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Why Is My Moon Not Sharp?


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11 replies to this topic

#1
zevell

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mymoon.jpg 
This full moon was shot at  1/200  f11  ISO 200
Sturdy tripod, VR off, using my 18-200 lens on my D7200
 
I'm happy with the exposure, but even though I took numerous shots and manually adjusted the focus by a tiny amount each time, this was the sharpest photo I got.
Why is it not sharp? Is it my lens that is just not good enough?

#2
Nikon Shooter

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Greetings downunder!

I can't see your posted picture but, just through the given data, I can see that not all
parameters may play in your favour.

WEATHER

One should expect good results when the atmospheric hygrometric values are low.
The same goes for dust particles in suspension after a warm / hot day due to con-
vection — wait for a later time in the night when the dust has settled.

GEAR
Your lens is rather short and your sensor kinda small for such an ambitious exercise.
Indeed, your lens quality and focal length are not at the pinnacle of the range.

This shot was taken with a D810 / 600mm Æ’4 combo @Æ’5.6 ISO 280 and 1/500 s.
The hygrometric read 24% that night after a sunny but fresh November 13 at 22:34 h.

HTH.


B9042%201D.jpg



#3
zevell

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Obviously a problem with this site, as I cannot see your photo either



#4
Merco_61

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zevell, your photo link points to a directory on your LAN, not somewhere where the forum software has access.

Nikon Shooter's hosting site doesn't play well with this site when viewed using Windows 10 for some reason. Right-clicking on the placeholder and opening in a new tab seems to work, according to the Win 10 users. I see his photo as he intended on Safari under Catalina.



#5
Ron

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Unfortunately, the right click, open in new tab trick only works with Chrome. I just tried it with Firefox (latest Windows version) and it didn't work. For some reason the hosting site name was appended to the front of the filespec so I think that confused Firefox. Just a guess tho.

 

--Ron



#6
zevell

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If I right click on Nikon Shooter's image and select "Open Image in new Tab" in Chrome, I can see his image, but not mine.  If I open this discussion in Firefox, his image is displayed, but mine is just a file name that I can't open.  (Windows 10)   How do I upload photos to this forum?


Does my photo now show?

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  • mymoon.jpg


#7
Merco_61

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It shows now.

How much did you have to crop to get that with a 200 mm on DX?

How sturdy is your sturdy tripod?



#8
zevell

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This is the uncropped original (6000 x 4000 down to 900 x 600)

My tripod is a very heavy 3.5kg Velbon 


I really want to get this right, as on the 26th May, there is going to be a super blood moon and a total eclipse.  The last time of a super blood moon was 1866.  My one and only chance to get it right first time!

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  • zz.jpg


#9
Nikon Shooter

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This is the uncropped original (7360 x 4912 down to 1200 x 800)

My tripod is a very light four segment series 5 with gimbal head.


B9041%201D.jpg



#10
TBonz

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Strange that I see Nikon Shooter's images on this post but not others...

 

First question - did you have VR turned on? 

 

Cropping that tight you are going to lose some of your detail.



#11
Merco_61

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There are more than one factor that can produce this less-than-sharp photo.

The 18-200 gets a bit soft as soon as you go over 145 mm focal length. 

I have yet to see a Velbon except the larger Sherpa models that don't resonate with the mirror going up.

Cropping as much as you need to frame the moon with this shortish lens will lose you some detail.

 

I think you will get a sharper shot @ 1/400, f/8 and ISO 200 as the diaphragm in the 18-200 is quite far back in the lens, leading to diffraction earlier than when using a longer lens that is less of a compromise than the superzooms.

 

1/60 to 1/200 is usually the speeds that are the most affected by resonance.

 

What raw converter do you use? Some converters and editors play better with the D7200 files than others. My go-to is Nikon's own Capture NX-D.



#12
TBonz

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Somehow I missed that the VR was off in the original post.  Peter has the right idea..