azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

I shot this last night from my deck and I am looking for advice on how to get sharper results. First the technicals.

Nikon Z50 with a Tamron 150-600 VR G2. ISO 100. F6.3. 1/200.
I shot raw and did some minor post processing in RawTherapee: convert to B&W, +0.3EV, additional "contrast by detail levels". I did not add any sharpening.

I think that I am seeing some motion blur. I was on the deck, not on the ground, and had my tripod legs fully extended. Even with a 5 second delay after pressing the shutter button and the lens in VR3 mode, maybe things didn't fully settle down. My first thought is to move to the ground, collapse the legs, use my phone app to trigger the shutter, and use only the electronic shutter.

I'll definitely try smaller apertures, too, F8 and F11. I think that with the physical vibration better under control, I'll be able to stay at ISO 100.

Should I succumb to adding some sharpening in post?

I have seen some folks doing image stacking for moon shots. Do I need to go that far?

As an aside, I tried the same shot with both my 24 Mpix Z5 and my 20 Mpix Z50. It was easier to swap bodies than do the math to see how many pixels would get used for the subject. Here is the result:
Z5, 24 Mpix sensor, moon was about 900x900 pixels
Z50, 20 Mpix sensor, moon was about 1300x1300 pixels

(Download)

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Just two comments:

1) no need to raise the f stop. There’s no DOF issue, and that would result in longer exposure or higher ISOs, both of which are enemies of sharpness (not to mention diffraction at f11).

2) definitely sharpen. Since you’re cropping significantly, I’d recommend Topaz Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI. Raw files typically need to be sharpened unless your PP automatically sharpens when you export.

BTW, looks pretty good as is.

KenY Loc: Glenside, Pa

[quote=azemon]I shot this last night from my deck and I am looking for advice on how to get sharper results. /quote]

Nice shot Azemon. Nothing wrong with it.

azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

You were right. Sharpening made a world of difference. Here is the result.

Thanks!

P.S. I love your username. It brings back many fond memories of shooting roll after roll of Tri-X, sometimes even pushing it to ASA 1200 :-)

(Download)

Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

Hi azemon
This is a very nice image of the moon. I doubt that vibration/ motion blur had much effect, however using an ISO of 400 and a faster shutter speed won't hurt (ISO 400 in today's cameras is just as noise free as ISO 100). As has been mentioned use the lowest F stop you can (largest aperture). The atmosphere is probably the most important factor in getting the finest detail. Therefore shoot your images on a calm night when the moon is high in the sky and or using stacking. I use Metroblue to check on the sky conditions for the quality of the "seeing" on a given night.

https://www.meteoblue.com/
On the site enter the location you are interested in, then under the "Outdoor & Sports" tab click on "Astronomy Seeing". This is show you the hourly cloud cover and the arcsecond seeing as well as other data.

If you are interested in stacking and if your camera has a video setting then taking a minutes of video can generate a lot of frames to stack. Here is an example of a stacked lunar image taken during daylight hours. This post also mentions the freeware programs used to stack and process the image.
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-688904-1.html

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Excellent!

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

As Ballard has mentioned, the atmosphere is probably your biggest enemy for getting a sharp single exposure. That is why stacking helps. Your original image is as good as one could expect for a single exposure. I also noticed the VR in your settings. Were you using image stabilization? I have the same lens and have noticed improvements when I turn the IS off while on a tripod.

azemon Loc: Saint Charles, MO, USA

Yes, I did have VR turned on. I started with it off but was seeing a lot of movement in the viewfinder from vibrations in my deck so I switched it back on. (Next time, I'll shoot from the ground.) I'll definitely try without VR when using a tripod.

I'll also try stacking some images. Thanks

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

When shooting stellar targets the atmosphere is your enemy! I typically shoot a 25-50 subs and select the sharpest one. I also use AutoStakkert, RegiStax or PIPP to help in the selection of the 'best' image. Topaz Sharpen AI is also great for sharpening.

Although I wouldn't complain about the image you posted; very nice!

bwa

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Love the Moon photo. Great detail all over the surface. --Richard

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Nice! Very nice!

bwa