The Official Shoot the Moon Thread

SailingAway wrote in post #19473055
Wind on the camera was mentioned earlier as a possible source of motion blur leading to soft images.

Another source of motion blur would be if you are releasing the shutter by touching the touch screen. A $20 wired remote is a very good investment for astro and other slow-shutter work, but you could test this by using the self-timer.

This is also one of the areas where the superior dampening of a carbon fiber tripod can make a big difference over aluminum. The ever-so-slight vibrations of the camera & tripod settling can be hugely magnified at super telephoto focal lengths.

Lastly, it’s also a good time to experiment with mirror lock up if you’re on a DSLR. The mirror bounce can also induce vibration.

Apologies if I missed any of these points being addressed earlier in the thread… I just happened to notice the OP’s mention of touch screen shutter release and it started me thinking about all the vibrations.

As I said, my memory isn't the greatest, but I don't recall there being any noticeable wind. In fact, I had not gone out the previous night specifically because of wind.

I use either the Bluetooth remote or the Camera Connect phone app to trigger the shutter.

I don't have a top of the line tripod, but it's also not a cheap one.

Yeah, I have thought about experimenting with the mirror lock up as well, just haven't done it yet.

No problem, all feedback is appreciated.

Still room for improvement, but realizing that AF works in LiveView made a huge difference. Now we're down to fine tuning; playing with exposure settings, mirror lock up, stabilizing the tripod more, post processing, etc. Always room to play!

Image hosted by forum (1194767) © hobs1466 THIS IS A LOW QUALITY PREVIEW. Please log in to see the good quality stuff.

Moon in front of the clouds?!

Very thin clouds light by the setting sun gives the appearance the clouds are behind the moon.

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …886/in/datepost​ed-public/

JAK_2666

Here I go again with another moon shot. (Do they ever get old?) This time with my new Canon R7. What a difference between my old camera (Canon T6/18 mp) and the R7's 32 mp. Great camera for only $1500 I'd say.

K9Kirk wrote in post #19474298
Here I go again with another moon shot. (Do they ever get old?) This time with my new Canon R7. What a difference between my old camera (Canon T6/18 mp) and the R7's 32 mp. Great camera for only $1500 I'd say.

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Nice indeed!

Park Ranger wrote in post #19474524
Nice indeed!

Thank you very much, PR.

hobs1466 wrote in post #19472717
Okay, so I did some experimenting this morning and discovered a couple of things.

First, I figured out how to manually focus while zoomed in live view. I think the reason that I thought it didn't work was because I didn't realize there was a physical button to do the zoom. I thought you did it on the screen, but since I had the touch shutter still configured touching the screen took a picture. Then when I zoomed I was actually just zooming in on the picture that was jus shot, so obviously focusing would have not effect.

Second, I found that AF actually does work with the teleconverter, as long as I am in live view. I first thought that it didn't like that I am configured for back button AF, but even putting AF back onto the shutter button had no effect. Viewfinder AF works fine with just the Sigma 150-600, but it doesn't seem to like the Sigma teleconverter. I had done my original testing with the view finder because that is how I shoot with the exception of astrophotography, so I just assumed it didn't work and never tried it in live view. Which is fine because astrophotography is pretty much the only time I will use the teleconverter as well.

Thanks to everyone for suggestions that prompted me to do more testing! Looking forward to another go...

An update to this discussion of AF with the Sigma 2x and Sigma 150-600...
I contacted B&H, where everything was purchased and was told that AF should work with the combination in both LiveView and Viewfinder modes. They want me to do a live chat with them since I am not local to discuss.

Which is really odd since according to Sigma, the 2x and 150-600 Cont combo should not support AF at all...https://www.sigma-global.com …er_tc-1401_tc-2001_en.pdf

So the seller is saying AF should always work, the manufacturer is saying AF should never work, and I am finding that they are both half right. While researching I noticed other people on the B&H site having the exact same issue. I think I am just going to count myself lucky that despite Sigma's claim AF works in LiveView since for the most part the only time I will use either is for astrophotography.

hobs1466 wrote in post #19474752
An update to this discussion of AF with the Sigma 2x and Sigma 150-600...

Camera auto focus is quite complex process. Biggest contributors for auto focus are aperture, brightens/contrast of the object and count/type of the metering points. Canon says F8 is smallest aperture for auto focus. Is it true? Kind off. Shots can be taken at F16, F22 with no problem at certain state like day time, bright object. Combination Canon 90D + Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm (F6.3) +2X extender giving aperture = 6.3 x 2 = 12.6 at focal length = 1200mm. Try to shoot dark object and AF will fail. Try to shoot bright Moon and it will work, if it is not a thin crescent. In other words you trying to use photo camera in the conditions it was not designed to be used (such as astro photography). It does not mean we should not to use them for dark shots, but experiment, practice, practice and practice is the way to success.

Nem wrote in post #19474672

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Nice capture! Looks really good on my screen. Exposure and sharpness works for me.

I’ll have to show it to my 80d

Slagrim wrote in post #19474896
Camera auto focus is quite complex process. Biggest contributors for auto focus are aperture, brightens/contrast of the object and count/type of the metering points. Canon says F8 is smallest aperture for auto focus. Is it true? Kind off. Shots can be taken at F16, F22 with no problem at certain state like day time, bright object. Combination Canon 90D + Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm (F6.3) +2X extender giving aperture = 6.3 x 2 = 12.6 at focal length = 1200mm. Try to shoot dark object and AF will fail. Try to shoot bright Moon and it will work, if it is not a thin crescent. In other words you trying to use photo camera in the conditions it was not designed to be used (such as astro photography). It does not mean we should not to use them for dark shots, but experiment, practice, practice and practice is the way to success.

Makes sense. I'd note that AF does not work via the optical view finder with the combination in full sun, even at the largest aperture it supports. And that Sigma says AF is not supported at all with the 150-600 and 2x combination.

Sometimes it boils down the pushing the editing to ooze out all that detail.

P.

Pagman wrote in post #19475750
Sometimes it boils down the pushing the editing to ooze out all that detail.

P.

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You certainly squeezed every bit of detail available in this shot--lovely detail and contrast--Pag..!

Pagman wrote in post #19475750
Sometimes it boils down the pushing the editing to ooze out all that detail.

P.

Hosted photo: posted by Pagman in
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beautiful moonshot!

Thank you kindly.

P.