First dSLR try at Jupiter from Sea Level in California

[brecklundin]

Well, I figured Jupiter is super bright right now so, wtheck...here is a try at it using my Sigma 150-500 taken from my deck and in town. I "think" the EXIF is intact if not I'll edit to include it.

But my question is, how, using what I have can I make this better? I am actually really surprised it actually shows some of the banding and either "the spot" or maybe a moon(?) as a black spot in the upper left quadrant....

here is a link to the full CR2 (http://brecklundin.com/web/IMG_9770.CR2) (12MB) if anyone thinks it can be saved...so here is what I got after some noise reduction:

40d, ISO1600, f/6.3, +1ev, 500mm, 3.2sec., MLU and manual focus w/IS turned off (it was not helpful)
http://brecklundin.com/web/jupiter-Noiseware--20080001_filtered.exif.jpg

Opps...I forgot the community version of Noiseware does not save full EXIF...ok, if there is anything important lemme know and I can post missing info...if it even matters...

No matter is was a fun thing to do the other night.

[RAWuser]

Via PMs:

I think this picture is a picture of a lens flare. The picture is missing a lot of details one normally see in a Jupiter picture (namely, the Jupiter's colors which is yellowish and its moons which are usually point of lights and there's usually one or two bright ones nearby). Something like this link (http://www.cloudynights.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=681&password=&sort=7&thecat=525) (which, btw, is a great site for this kind of thing, too). And also, Jupiter would not be that big at focal length of 500mm.

Actually, on your 40D, your 500mm would come out to equivalent to focal length of 800mm. Which is enough 'horsepower' to see Jupiter. So do try again; it's worth it! My advice is to start out wide at 150mm, find Jupiter, center it, then slowly zoom in to 500mm.

Anyway, I think ya hit BINGO with the lens flare. It was the darned filter I bet. I noticed when I focused to infinity the planet got HUGE (as ya see in the pic) which seemed really weird since, well, even the moon won't fill the frame. But when I moved the focus (not the zoom) the other way the planet seemed the right size, as in tiny.

Sooooo, I am thinking the focus was actually on the inside of the filter not through the filter? Would this cause so much flare & distortion? I didn't know you had a filter on but, as far as I know, filters should not affect the focus. However, I would try taking pictures of Jupiter on your 150-500mm without any filters. You want to maximize the lens's ability to let in more lights. (Catch 22; shooting at widest aperture also make it harder to archive focus because of the narrower field of depth.)

Most of the time, setting the lens to infinity should have settle the focus problem. So either there's a problem with your lens (a unlikely possibility) or you didn't landed your camera on Jupiter and captured a flare instead (most likely possibility!). A third possibility is that you did found Jupiter in your viewfinder but your lens is out of focus (also very likely). It is very tricky to try and set up anything in your viewfinder on planets and other objects in the night sky. You're not sure if you're in focus or not! Lol, cuz you're trying to work with blackness and dots in your viewfinder. On land horizon, try finding something way (really) far in the distance and focus on that (a street light or a tree; anything you can tell if its in focus or not). Then re-compose to Jupiter and try again. Chimp and zoom in, shoot again, chimp and zoom in, shoot again, chimp and zoom in, lol, until you got Jupiter.

And you're doing this on a tripod, right? :)


We are back in our evening fog/marine layer period again so there is no way to try out the tips. But hopefully I can take another whack at it soon enough.

I'll post some results as soon as I get the opportunity to take a few more shots.

I am not sure if I would ever get a shot like the ones you posted simply because, though we are a small town, there is still so much light interfering with the shot.

Try shooting Jupiter anyway. That planet's bright enough to go through all but the worst night pollutions. (But it won't go through clouds or fogs, so I wish clear skies to you!)

Do post pictures of your results. I am curious to see how shooting through a 150-500mm lens would come out as I don't have any lens with that reach. (got a 135mm, tho. I might give that one a try. I've been shooting mostly with my 50mm, lol)

But if I can get a buddy interested in some night shooting maybe we can get out of town and a bunch more elevation. I do have some friends with a cabin near Shaver Lake so maybe I can use it one weekend just to go shooting. Then again that's about a 5-6hr drive for me...sooooo, maybe not? hehehehehe....

Thanks a bunch for the tips!! That's actually not a bad idea. Sound like fun, too!

Good luck!

[kjonnnn]

That's definitely lens flair.

[SwingBopper]

It is a way out of focus shot of a point light source. Maybe showing some sensor dust too.

[Celestron]

Sorry , this isn't Jupiter unless you pointed it at Jupiter and it was wayyyy out of focus . The black spot is probably lens dust magnified from being out of focus .