chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

I dont know what is wrong with my computer or with something else, but, here goes

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chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

Well, success on this endeavor, SOOC, just glad to get something uploaded.

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

What equipment did you use to image these? When you state SOOC did you shoot in JPG or raw and then convert to JPG? Nevermind I see it shows .NEF files, hmmm I did not know that.

The first image is blurry due to camera movement. The second image is much better. It is really hard to determine exact focus especially when the moon is full.

Unsure if you were using a tripod and remote shutter release, but these are ideal to assist in limiting camera movement. If you don't have a release you can try exposure delay, if hand held you could bump up your ISO and lower the shutter speed to something around 1000-1500th of a second, depending on your focal length of course.

Your second image looks good and hope to see more from you in the future.
Matthew

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

Thanks Oknoder, for the suggestions and critique. I was so glad to just get something to post that i left out anything else. I have been trying for a couple of weeks to get everything to come together and its been one newbie problem after another. This is with zero processing due to my not knowing how to troubleshoot my software and/or eqpt. I am new to digital (been using p

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

&s since film died and digital was still primitive. I just bought a D5300 and am still getting used to it. These were shot on tripod, with my hand bracing the cheepo lens I bought for this purpose and for long terrestial shos. The first image was posted because I could not see the blur from the thumbnail and I wante to get something up. The lens is a Samyang, marketed as Vivitar 650-1300mm fixed aperture (basically a refractor telescope with no eyepiece, but with camera adapter. Its about 20-24" when extended. It wasnt purchased as a sharp lens, just better than my 55-300mm Nikon w/extender.I shot in full manual, adjusted for best focus thru the ovf, and carefully depreseed the shutter release. My remote isnt working, tho I tried to follow the instructions (including checking the battery voltage). I dont know enough yet about how to operate the software, and the card reader I was using to upload to ViewNX2 stopped working. This was uploaded thru windows photo viewer and I got lucky enough to post from there. I shot this in raw and planned on processing and experimenting til it looked it's best. I'm frustrated by these bits and pieces not working and having no skill at fixing them. I'm experimenting on how to get these things to work properly, but its a slow process for me, and I dont have much brain power left. lol I really admire the guys who are getting good results from limited resources, thanks

skylane5sp Loc: Puyallup, WA

Chazz,
Keep at it. It actually does get easier!
You can get a cheap wired shutter release for less than $10. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/765672-REG/Vello_RS_N2II_RS_N2_Wired_Remote_Switch.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/765672-REG/Vello_RS_N2II_RS_N2_Wired_Remote_Switch.html
and unless you have no other choice, don't hand brace the lens on the tripod. You might think you are rock steady but the image will rat you out.
I got in the habit of shooting both raw and jpg. The jpg is for instant gratification and if you want to play with it later, you have the raw.

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

Thanks for the tips skylane, definitely gonna keep trying. I have some drawbacks with retaining what I learn so everything has to be learned a couple of times. Dont worry, you'll get here someday. lol I'm counting on things getting easier, but some of these things seem to be following Murphy's law... if it can go wrong it will... I actually had no choice with the bracing, the lens is just way too heavy for the tripod I have. Its just springy, which brings out another set of problems. There are ways of bracing which are reliable, but I was counting on the wireless remote and didnt have much alternative at the time. I will troubleshoot the remote/camera and if I cant get it to work, I'll let the store worry about it. Its all brand new stuff. I want it to work like it was built to work. All your suggestions are good ones, thanks for them.

skylane5sp Loc: Puyallup, WA

I'm gonna ask a hopefully stupid question...

You said the remote didn't work.
Did you set the release mode on the camera for either remote or delayed remote?

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

Please Skylane, never use the word stupid except in reference to trolls and jerks. I am learning as I go, and I went back to my D5300 for Dummies one more time, and found the small section where this is detailed. Often I read stuff and dont absorb it. (physical problem with my brain from years of sleep apnea-glad its not worse) Anyway, I followed the instructions and set the remote to 2sec delay and will test sometime later this afternoon. I can repeat if necessary till problem is solved. Thanks for your help. I've been busy downloading as much free stacking programming as I can find, to try as I can. These things are only recently (within the last 5-6 years) available, so I'm excited. This process seems to be useful/necessary for good imaging of the skies if one doesnt have huge resources (giant telescopes and 50+mp cameras). I'm hoping I'll follow up and can eventually make some nice 16x20 and larger prints to hang on my walls.

skylane5sp Loc: Puyallup, WA

Yay! You had mentioned that the camera was new to you. Glad I could prompt you.

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Thanks Skylane

Oknoder Loc: Western North Dakota

Chazz,

Sorry for the delayed response, I am not sure about your specific camera but most have an option called delayed shutter or delayed exposure, this is helpful for bright objects when not using a remote. For longer dark exposures I have in the past used a dark card to cover the lens, to limit the amount of light able to reach the sensor. Usually a second or two is all that is needed to eliminate camera shake from depressing the shutter while on a tripod.

Keep shooting, it is by far the best way to learn and remember almost all of us here are also noobs.
Matthew

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

The second shot is really good Charlie. Keep 'em coming.
Craig

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

Thanks Matthew, the problem I had/have, is handling the equipment when I didnt have a strong working knowledge of the subtler operations and while working outside, in the dark. I took my 'Dummies" book with me, but couldnt find the section where the remote use was instructed. I was trying to keep trtacking the objective and read at the same time, a futile effort. The setting is in the menus and it was cumbersome to open and look for the timer setting. Once the opportunity had passed, I sat down with the book, determined to locate and learn how to set the remote. It wasnt so hard, but I have a little trouble scanning thru the screens when the apparatus is pointed at the sky. Probably I just dont adapt to that sort of thing on a camera to begin with, so chalk it up to my getting nervous when having to get familiar with something new to me. Anyway, it's set and works now. My assembly seems to have a lot of springiness to it and it takes about 10-12 seconds to steady out when touched. A brace attached to the lens and one of the legs would fix it, but I hadnt prepared anything before the other night. I might not need it if I use the remote, that is my hope. As everyone keeps saying, practice, practice. I had hoped to pp the shot, but wasnt able to get it to transfer using the ViewNX2, due to what the computer says is a bad card reader. It wont transfer using a cable except to windows photo viewer (so far). I think most of my problem is just learning to use all the equipment together while trying to learn each part of it, including the software. I dont seem to have a problem with ordinary shots, I guess that's because I know how to do those already. There will always be something to slowme (us) down, but I think it can be done and I'll laugh at myself after I build a little confidence. It will be worth it I believe. I used to go places and wait for hours to get a shot I wanted, but it was always worth it in the end. Too bad I dont have the negs for all those shots I took on film years ago. A few were actually kind of good.

chazz4623 Loc: Prairieville, La

Thanks Craig, you guys (y'all) are a BIG help!!