Last night's moon- revisited
Dec 15, 2016 10:04:57 #
I arrived home from work to find a fabulous moon out.
Fed cats, made dinner, ate, went back outside with my camera gear and it had clouded over. Checked again before bedtime, but still cloudy. Disappointed!
Then, later that night, I happened to wake up at 1:30AM to find a very bright moon in a clear sky. But it was COLD! I put sweats, socks, coat, hat on over my pajamas and ventured back out, camera and tripod in hand.
Took a few shots, but moon was not super sharp. Put a small sand bag over the camera/lens combo. Took 10-15 shots. Images still not tack sharp. Played with trying to move lens/camera to determine the weak point. Apparently the Sigma 150-600's tripod mount is weak. Useless!
Went over to a 5 foot high stack of wood. Rearranged some things so camera could be propped up with both camera and lens supported separately, and took about 30 more shots at various f stops and shutter speeds and ISO's. Then, half frozen, packed up and crawled into bed. Wife was not happy with the sudden cold addition to her slumber.
Did a quick processing run in lightroom this morning.
So far, it's the best "mostly full" moon I have achieved with this lens.
I will have to look at how I can better steady the lens/camera on the tripod, since propping it up like that is nothing short of a pain since the moon is constantly moving and I have to keep rearranging. Besides, with this cold weather, the wood pile won't last for ever. Any suggestions guys?
W
Fed cats, made dinner, ate, went back outside with my camera gear and it had clouded over. Checked again before bedtime, but still cloudy. Disappointed!
Then, later that night, I happened to wake up at 1:30AM to find a very bright moon in a clear sky. But it was COLD! I put sweats, socks, coat, hat on over my pajamas and ventured back out, camera and tripod in hand.
Took a few shots, but moon was not super sharp. Put a small sand bag over the camera/lens combo. Took 10-15 shots. Images still not tack sharp. Played with trying to move lens/camera to determine the weak point. Apparently the Sigma 150-600's tripod mount is weak. Useless!
Went over to a 5 foot high stack of wood. Rearranged some things so camera could be propped up with both camera and lens supported separately, and took about 30 more shots at various f stops and shutter speeds and ISO's. Then, half frozen, packed up and crawled into bed. Wife was not happy with the sudden cold addition to her slumber.
Did a quick processing run in lightroom this morning.
So far, it's the best "mostly full" moon I have achieved with this lens.
I will have to look at how I can better steady the lens/camera on the tripod, since propping it up like that is nothing short of a pain since the moon is constantly moving and I have to keep rearranging. Besides, with this cold weather, the wood pile won't last for ever. Any suggestions guys?
W
Dec 15, 2016 10:13:47 #
Very detailed. Was that with the Tamron 150-600mm lens? If so, you got a really sharp copy.
Dec 15, 2016 12:30:28 #
jeep_daddy wrote:
Very detailed. Was that with the Tamron 150-600mm lens? If so, you got a really sharp copy.
Sigma Contemporary. It's a fabulous lens, but half its issues lie with the tripod mount. Am going to work on that.
Dec 16, 2016 13:53:51 #
jeep_daddy wrote:
Very detailed. Was that with the Tamron 150-600mm lens? If so, you got a really sharp copy.
Another frame from the same night. This one shot at a lower ISO. Some areas are more clear, others are less clear. Disturbances in the upper atmosphere are the cause. It makes a good case for stacking images.
Dec 16, 2016 13:55:57 #
Dec 16, 2016 14:58:42 #
Dec 16, 2016 15:23:38 #
Dec 16, 2016 20:45:06 #
Dec 17, 2016 00:44:11 #
Jan 14, 2017 13:46:56 #
larryzplace wrote:
Nice and clear
Nice and clearThanks all. Well, I found a solution to my tripod problem. I purchased a used Gitzo Studio with a Majestic tripod head. This thing is ROCK solid and the mounting surface is big enough that I can screw down both the lens collar and the camera (with an inserted wooden block). Although not in the photo, the plate has a long slot - long enough that both can be fastened.
Took another shot last night. If you download the original, you will see a difference, even from the original clear shot.
Wolfgang
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