More zoom for Moon photos?

I have a Nikon D7500 and a Nikkor DX 70-300mm (4.5 VR AF-P). I've started doing Moon photos these last couple of months. I've been fairly happy with the results so far, but I'd love to get larger shots with more detail & sharpness. (My zoomed-in edited shots are ending up around 850 x 850 pixels) That said, I'm not looking to spend a lot, since I don't otherwise do much telephoto shooting like wildlife or sports.

 

I was researching the Kenko 1.4x DGX teleconverter, but it sounds like autofocus likely wouldn't work with my lens. I'm not averse to manual focus but, so far, I've found it hard to manually focus on the moon because I can't see any details through my camera's viewfinder even when zoomed in--I've ended up having to focus on the edges of the Moon's corona (not sure that's the right word). Would that be less of an issue with the teleconverter? In other words, would I be able to see and manually focus significantly better with the 1.4x addition?

 

If that's not an option, I'd probably be willing to spend up to 500 for a used lens that goes out to 400 or 600mm, but it doesn't seem like there really are any options for that price, even used. Am I missing any obvious contenders?

 

So, with that, I'm wondering if the best approach might be a telescope + ring + adapter. If yes, does anyone have any good recommendations to go with the D7500 for this?

 

All that said, I've love any high-level feedback or suggestions on what the best approach might be here, including things I haven't yet considered. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

From my experience the answer is no - for several reasons. Teleconverters reduce the light coming thru your lens...if you're already having trouble focusing, imagine doing it with en even less bright viewfinder. Also, most teleconverters reduce the sharpness slightly. I'm assuming you're using a good solid tripod, as the moon moves pretty fast as your magnification increases. An inexpensive solution I've used often is an old, used Spiratone 400/6.3 manual focus lens off Ebay (often referred to as "the girl-watcher") . It is totally manual, but I've gotten good clear crisp moon shots with it. The key for me is to ensure I have the tripod firmly set, the air is cool with no mist, haze cloudiness or wind, it is dark outside - ie unaffected by city or town lights reflecting off the atmosphere, and I'm shooting between f-8-f/11, and preferably the moon isn't full - the reason is that the shadow enhances the ridges on mountains on the moon.

From my experience the answer is no - for several reasons. Teleconverters reduce the light coming thru your lens...if you're already having trouble focusing, imagine doing it with en even less bright viewfinder. Also, most teleconverters reduce the sharpness slightly. I'm assuming you're using a good solid tripod, as the moon moves pretty fast as your magnification increases. An inexpensive solution I've used often is an old, used Spiratone 400/6.3 manual focus lens off Ebay (often referred to as "the girl-watcher") . It is totally manual, but I've gotten good clear crisp moon shots with it. The key for me is to ensure I have the tripod firmly set, the air is cool with no mist, haze cloudiness or wind, it is dark outside - ie unaffected by city or town lights reflecting off the atmosphere, and I'm shooting between f-8-f/11, and preferably the moon isn't full - the reason is that the shadow enhances the ridges on mountains on the moon.

 

Thanks for your reply and the helpful info! I'm definitely shooting with a tripod, and I've already moved away from full moons for the reason you mentioned—the attached shot was from my ever foray. That's a really interesting suggestion with the Spiratone. Am I correct that it's a T-Mount lens, and I'd need something like Celestron T-Mount SLR Camera Adapter for Nikon F-Mount to attach it to my Nikon D7500 F-Mount?

+1 on not trying a converter for this. Have you tried using live view for focusing? I'm not familiar with your particular Nikon, but it is common to be able to zoom in on live view by 10x or so to help with manual focusing. You should also be able to find a used T adapter for the Spiratone lens if it doesn't actually come with a Nikon F mount adapter.

+1 on not trying a converter for this. Have you tried using live view for focusing? I'm not familiar with your particular Nikon, but it is common to be able to zoom in on live view by 10x or so to help with manual focusing. You should also be able to find a used T adapter for the Spiratone lens if it doesn't actually come with a Nikon F mount adapter.

 

Thanks for your reply! I have been using Live View for manual focusing, and normally I have no problems with it. But, for moon photos, I don't see any details to focus on in the interior of the moon--it's just a bright ball of light. That's where I've had to focus on the pulsing swirls around the edges of the moon. Am I doing anything wrong? (I am on a tripod btw and am usually set around F8, 1/125, ISO 100-400).

The moon is approximately 0.5 degrees in diameter. To fill 3/4 of a frame would take an 1800 mm (equivalent) lens, or about 35x.

 

Cameras are best fitted to a telescope directly to the focusing tube, without an eyepiece. If it's not given in the specs,

 

 

A typical 4" (105 mm) reflector has an aperture of f/13, or a focal length of about 1300 mm.

 

Reflecting telescopes are great for deep space objects and stars, but not as good for large, bright objects like the moon and planets as a refractor ($$). I have a 4" reflector and camera mount, but I get better results with a 200-600 zoom lens, then cropping.

 

The moon is so bright, that it's hard to look at with a telescope and see any details. Use an ND filter with a telescope. With a camera, the exposure is surprisingly short - about 1/100 second at f/5.6 and ISO 200 - about one stop shy of "Sunny 16".

 

p.s. - the word you're looking for is "limb" not "corona".

Edited August 6, 2020 by Ed_Ingold

On the Spiratone...many were T-mount, but Nikon adapters are pretty easy to find. I actually modified mine with a homemade shorter tube allowing me to use it and focus to infinity with almost any camera. I had already modified adapters for use on my film Leicas.

 

Another Thought I forgot to mention earlier. I've also had good luck moon shooting with a Tamron Adaptall 500/8 cat lens, which are relatively inexpensive on Ebay, on my Nikons. Several years ago I had an opportunity to test it against a similar Canon, Nikon, and Leica R one...the old Tamron outperformed the others in terms of resolution and contrast for moon shots. Sadly it didn't do as well in earthly landscape photos as it had slightly more chromatic aberrations.

Edited August 6, 2020 by SCL

Agree with f 11 or even a bit smaller aperture, have shot the Moon successfully numerous times with lenses from 300 up to 600mm on FX, and the same lenses on DX (with the "correction" factor) hand held. A longer lens gives a larger proportion image capture which facilitates cropping. I do live in an area without significant skyglow and little pollution. Full moon is the most difficult, but is often captured well. IMO, with modern cameras' amazing capabilities, given a reasonably skilled user, tripods are not essential. Not difficult - I rarely bother, happenstance I captured a few shots last night - easy peasy. Took all of 3 minutes.

I have a Vivitar 500/8 cat lens, which I might have used for moon shots.

 

It is also T-mount, which is convenient as there is no aperture to not couple

through the mount. It is manual focus, so I also don't have to worry about

AF not working.

 

I believe I have also tried it through a 2x Kenko telextender, though maybe

not for the moon. I more often feel like shooting barely new moons.

 

The Kenko 2x has a 2x gear reduction on the mechanical AF coupling,

which probably makes it more likely to work in AF mode. That doesn't

slow down the motor in the lens AF, though. The 2x means that the

focus changes, as seen by the AF sensor, are also multiplied.

 

I believe I have had AF work though a 1.4x extender, though.

Remember that a full moon is in open sunlight;)

As for most photography, the best help for sharp images is a really solid tripod.

Focal length and pixel-density are your friends. Get a used Nikon 1/4x TC to add to your crop sensor body and 70-300mm.

 

Waxing Gibbous Moon by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

Image stabilization is so good these days that no tripod is needed. I shoot ISO 800, f/8 and 1/800-sec. and adjust for circumstances. This one was ISO 200, 1/160-sec and f/5.6. The moon is quite bright.

It was only found out fairly recently (compared to the number of years people have been looking at the moon) that a full moon is brighter. That is, the moon reflects more light (close to) straight back than usual for a diffuse reflector. I am not sure of the number, but it might be about one stop more for a full moon.

I usually use F 11, sometimes a bit more.

I have a Nikon D7500 and a Nikkor DX 70-300mm (4.5 VR AF-P). I've started doing Moon photos these last couple of months. I've been fairly happy with the results so far, but I'd love to get larger shots with more detail & sharpness. (My zoomed-in edited shots are ending up around 850 x 850 pixels) That said, I'm not looking to spend a lot, since I don't otherwise do much telephoto shooting like wildlife or sports.

 

I was researching the Kenko 1.4x DGX teleconverter, but it sounds like autofocus likely wouldn't work with my lens. I'm not averse to manual focus but, so far, I've found it hard to manually focus on the moon because I can't see any details through my camera's viewfinder even when zoomed in--I've ended up having to focus on the edges of the Moon's corona (not sure that's the right word). Would that be less of an issue with the teleconverter? In other words, would I be able to see and manually focus significantly better with the 1.4x addition?

 

If that's not an option, I'd probably be willing to spend up to 500 for a used lens that goes out to 400 or 600mm, but it doesn't seem like there really are any options for that price, even used. Am I missing any obvious contenders?

 

So, with that, I'm wondering if the best approach might be a telescope + ring + adapter. If yes, does anyone have any good recommendations to go with the D7500 for this?

 

All that said, I've love any high-level feedback or suggestions on what the best approach might be here, including things I haven't yet considered. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

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Stsadassad,

 

If you check Ebay, you can find older Vivitar, Soligor and 1-2 other brand 600 mm and 800mm preset T-mount lenses. I paid $175 for mine back it the late 1990's.