Moon Shots - Any Advice?

[TommySharp]

Hey all,

Last night thought it might be nice to try take some shots of the moon as it was a clear night.

Below is the best I could do, 2nd image is cropped in tight.

Can any of you guys seggest a better way to take these shots? Any hints and tips? How do people get those fantastic shots of the moon so big and clear you can see the mice nibbling away at all the cheese?

I tried everything.... Shutter speed, flash on and off, aperature etc...

Camera Model Name - Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL
Shooting Mode - Program AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) - 1/60
Av( Aperture Value ) - 5.6
Metering Mode - Evaluative
ISO Speed - 200
Lens - 90.0 - 300.0mm
Focal Length - 300.0mm
Flash - On
White Balance - Auto
AF Mode - AI Focus AF

[Wildewinds]

Yeah, attach the camera to a telescope.

Honestly, I've tried lots of moon shots and none of them turn out much better than yours. Searching Pbase for "moon" showed me that most other examples at around 300mm are pretty much the same.

The only real good ones are at 500mm+ with a real good lens or attached to some kind of telescope arrangement.

[Wildewinds]

Here's my moon shot. Upon closer inspection it did turn out a bit more detailed than yours.

http://www.pbase.com/wildewinds/image/42436482.jpg

I'm assuming you used a tripod. Did you use a remote shutter release or the 10 second delay? That would help a lot.

[TommySharp]

Yeah sorry.... I did use a tripod and a remote shutter release.... My trip is a crappy one though, made out of jello I think....

Maybe a mirror lockup would help?

Stupid question but what sort of equipment would you need to hook an SLR up to a telescope?

[jscotti]

Stupid question but what sort of equipment would you need to hook an SLR up to a telescope?

You need to buy a T-adaptor which allows you to use a 1-1/4 inch or 2 inch tube that slides into the eyepiece holder of the telescope (most smaller telescopes use 1-1/4 inch eyepieces - check with the telescope you plan to use). The T-adaptor can normally attach directly to that tube or use a lens adaptor in between that allows you to magnify the image with an eyepiece in so called "eyepiece projection". This is the most stable way to shoot images through a telescope and would allow you to take pictures of planets and other fainter things if you want. For the Moon, you can also use eyepiece projection just by holding the camera up to the eyepiece (or mounting it on a tripod looking through the eyepiece) and snapping the picture. I used to do that with my small telescope and camera without a T-adaptor with decent results.

You can buy the T-adaptor at your local astronomy store if you have one nearby or I think the big camera stores tend to sell them, for example at Adorama or B&H. You just have to get one specifically for your camera (I assume that is Canon EF mount). I don't have one yet for my camera, but its on my list (I have one for my old Pentax K1000 and I think I'll be able to use the eyepiece adaptor from that).

Jim.

[five-o]

I had about the same results. I also shot orion and came up with NGC2024. I thought with a 200mm lens this was pretty good.

[jscotti]

Further to my post yesterday, here is the Canon EOS Digital Astrophotography page on photographing the Moon:

http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/astro/pages_e/10_e.html

and here's the main webpage:

http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/astro/index-e.html

Jim.

[scottbergerphoto]

http://www.pbase.com/scottbergerphoto/image/28637982.jpg
Canon 1DM2, Sigma 500mm f/4.5, RS80N3 Cable Release, Acratech Ultimate Ballhead, Gitzo G1228 Tripod. I use the camera meter to judge the exposure in Manual Mode and adjust based on the histogram.