Moon & Jupiter conjunction

<p>I shot this from my driveway last night. It was directly overhead at it's peak and that made managing the tripod a challenge! I shot some different exposures to get both our moon and Jupiter's moons exposed correctly. I wound up using just two exposures to make this composite in Photoshop CS5 using a layer mask. Our moon and Jupiter were one exposure, and Jupiter's moons were another (that overexposed our moon).<br /> Anyone else get out for this? I love this stuff!<br /> K-5, A* 300mm f/4, Vivitar PK-A R-PK 2x TC<br /> <a title="IMGP8492-Edit by MattB.net, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8183/8404685780_dd225b2b96_z.jpg" alt="IMGP8492-Edit" width="640" height="424" /></a></p>

<p>Will tonight still work for shooting the Moon and Jupiter together. I am usually late to the shooting event and timing. </p>

<p>That is a neat shot. Must be cold to arrange the shot for you. In my backyard, there are just too much city lights, but I will attempt it if the Jupiter is within reach. </p>

<p>Nice effort!<br>

We had -20C and a thick haze last night. Maybe tonight? </p>

<p>Thanks! The temp here was slightly colder than yours Gup. About -10F (-23 C). Compared to how it's been for the last couple weeks that was actually pretty mild. It was also very clear which was nice (and keeps us cold). I have the luxury of not having to go anywhere beyond my yard for brighter sky objects like this, living on the edge of a small town. For dimmer objects like meteors I have to drive a few Miles to where it's truly dark. There was a little ambient light around so I was sure to use the hood on my lens and that seemed to be adequate.<br>

I'm not sure what it will look like tonight but it might be worth checking. I bet they will still be close but just not quite as close as last night.<br>

Good luck and have fun! Oh, and stay warm too!</p>

Nice capture, Matt. Good to see the equipment was functioning well at those temps. The sensor would certainly not

overheat !

<p>Thanks Haig. Yeah, no sensor overheating! The exposures were pretty quick anyway. The moon is bright and moving and my tripod isn't all that stable with a big lens + TC and trying to point straight up, so I figured bumping ISO and going with shorter exposures would get a sharper image. My battery did start to die after 20 Minutes or so but I wasn't starting with a fresh one. Once warmed back up inside it showed mostly full again.</p>

<p>Wow! My view tonight is superb. No light pollution here. But, it's now -29C and two minutes out there was brutal. I don't know whether to try and shoot it or not. I spent an hour out there earlier clearing frozen snow and am still warming up.</p>

<p>Matt, here is the link to a similar thread going on over at the Off Topic forum,<br>

<a href="/off-topic-forum/00bGMT">http://www.photo.net/off-topic-forum/00bGMT</a></p>

<p>a good inspiration, I should use my Tamron mirror lens and TC a bit more for stuff like that. </p>

<p>I was up all night attempting the moon after few days of rains in California. I had a lot of trouble tonight with my tripods and focusing. I never manage to shoot the moons well for various reasons. <strong>And Jupiter is absent and perhaps hidden in the clouds.</strong> With the clouds moving in and out, I ma not able to focus on the moon. All shots come out burry and not worthy of showing.</p>

<p><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8415295427_71acdd4e81.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8508/8415294063_a0fbd6f7cc.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>My eyes are getting old with bi-focal glass and I see two moons if I shoot with glass and I can't see anything in focus if I take off my glass. I am desperate for a photo. I can only salvage the old shot that I took in 2009. The shooting was much easier then</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8416389880_8bb183d614_c.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /> picture in 2009 with K20D and Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 and Pentax AFA 1.7x TC.</p>

<p>All shots with my 300mm primes fail to deliver. I will show what I manage to get with the Tamron adaptall-2 500mm f/8.0.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>When it is close to midnight, I manage to see the clouds escape from the scenes. But my tripod head gets stuck in earlier shooting. It was all my fault as I got it damaged in dropping my tripod onto sand and no matter how I clean the adjustment knobs after the accident, it is never like its original form.</p>

<p>I give up on my tripods tonight and shoot with Tamron adaptall-2 500mm f/8.0 mirror lens. These are not great shots as I am shooting all hand-held with the mirror lens. I will try to fix my Linhof ball-head with lubricant. If you know of the right lubricant to use on ball-head damaged with sand and water invasion, please help me with a comment.</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8358/8415481567_b71f9908b9_c.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="800" /></a><br>

K-5 and Tamron SP adaptall-2 500mm f/8.0 mirror (55BB)</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8416578058_214f053f98_c.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

K-5 and Tamron SP adaptall-2 500mm f/8.0 mirror (55BB)</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8416577930_9d41e58057_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="464" /></a><br>

K-5 and Tamron SP adaptall-2 500mm f/8.0 mirror (55BB)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Darn it, the more that I look at it, the more my moon shots look exactly like a water melon. It is a shame. It may have something to do with my post processing. Watermelon is all jammed in my tired mind Yesterday late into the making of Jupiter missing Moon shots</p>

<p>My very watermelon like Moon shot<br>

<a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8418479590_ede45bcc77_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="640" /></a></p>

<p>I did get some Lithium Grease multi-purpose lubricant earlier but I am researching if that is safe to use on my failed tripod ball-head with Linhof. I will try to re-shoot the watermelon moon shot to make it less like a melon. My moon shots and watermelon gripe giggles my boys tonight before dinner.</p>

<p>I am a nut case for night shooting. It was a while ago that I dragged myself 2:00am in the morning to drive up the hill to a lonesome mission hill of Fremont and wait for the Meteor Shower to happen. Of course, I failed to catch meteor in action. Instead the traces of the airplanes are plenty. I was using the 10-17 fisheye and k20D at the time</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2495/3815317259_3ee91d4ca4_z.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

shot with K20D and fisheye in 2009</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2673/3816163134_641cfbf5f7_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="425" /></a><br>

K20D and fish eye</p>

<p>The moon looks like a star in this shot and the white light comes from trailing lights from plane in long shutter. </p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3567/3818450104_3524ba6ac9_z.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>

<p>I tried stacking 30 sec shutter shots in K20D, but I did not catch the meteor in action</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2606/3816238671_ee235b8531_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="425" /></a></p>

<p>I documented my failed attempt in <a href="http://www.techtheman.com/2009/08/meteor-night-with-pentax-da-10-17mm-f35.html">this blog post wit Meteor attempt</a> </p>

<p>The lithium grease seems to work well with my ball-head and I manage to try my travel camera with Nex 5N on the same Tamron SP 500mm f/8.0 mirror (55BB). It is another problem and challenge to face as the nex is a thin body and I don't have the expensive L bracket. The setup oscillates even when I try to touch the focusing ring. Unlike the Pentax, my travel camera don't have SR for manual lens and with the setup, I pick a higher ISO 400 to shoot the moon yesterday night to gain for a faster shutter to avoid shaking<br>

<a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8095/8424309706_549715585b_c.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

<a href="http://www.techtheman.com/2010/10/hiking-with-tamron-500mm-f80-adaptall-2.html">Tamron SP 500mm f/8.0 mirror (55BB)</a> mounted on NEX 5N</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8325/8424310206_1e326bffc6_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="530" /></a></p>

<p>Having a flip out LCD is a big plus especially when the moon rises more to the vertical above. </p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8235/8424309906_6fd5b7aa48_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="800" /></a><br>

Tamron mirror and Sony nex 5N on tripod</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8193/8424309658_3feb6cab58_c.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

Tamron mirror, nex 5n and hand-held</p>

<p>I will document what I have learned from chasing the moon and jupiter the last couple of days and share with you all. And much thanks to Matt for the inspiration...... </p>

<p>All documentary pictures was shot single hand with K-5 and FA 43mm as my left hand is holding a remote for the nex 5N setup. I usually do documentary with DA 35 but the 43 is more suited for night shooting</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8211/8423393645_6e4974b270_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="530" /></a></p>

<p>Moon chasing<br>

<a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8503/8423219611_15fb10357b_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="530" /></a> </p>

 

<p>Very nice Hin! I was wishing I had a fold out LCD shooting the moon overhead. I had to crouch on the ground under my tripod to see what I was doing!</p>

<p>@Matt, having the fold out LCD is a great help especially when the moon is closer to the vertical above you. And I share the same pain on my first shooting where I have to crouch under my tripod to find the moon with K-5. But in actual shooting in hand-held shots without tripod, the optical viewfinder in K-5 allows me to back myself against a wall and brace with the camera aimed high to the moon. The shooting becomes easier without the restraint of tripod. I am lucky to have the lightweight Tamron SP 500mm f/8.0 mirror as it is quite alright to hand-held the moon shots with the mirror lens in iso 200 ~ 400 and have a higher shutter.</p>

<p>And with a fold out LCD, I find the setup with less restraint and with more freedom to find the moon when used on a mono-pod<br>

<a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8426377343_ddc473d41d_z.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>

<p><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8426371169_b070130c95_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="424" /></p>

<p> </p>

<p>This is my mono-pod setup with the Tamron mirror mounted on my nex. I have an inexpensive Dolica mono-pod and a very cheap <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081D0FOE/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00">Manfrotto RC2 like quick release</a> from Amazon. I am thinking of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-494-Ball-Head-Replaces/dp/B002WN211O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359558742&sr=8-1&keywords=manfrotto+494">Manfrotto 494 ball head</a> for my next upgrade on my lightweight traveling setup. If any of you have manfrotto 494, please help me if there is better alternative that I can consider in similar price range. My current traveling tripod head is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-3229-Swivel-Quick-Release/dp/B00006J053/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359558972&sr=1-1&keywords=manfrotto+3229">Manfrotto 3229</a> which works better on mono-pod but falls short on a tripod due to absence of a ball head for more directional control.</p>

<p>My boy helps in holding the mono-pod setup. The Tamron mirror lens is actually quite small in use and it is one of long focal lens that I actually enjoy shooting hand-held. But it is best use on a mono-pod if lowest iso is what you are after. The AF ring is very capable for fine tuning. Sharpness and color is very reasonable for such a long focal length. When time allows, I will try to reshoot similar moon pictures with my 300mm with a 1.7x TC -- Photosniper Tair Phs 300mm f/4.5 or my F* 300mm f/4.5</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8426368377_39cf3851d0_z.jpg" alt="" width="424" height="640" /></a><br>

on mono-pod</p>

<p><a href=" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8095/8424309706_549715585b_z.jpg" alt="" /></a><br>

on tripod</p>

<p>Anyone with experience on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WN211O/?tag=nmphotonet-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Manfrotto 494 ball head</a> for use with traveling tripod setup that can support a maximum wight of say 6 lb? And if you have similar ball-head in similar price range, I can use some help.</p>

<p>I think mine is the version of that with the RC2 release plate. I don't have it handy to say exactly. For what it is I really like it but I wouldn't mind a beefier one sometimes when working with larger lenses like I was for this moon & Jupiter photo. But since I carry my gear so far regularly on skis, bike, or on foot it's the best compromise I have found for those situations.<br /> To me, the quick release plate is a must and I wouldn't get a head that didn't have that feature. I like minimal fiddle when shooting!<br>

I believe this is the one I have.<br>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-494RC2-Release-Replaces-484RC2/dp/B002WN211Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1359656343&sr=1-1&keywords=manfrotto+494+rc2"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41br%2BHQLdeL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p>

 

<p>Thank you Matt for the inputs. I am deciding between <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/660318-REG/Manfrotto_494_494_Mini_Ball_Head.html">Manfrotto 494</a> (0.49 lb) and <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/660320-REG/Manfrotto_496_496_Compact_Ball_Head.html">Manfrotto 496</a> (0.71 lb) as the later can support 13 lb in the spec but my intention is for a lightweight setup on a tripod. Either one will serve me better than my current head with Manfrotto 3223 which is meant for mono-pod but I like it so much that I use it on my traveling Cullmann tripod. </p>