Hand-held moon shot with the new 300/4

Gary R. Smith

Well-Known Member
Took this last night (17 OCT) with the 300/4 Pro lens on the OM-1 with the 1.4 TC between the lens and the body. ISO ended up at 400, shutter was 1/200 and aperture was set to f8. The lens and body cooperate with stabilization, and this was a single exposure.
Oct 17 full moon.jpg
 
Thanks Rob! I have the necessary adapters to attach a camera to a 90mm Meade scope but I doubt that the scope will track with the added weight of a camera. I suspect I'd get a better single shot image. Part of me would like to do astro photography but going down the gear rat hole and s/w learning cycle might take the rest of my life.
 
Thanks Rob! I have the necessary adapters to attach a camera to a 90mm Meade scope but I doubt that the scope will track with the added weight of a camera. I suspect I'd get a better single shot image. Part of me would like to do astro photography but going down the gear rat hole and s/w learning cycle might take the rest of my life.
There is an alternative. You can use $200,000 worth of professional equipment now for very modest rental fees - search for robotic telescopes on Google. The better ones have online free courses in image processing, and writing instructions for your intended target is easy. See my post on the Double Cluster, taken with iTelescope kit.

Even with your camera and a solid tripod you can get great images of star formations and more - exposures of 300/focal length (seconds) show no trails and can be stacked. Free software is available.
 
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There is an alternative.
Thanks for your reply Geoff! I did a considerable amount of research about a year ago and I think it scared me away...

It comes down to a combination of: cost of new gear, learning curve for new gear and s/w as well as the probability that my lazy old self likely would never haul myself from my Bortle class 7 location outside Portland to a class 2 site and then babysit the number of exposures needed for good integration.
research.JPG
 
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Incredible detail for handheld!
Thanks Jez!
New lens and the moon was full. I was curious and satisfied. I may add the 2x TC and try again at some point. I may also rig my Meade 90mm back onto the Sony a65 (I have all of the necessary connections) and see what that does sometime. Best time to shoot he moon is NOT when it's full.
 
Thanks for your reply Geoff! I did a considerable amount of research about a year ago and I think it scared me away...

It comes down to a combination of: cost of new gear, learning curve for new gear and s/w as well as the probability that my lazy old self likely would never haul myself from my Bortle class 7 location outside Portland to a class 2 site and then babysit the number of exposures needed for good integration.
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Gary, apologies for the late reply, nearly non-stop travelling for 7 of the last 10 days. Understood - it can be daunting to tackle the software but if you use robotic scopes they geneally have video guides. Or if you use your current camera and photo tripod with short exposures, stacking images is easy ("deep sky stacker" free and simple), and rewarding.
 
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