Re: Poor quality of lunar images with 20D/C90

In article <1127585123.145180.137920@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"jess" <jgates@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I have a relatively new DSLR and an old (~ 1980, black tube) Celestron
> C90. The other light I tried taking a picture of the full moon with
> the camera at prime focus (tripod, ASA 1600, 1/800, remote release
> after ~10 sec of MLU), and the results were reasonably well-exposed
> but very fuzzy (and noisy: maybe ISO 200 or 400 would be better).

Hey! I used to have a C80 when I was a kid! Tied it to a Pentax.

There is no need for that fast of ASA. I used to shoot 200 ASA and as
slow as 1/125 and get sharply exposed moon shots. That ASA speed is
probably where most of the fuzziness is coming from. Yeah, no need to
shoot at 1/800.

Also, the exposure for a mostly full moon like that is the same for a
sunny day (sunny/16).

What kind of DSLR and what mode are you in? JPEG or RAW?

look!
http://www.weasner.com/etx/guests/guests_moon.html

> I
> was using an Olympus Varimagni right angle finder attached to the
> camera. This gives a 2.5x magnification of the viewfinder, and I got
> the focus as sharp as I could. The view through the 20D viewfinder is
> horrible, though . . . I wish the screen had at least a small spot of
> fine-grained matte. There's a picture at:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~jgates777/Moon.html
>
> I thought that perhaps the 'scope was damaged or had deteriorated in
> some way, but visual observations (30mm Kellner) look very sharp. So,
> I have a few questions:
>
> 1. Is it normal for lunar astrophotographs to have much lower
> resolution than visual images?
> 2. Since the 'scope focuses "beyond infinity", it is very
> difficult to focus on the screen in a Canon 20D. Do you have any tips
> for manual focusing with a DSLR, or is it largely trial and error
> ("Jeff R." at sci.astro.amateur recommended a Hoffman mask)?
> 3. The tripod I was using was an old, cheap Velbon (~$25 new) I
> bought for a video project, and is none too stable. If you touch the
> 'scope at all the image dances all over the place. After some
> research, I've ordered a Bogen / Manfrotto 3246 with 488RC2 Midi
> Ballhead that will be used primary for daylight photography, but it
> hasn't arrived yet. Would you folks with experience expect this to be
> any better?
>
> I understand that the 'scope is not the greatest, and this was my first
> try at lunar imaging, but my images look nowhere near as good as those
> I've seen from similar setups. I don't expect miracles, but these
> pictures are pretty sad. Any suggestions?




--

Photographs by Christian Bonanno
http://christianbonanno.com/
.

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