Speed/Film Combinations for Lunar Shots

Hi!

I Just started taking shots from the moon with my wife's digital camera and so far I like the result, here's a result of last night's shot 30 min. after moonrise. I managed to get a hold of a good SLR camera body and last night I attached it to my 4 inch achro. Now I want to try taking lunar shots with that camera.

Does anybody have suggestions on what kind of film and shutter speeds I should use to get good results? All your advise is very much appreciated!

Thanks!

Saul.

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Hi Saul,

Digital Cameras are a tough act to follow when it comes to lunar imaging, what with their ease of use and the immediate feedback as to the quality of what you've just captured (to be fair, other imaging platforms may also do quite well here, though I personally feel they are more work and less fun than the digicam on this target... and having FUN is what it's all about!)

Film, CCD, DigiCam, WebCam, or CMOS SLR... no matter the medium, what works one night for the moon will not necessarily be the best for other nights, so the parameters should be determined uniquely for each session. Our moon's intensity varies significantly as it progresses through the phases, and to a lesser extent from atmospheric extinction as its elevation varies (peak elevation at zenith changes nightly). Using the histogram available in the LCD on most digicams, assures you are in the ballpark, and bracketing the exposures guarantees a home run or two!

With film, you'll need to do more homework up front (as you already know!) to assure your bracketed values are appropriate. The gang here can best answer to that though, as I threw in the towel on film-based imaging after many disappointing results (despite my best laid plans and manyyyyy rolls of film!) I now have a much deeper admiration for those who do film-based imaging so well!

Below is a vastly reduced lunar image, taken with a digicam. Details and a full-scale cropping of a portion of the "wall" section can be found at:

http://www.astro-nut.com/lunar-03feb09.html

Cheers,

Paul

--- http://www.astro-nut.com/ ---

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Hi Saul,

Michael Covington's book
Astrophotography for the Amateur
(http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/astro/)
gives reliable formulae for calculating
exposure of the moon at various phases.
The formalae worked for me. I'm sure they
will for you too.

Cheers
Todd