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7D - tonights Moon

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OwenG

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Finding it quite difficult to get good quality images from my 7D bat out of the camera. Took this in a series of shots just now and whilst they look great on the back of the 7D's display I'm always dissapointed when I get them onto the computer as it takes quite a lot of PP to sort them out.

This was seriously noisy until I ran it through Imageonics NR. Taken with 300mm +2xTC, f8, iso 160, 1/640sec



--
Any good shots I take are purely by accident.
 
Are you using liveview and the 10x magnification to focus manually?

Works even better tethered to a laptop!!
 
and when back in PS, don't forget to play with the saturation to bring out the colours of the moon's mineral composition.
 
OwenG said:
Finding it quite difficult to get good quality images from my 7D bat out of the camera. Took this in a series of shots just now and whilst they look great on the back of the 7D's display I'm always dissapointed when I get them onto the computer as it takes quite a lot of PP to sort them out.
Click to expand...
OwenG said:
This was seriously noisy until I ran it through Imageonics NR. Taken with 300mm +2xTC, f8, iso 160, 1/640sec
Click to expand...
Use the real ISOs - 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400. The 'tweener' ISOs historically are not as good. Also, the shot is slightly overexposed. The 2x converter is not helping one bit. IMO 2x converters are the equivalent of rubbing vaseline over the front of the lens.

... and you are using a tripod, right?
 
I did, it just happened that that was one of the sharpest images, I took about 100 in all at various ISO settings.

I did use a tripod but there was still movement so i rested the camera on a wall and lined the shots up. The tripod is Manfrotto with Arca head and Wimberley sidekick but it wasn't completely still, is that normal (moon movement aside)?
--
Any good shots I take are purely by accident.
 
Yep sure did, do you think it's OOF?
--
Any good shots I take are purely by accident.
 
OwenG said:
I did, it just happened that that was one of the sharpest images, I took about 100 in all at various ISO settings.

I did use a tripod but there was still movement so i rested the camera on a wall and lined the shots up. The tripod is Manfrotto with Arca head and Wimberley sidekick but it wasn't completely still, is that normal (moon movement aside)?
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with the head you are using. It's not uncommon to have movement if the camera is bumped or even touched lightly - longer focal lengths magnify movement more. The best thing to do is use mirror lockup - to prevent mirror slap from jiggling the camera, and a remote release. If there is movement with no touching or no appreciable breeze, your tripod/head might not be sufficient to support the weight of your gear.
 
It's difficult to tell without seeing the full size image or a 100% crop.
Did you use a remote shutter relase or timer with silent shooting mode?

Also, worth taking a few without the 2x TC as per iMAC's suggestion for comparison.
 
You should also consider the atmospheric conditions. You are shooting through a five mile column of dancing air at a moving object that averages about 356400 km from earth. My experience is that the air is really steady only a few nights per month. Twinkle, twinkle little star is the bane of the astrophotographer and can cause blur even with fast shutter speeds. jot
 
OwenG said:
Finding it quite difficult to get good quality images from my 7D bat out of the camera. Took this in a series of shots just now and whilst they look great on the back of the 7D's display I'm always dissapointed when I get them onto the computer as it takes quite a lot of PP to sort them out.

This was seriously noisy until I ran it through Imageonics NR. Taken with 300mm +2xTC, f8, iso 160, 1/640sec
Click to expand...
The noise is probably due to under-exposure (based upon the settings given). Best way to expose the moon is to shoot RAW and make sure the highlight alert setting is activated and expose until you see blown highlights. Then turn it down until they JUST go away. Then you can dim it down in PP and there will almost no noise.

You should only need 1/30 sec. or so to stop the motion of the earth's rotation (it depends upon pixel density or, more accurately, how many pixels you get on the moon). If you filled the frame of a 7D you MAY want 1/40th sec, no more. Camera vibrations can be controlled using live view and either the self-timer or a remote shutter release. Use the lowest ISO that allows at least 1/30 second and whatever aperture works best with whatever optics you are using.

--
Mike Mullen
 
Using LiveView and 10x?

Can someone please explain this one for me? I know Live view is using the back screen, but 10x? you mean to say that on top of zooming in, let's say with your 50-500mm, you can further get closer with the live view?

Thanks
 
iMac said:
IMO 2x converters are the equivalent of rubbing vaseline over the front of the lens.
Click to expand...
So if I stack a 1.4x behind a 2x, that's 1-1/2 coats of Vaseline on my front element?

MANILA MOON - March 4, 2009 (20:03:00 local time). Canon 5D2 + Sigmonster (Sigma 300-800 DG) + stacked Canon 2x/1.4x TCs, 2263 mm, f/25, 1/30 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure, manual focus, Manfrotto 475B tripod/3421 gimbal head, processed 100% crop.



--
Romy



PHILIPPINE WILD BIRDS
Photo Gallery - http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone
HD Bird Videos - http://exposureroom.com/members/RomyOcon.aspx/videos/

(Over 260 species captured in habitat, and counting.)
 
Yes you can focus in either 5 or 10 times closer by pressing the button in the top right corner on the back of the camera, it has a magnifying glass icon under it.
--
Any good shots I take are purely by accident.
 
How come I can not see the American flag and the other things left behind by the Apollo missions? Or is NASA lying to us.....

Joke aside, excellent shot!

--
Ed Richer
 
NR will soften the detail. As others have suggested, use miror lock up and remote release or self timer. If the rig still moves due to wind, add some weight (like camera bag draped overthe legs). I think the apparant sharpness could be improved slightly by using Unsharp Mask.
--
Sadja
http://www.pbase.com/sadja
 
Copenhagen moon, Dec. 30, 2010, 40D + 400mm f/5.6 + 2x TC + 1.4x TC stacked. Manual focus & exposure, remote switch, MLU, time delay. Feisol tripod, Jobu gimbal, Bibble raw processing.

slightly less than 100% crop (resized by flickr):



The full shot:

 
I wish I had a longer reach.. to get more detail, but here are my attempts with 70-200 F4 IS lens, F11, 1/100 on 7D. I took about 3 shoots and all three were fine. I did use live view with 10x zoom. I discovered quickly that need a longer reach lens after I shot these but it was more of an experiment. But I think your pictures are fine.. moon shots are hard.

 
Nice shot.. its almost like you were landing on the moon. I really wish I had a longer lens..
 
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