Moon 3rd December with 4x PowerMate

Heya all ... so excited, got my 4x TeleVue Powermate today, so awesome!!!

Had a quick look at the moon and Jupiter with my 15mm + 4x, before aiming the camera on to both. Images below with 50D and 4x Powermate ...

No cropping, this is full frame (I'll be in trouble if it gets any bigger I suspect):

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You've got some great detail there, Daniel. That big crater in the middle of your crop is Walter, about 90 miles across. I can see features down to 10 km at least and that's pretty good.

I've played around with Barlows myself so tell us what scope and how did you get the shot. Did you shoot through the lens or what?

Hey Bernoulli, thanks for the info ... still yet to learn my way around the Moon properly. This was shot prime focus, using my 50D + 4x Powermate + Orion ED80T CF (480mm f/6) on my HEQ5 mount. Tried focusing through the camera and then with LiveView and tried a few different exposures.

Great work Daniel, maybe a tad underexposed but not too much. I'm glad you're happy with the Powermate. The atmosphere could be the culprit as well for softness, I suspect you'll get some very crisp shots on steady nights. Keep posting, can't wait to see more.

Hey Steve, I'm very happy to blame the atmosphere over my limited technique, hahaha. Will review some of the other subs and check em out ... what do you normally look for in moon subs? Still very impressed with how much clearer my 15mm + 4x was over my 4mm EP! Now to try some imaging of fuzzies with the powermate.

- Daniel

the only thing really is focus and exposure- shooting raw helps, stacking a few for a better average benefits me- although stacking lunar DSLR subs has different opionions- one thing will hurt the image is oversaturation

spit wrote in post #13491143
the only thing really is focus and exposure- shooting raw helps, stacking a few for a better average benefits me- although stacking lunar DSLR subs has different opionions- one thing will hurt the image is oversaturation

I don't know, I kinda like oversaturation on moon shots: www.flickr.com/photos/​kennethrberry/64452997​69/

The only criticism I'd have of your shot is that it's a bit noisy. If you didn't, turn your ISO down as far as it will go and those crops will be a bit cleaner.

And I have a question. When I put my DSLR behind a 2X Barlow it gives me so much magnification that it takes me four images to cover the entire disk. Is your first shot a mosaic or how did you get it all in one frame with a 4X multiplier?

Bernoulli wrote in post #13491843
The only criticism I'd have of your shot is that it's a bit noisy. If you didn't, turn your ISO down as far as it will go and those crops will be a bit cleaner.

And I have a question. When I put my DSLR behind a 2X Barlow it gives me so much magnification that it takes me four images to cover the entire disk. Is your first shot a mosaic or how did you get it all in one frame with a 4X multiplier?

Hey Rick, this is just one shot ... using my 4x on an 80mm f/6 scope, guess the effective focal length is 1920mm. I believe it's on the short end making it one of the widest. What are you shooting with?

Just found a slightly longer exposure, previous one was 1/50th sec @ ISO 200, this one is 1/25th sec @ ISO 200. I'm also doing a slight Unsharp Mask pass which is boosting grain a little.

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legoman_iac wrote in post #13493561
Hey Rick, this is just one shot ... using my 4x on an 80mm f/6 scope, guess the effective focal length is 1920mm. I believe it's on the short end making it one of the widest. What are you shooting with?

That must be the difference. I'm using an Orion EON 120mm f/7.5 ED which has a FL of 900 mm. But here's the mystery: when I put a 2X Barlow right in front of the camera you would think I'd get new FL of 1800 mm but, no, I get a whoppin' 2960 mm! That's over 3X extra magnification and, with all that, there is no way I can fit the entire disk inside one frame. I have to use three shots at least and stitch them in post.

No one has ever been able to tell me why I get that extra magnification but no worries, it gives great images. Maybe it's the magnetic field here in Arkansas.

I like your new edit!

Hi Rick ... I can help with your problem, let's swap gear - you get the correct magnification and I'll photograph moon mosaics and grudgingly stitch them together, bahaha. Any pics of your moon mosaics handy? I'm still trying to work out how much zoom I'll need in order to photograph Neil Armstorng's footprint, anyone know? Can I put a few more Powermates on?

Bernoulli wrote in post #13495046
That must be the difference. I'm using an Orion EON 120mm f/7.5 ED which has a FL of 900 mm. But here's the mystery: when I put a 2X Barlow right in front of the camera you would think I'd get new FL of 1800 mm but, no, I get a whoppin' 2960 mm! That's over 3X extra magnification and, with all that, there is no way I can fit the entire disk inside one frame. I have to use three shots at least and stitch them in post.

No one has ever been able to tell me why I get that extra magnification but no worries, it gives great images. Maybe it's the magnetic field here in Arkansas.

I like your new edit!

I can't tell you the exact physics reason, but I do know the magnification you get with a barlow will vary with where it is in your optical train, and with how far it's seated into whatever is in front of it. In my case, if the barlow is right after the diagonal, it won't fully seat, and gives me much more magnification than if I put it in front of the diagonal, allowing it to fully seat into the focuser.

forget about the footprint

I assumed he was joking. Legoman_iac, if you were serious about the footprint, you can forget about it. No telescope, not even Hubble can see it from earth; not enough resolution by probably a few powers of ten.