on using a K-5 IIs instead of a K-7. Actually I plan to put my Tokina 400mm f5.6 on the K-5 IIs, an SMC Pentax 300mm f4 on the K-7 and a Tamron 90mm macro on the *ist DS. I plan to stop each lens down just a bit from wide open, try to keep shutter speed reasonable and see how ISO works out. Topaz Denoise is your best friend... Does amazing job in removing the ISO noise.

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