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Manual or Autofocus for January 20 lunar eclipse?
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Jan 18, 2019 08:40:06   #
JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore
 
fourlocks, From what I've heard about the weather Sunday night, it is most likely to be very cold, have a grey cloud cover with rain and or snow from coastal northern New England and south though at least southern NJ. In those conditions all you will get is wet and cold.

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Jan 18, 2019 10:21:20   #
lloydl2 Loc: Gilbert, AZ
 
Why wouldn’t hyperfocal focus be a good way of handling this and also provide for the foreground being in focus?

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Jan 18, 2019 11:02:07   #
WayneL Loc: Baltimore Md
 
I have taken a few photos of the moon and used AF, worked for me. The main thing for me was to use spot metering, which nobody has mentioned.

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Jan 18, 2019 12:42:26   #
bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
fourlocks wrote:
I just read the thread for foxfirerodandgun's question on correct ISO for moon photographs that kinda turned into a discussion on all the settings to use. About half the responders called for manual focus; about half for autofocus.

I once read zoom (Nikon, anyway) lenses had the capability to go a tiny bit "beyond infinity" in auto focus mode so the lens can "come back" from a beyond infinity extension to the correct infinity focus setting. In other words, the lens wants to "bracket" the focus for something like the moon which would normally call for an infinity focus.

Is that true? And if I rotate my 300mm lens to as far as it will turn in manual mode, is that the proper extension or do I have to rotate it back a tiny bit so he moon will be in focus. Finally, should I just use autofocus and let the camera have its own way?
I just read the thread for foxfirerodandgun's ques... (show quote)


Use manual focus along with live view. First, go into live view. Second manually focus on the moon. Next, make a test exposure and view the picture on the LCD. Use the plus button to magnify the display and verify the sharpness. If it is not sharp, repeat the process until you have optimum focus. As long as you do not make further focus adjustments, you can take the camera out of live view and shoot away.

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Jan 18, 2019 13:06:08   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
Some folks set focus before dark and lock in place. That can be problematic in the winter when the lens cools down and dimensions change. So you would need to verify focus if you do that.

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Jan 18, 2019 13:17:47   #
lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA
 
foxfirerodandgun wrote:
"To Infinity & Beyond" / per Buzz Lightyear. [I couldn't resist this ;~)]



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Jan 18, 2019 14:40:52   #
cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast
 
Manual, live view and a tripod should do it. Also, a clear sky! We have a cloudy sky prediction for Sunday night, bah! Humbug!

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Jan 18, 2019 15:28:40   #
hookedupin2005 Loc: Northwestern New Mexico
 
fourlocks wrote:
I just read the thread for foxfirerodandgun's question on correct ISO for moon photographs that kinda turned into a discussion on all the settings to use. About half the responders called for manual focus; about half for autofocus.

I once read zoom (Nikon, anyway) lenses had the capability to go a tiny bit "beyond infinity" in auto focus mode so the lens can "come back" from a beyond infinity extension to the correct infinity focus setting. In other words, the lens wants to "bracket" the focus for something like the moon which would normally call for an infinity focus.

Is that true? And if I rotate my 300mm lens to as far as it will turn in manual mode, is that the proper extension or do I have to rotate it back a tiny bit so he moon will be in focus. Finally, should I just use autofocus and let the camera have its own way?
I just read the thread for foxfirerodandgun's ques... (show quote)


Why not do both, and see which YOU think comes out best?

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Jan 18, 2019 15:58:39   #
Bill P
 
What I don't understand is how a lens, any lens, can focus "beyond" infinity? That sounds like something from Back to the Future. As I understand it the fact of not having a hard infinity stop is to allow the lens to focus TO INFINITY when it changes in dimension due to changes in temperature.

I suspect that manual focus is a good idea in this situation to avoid a bad fit of hunting at the last moment.

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Jan 18, 2019 16:22:07   #
JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore
 
Bill P wrote:
What I don't understand is how a lens, any lens, can focus "beyond" infinity? That sounds like something from Back to the Future. As I understand it the fact of not having a hard infinity stop is to allow the lens to focus TO INFINITY when it changes in dimension due to changes in temperature.

I suspect that manual focus is a good idea in this situation to avoid a bad fit of hunting at the last moment.


As I understand it, and it has been 50+ years since I have had any Physics and Characteristics of Light courses, no lens that the average or rich photographer can afford, can truly focus beyond infinity. Infinity has an indefinite limit. I think what is really meant by "beyond infinity" is the lens trying to focus the infinity mark on the lens. It is the lens designer's way of giving the lens a way "to hunt"t beyond its' extreme focus limit. I suspect, but have never checked" that the final focus point using AF will be very close to the infinity mark on the lens barrel.

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Jan 18, 2019 20:37:01   #
rochephoto
 
There is high likelihood that when you’re photographing the moon that you’ll be focused at infinity. Based on that fact, I would put lens on manual, and tape the focus ring on infinity and spend your energy pointing the camera at the orb in the sky. On the other hand, if you want to take a selfie with the moon, all bets are off.

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Jan 18, 2019 22:18:46   #
BudsOwl Loc: Upstate NY and New England
 
fourlocks wrote:
I just read the thread for foxfirerodandgun's question on correct ISO for moon photographs that kinda turned into a discussion on all the settings to use. About half the responders called for manual focus; about half for autofocus.

I once read zoom (Nikon, anyway) lenses had the capability to go a tiny bit "beyond infinity" in auto focus mode so the lens can "come back" from a beyond infinity extension to the correct infinity focus setting. In other words, the lens wants to "bracket" the focus for something like the moon which would normally call for an infinity focus.

Is that true? And if I rotate my 300mm lens to as far as it will turn in manual mode, is that the proper extension or do I have to rotate it back a tiny bit so he moon will be in focus. Finally, should I just use autofocus and let the camera have its own way?
I just read the thread for foxfirerodandgun's ques... (show quote)

I don’t have an answer to your question, but I do foresee a probable problem. The “super snow storm” that is expected here in the northeast may make the whole issue moot.

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Jan 19, 2019 03:24:29   #
Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.
 
Auto focus, then switch the camera/lens setting to manual focus, to prevent any drift.

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Jan 19, 2019 04:07:14   #
rochephoto
 
Wow! ....I never thought of that... I'll have to remember that.

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