Moon photography advice: Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get...

-Ryan-

Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get decent pictures of the moon, could you guys give me some advice, preferred settings for good quality images, things that I should try to get certain effects, thanks in advance.

photocat Loc: Atlanta, Ga

ISO 200
Manual mode
1/250
F-Stop one at these stops 5.6 8 11
Manual focus on edge of moon
Camera on tripod
Have fun

sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL

On tripod make sure VR or IS is off.

Sarge69

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

-Ryan- wrote:

Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get decent pictures of the moon, could you guys give me some advice, preferred settings for good quality images, things that I should try to get certain effects, thanks in advance.

It might be hard to get a decent picture with that lens!

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

photocat wrote:

ISO 200
Manual mode
1/250
F-Stop one at these stops 5.6 8 11
Manual focus on edge of moon
Camera on tripod
Have fun

Since the lens is an f/8 will it even focus on the camera?

-Ryan-

It has manual focus if that's what you mean

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

-Ryan- wrote:

Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get decent pictures of the moon, could you guys give me some advice, preferred settings for good quality images, things that I should try to get certain effects, thanks in advance.

Its doubtful you will get good quality from that lens.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

-Ryan- wrote:

Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get decent pictures of the moon, could you guys give me some advice, preferred settings for good quality images, things that I should try to get certain effects, thanks in advance.

You could try Arthur “Weegee” Fellig's advice: "f/8 and be there!".

However if you can't actually get there you could try the sunny sixteen rule or looney eleven rule at 1/1000th of a second or higher, and set ISO highish 800 or 1600. Experiment, see what you get and then adjust. I would suggest shooting raw or raw + JPEG.

Metering will probably cause an over exposure, but if you wish to meter set it to spot metering. Good moonshots are harder than they look.

markjay

What you should have bought is a telescope with an ability to mount a DSLR at the eyepiece end. Maybe you can still change.
And make sure you have a rock solid tripod.
If you get more into astro-photography, you will need a tripod with a mount that is powered and moves with the rotation of the earth. Does not have to be expensive. Look up Meade or Celestron. The best are made by Astro-Physics - but expensive.
Good luck !

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

-Ryan- wrote:

Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get decent pictures of the moon, could you guys give me some advice, preferred settings for good quality images, things that I should try to get certain effects, thanks in advance.

This lens is the latest iteration of a "super tele zoom" that is cheaply made, manual focus and offers mostly unacceptable results. Besides, at 2600 mm on a crop frame camera, the effective focal length will be 4160mm, which typically would require a crazy sturdy tripod, like a Gitzo Series 5, a RRS Series 4, or even better, a telescope tripod like this one:

http://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d500_tips/useful/flicker_reduction/

The next set of problems are:
There is no tripod collar, which would hold the lens in a balanced fashion.
You cannot adjust aperture - it is fixed at F8 at the short end, and F16 at the long end.
At max zoom and F16 the viewfinder will be dark, making it impossible to see your image, and unless you have rock solid support, you will never be able to focus it.

I would suggest abandoning your idea of taking moonshots with that lens, and if possible return it ASAP. Also, don't rely on amateurs' ratings on these lenses - they have probably never shot with a "good" lens and are amazed that they even got images. Sorry you bought this and I hope you can get your $$ back.

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

Sorry to say, return the lens and buy a good 300mm, then crop. Use a tripod.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

-Ryan- wrote:

Hello I'm new, I've only had my Canon t5i for a month but I'm getting an Opteka 650-2600mm Lens. It should arrive in the morning and I want to try to get decent pictures of the moon, could you guys give me some advice, preferred settings for good quality images, things that I should try to get certain effects, thanks in advance.

Some advice -
http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/howtophoto/index.htm
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/how-do-you-photograph-the-moon--26980

markjay

And when you buy a tripod - make sure you can position the lend/telescope/camera almost vertically. You never know where the moon will be when you want to shoot. Thats why it is a good idea to get a telescope tripod and not a photo tripod.

klattimer

sarge 69: Could you please explain what is meant by "...make sure VR or IS is off"? I am not familiar with those terms. Thanks.

photocat Loc: Atlanta, Ga

that stands for image stabilization or vibration reduction. terms are different for nikon and canon users.

lens with those options help remove camera shake, but when on a tripod they get confused as they are searching for movement and that search can create movement on it's own