It's Only Cheese, why can't I shoot it?

[BCdives]

If any group of people on earth can help, I know its this forum, I will thank you in advance for any help you may be able to provide. This embarrassment was created with a 10D and 100-400 /5.6 L IS USM fully extended (400mm) "IS" turned off.

Before I set up the tripod I did some extensive reading on photo.net about shooting the moon and night pics, etc. I shot about 70 photos with only a small handful coming out decent. Trouble is I haven't been able to isolate my mistakes. Why is the "Light" moving off of the actual moon, 90 percent of them looked like this.

a.) Camera shake? (but I used a remote and locked the mirror, does this change the camera's estimated exposure time based on when you hit the trigger for the second time)

b.) Under/Over Exposure?

c.) Too fast/slow on the shutter?

d.) Film too slow (100 iso)

e.) No cover on the view finder?

f.) Sell the camera on e-bay and buy another Harley Davidson.

g.) All of the above

5.6 is my max and I stopped down 1 above that for a little extra burn.

http://bc.kf4oal.com/It's%20only%20Cheese.jpg

Then for reasons that I can't explain, I accidentally ending up with something that actually looked like the moon. Still far from great. Any love or help would be really appreciated.

http://bc.kf4oal.com/Cheese2.jpg

[ChrisNardone]

It looks like the "bloo-oo moooon" is a reflection. Notice that it is a reverse of the main image. The shutter speed was too slow so the main image was blown out; and you got some sort of reflection. I would say yes, block that viewfinder.
So, in conclusion:
a. no
b. over
c. slow
d. no
e. yes
f. no
g. no

[SoCal69]

Here are a few older threads on the subject. Hope they help!


http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12151

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13456

[George]

I had exactly the same problem and discovered it was my UV filter. Do you using one? (I switched to a B+W MRC and haven't had the problem.)

[RichardtheSane]

The easiest lesson I ever had in moon photography is treat it as if you are photographing a neutral grey subject on a sunny day, because it is, after all, an object that is lit by the sun.
Bear that in mind and bracket your shots and you should get some degree of success.
Also this means you can use a higher shutter speed to reduce camera shake.
Hope this helps

[jduncan]

have you considered atmospheric distortion?
i believe it is the bane of the astrophotographer.
unless you are shooting from the dessert or a mountain in hawaii dont expect absolute clarity is the rule i have heard.

james

[JATO]

jduncan wrote:
have you considered atmospheric distortion?
i believe it is the bane of the astrophotographer.
unless you are shooting from the dessert or a mountain in hawaii dont expect absolute clarity is the rule i have heard.

james

Atmospheric distortion known as "seeing" will cause fuzzy or wavey images. What he has is clearly a reflection issue.
Your second picture appears to still need some focusing. This could be a product of bad "seeing". You need more contrast and the picture is to bright .

One of the other reasons some folks experince problems with astrophotography is they don't allow enough time for the camera/lense to thermally stabilize before shooting pictures. This is really important if you are going to be shooting pictures on a cool evening and your camera is coming from a toasty warm house. Also pay attention to the dew point so dew doesn't form on your camera's lens. Another tip is when your shooting outside on a cool or cold fall or winter night, just don't take the camera back inside a warm house. This may cause condensation to form on the optics and camera body as well as the CCD chip. To prevent this take a plastic bag outside. Leave the bag outside while you are shooting. When you are done place the camera inside the plastic bag, close it up, take in indoors and leave it for about 20 to 40 minutes. The time you'll leave the camera in the bag will depend on the temp and humidity difference between inside and outside. The bag will trap the cool outside air and allow the camera to warm up at a slower rate. This will keep moisture from forming on the lens, CCD chip and camera body. You can use this same bag while your camera is thermally stabilizing when you bring it outside, at the beginning of the evening.
JATO
www.jatobservatory.org

[jimsloy]

What is your exposure time? I can't remember the exacts on this, but if it's longer then 30 secs or something thereby, unless you have a drive corrector, the earth and moon are constantly moving and this can cause some blurs.

I'm going to a friends house w/ my 10D and t-mount next week and shoving it on a high powered drive correcting telescope to see if I can get some good shots.

[BCdives]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I think tonight the filter will come off, perhaps I should have thought of that....I know I had white balance issues too. Need to go partial instead of evaluative. I'm trying to get the hang of this for the 11th of this month, it will be full.

Thanks again to all you very smart and talented people, I am learning sooo much from you.

[RichardtheSane]

Just had a scout back through my moon shots. The best ones I did were all at F11 and the shutter speed between 1/60th and 1/160th of a second. I always bracket on the moon, and shoot RAW too because you can recover a stop or two in capture one.
Hope this helps, good luck!