Shooting the November 2016 SuperMoon
There's still about 7 hours until the peak of the SuperMoon, but by that time the sun will nearly be up here. Right now at nearly midnight, the moon is almost directly overhead for us, so I decided to grab my monopod and try to snag a clear shot.
At first I didn't realize how high up the moon was until I went outside, so I ended up swapping the monopod out for my tripod.
Here was the best shot I got after a quick edit.
Keep in mind, this is a 100% crop, which means that with the 70-200mm lens I'm using, I'm not getting very close to it.
This is the full, uncropped image. Look at all that empty space:
I should explain the close-up view of the moon in the LCD screen of the camera. That's actually a kind of digital "sensor
zoom" that I was using while shooting a video clip, not a photo.
In fact, I'm sure you've seen posts by @movievertigo that are WAY closer than mine are. That's because movievertigo's using a Nikon Coolpix P900, which has an incredible amount of built-in zoom that's equal to a 2000mm (optically - 4000mm digitally) lens on a full-frame DSLR or 35mm film. That's a full 10x the magnification (20x digitally) I'm able to get. For me to get anywhere close to that on the camera I'm using, I'd either need to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a traditional glass lens. Or I could get an attachment for my camera to attach to an astronomy telescope. But rather than have to drop a crazy amount of money on either a lens or a telescope, I could probably get a mirror lens.
In comparison to the other options, they're insanely cheap, they achieve an amazing amount of telephoto (especially when coupled with a 2x multiplier), and due to the way they're constructed they create a really cool kind of ring-shaped bokeh (background blur pattern) as seen in the example below.
For those interested in photographing the moon and/or the sun, I created the guide below after the Transit of Venus in 2012 to help give a sense of the kind of equipment one might need to accomplish this type of image. I hope you find it useful.
As you can see, the 200mm lens I'm using is the 2nd-to-smallest on the chart.
@winstoneolfe, Just a quick correction for you... The P900 has a lens equivalent to 2000mm, not 4000mm. Probably just a typo, but thought you might want to fix it :-)
The optical is 2000mm. But with your digital zoom you can get another 2x on top of it. ;-)
(If digital zoom is your thing.)
I don't count digital zoom as real zoom :)
Honestly, only reason I counted it was because it's an in-camera capability my DSLR does not have.
Just posted my supermoon capture. Unfortunately it's been a bit hazy all evening, but the cloud was thin enough to get a fairly reasonable shot...
https://steemit.com/photography/@movievertigo/supermoon
good info thanks!
I use a Canon 400mm lens for moon shooting. Sadly the area I live in was enveloped in clouds all week and I didn't get a single shot of the moon.
I did post some pics I took 4 weeks ago during the previous full moon which was still pretty impressive coming up on the horizon.
Wowza! That a nice shot :D
Thanks.
Every time I aim my camera at the sky it always makes me itch for a good telescope.
Anyway you made a nice moon shot ! And thank you for sharing this useful information with us!
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Great shot. I love photographs of the moon. Thank you for the tips too. My camera is way more sophisticated than I am so I've been slowly studying the manual to learn how to take great shots...on purpose. LOL