Mat, Thanks so much for the info! I'm guessing I'll have to practice with all my eyepieces to find which one has the best eye relief I'm thinking my 2" Ep's will be better and I can use those on the 10" LX-50 where as I can't with the ETX. Friday sounds like a great idea (weather permitting I guess) I'm actually off that evening so I'll try to get there. I'll bring my D7000 and lenses if you don't mind me tagging along and trying to get some shots with you and I'll see if I can get a combination that works. Howard --- On Tue, 5/22/12, Hutchings, Mat (H USA) <mat.hutchings@siemens.com> wrote:
From: Hutchings, Mat (H USA) <mat.hutchings@siemens.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Images of the eclipse from Cedar City. To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 12:48 PM Hi Howard;
I use a 25mm Plossl which has long eye relief (that is key). This yields about 46 power on my 8" dob. The lens is the kit 18mm - 55mm Nikkor, set to whatever makes the image fit, in this case just short of 35mm (digital camera with an APS-C detector). As far as camera settings, I shoot in manual mode, including manual focus. I use mid to high f numbers (f9 or so) and medium shutter speed (1/320). Then I use exposure compensation to make the image exposed like I want.
Like you, I really wanted to use my 22mm Panoptic but the eye relief just was not sufficient. Don't be shy about putting the camera lens right on the eyepiece, and take off or fold down any eyecup on the eyepiece. That is the only way I can get decent images.
I agree, auto modes are frustrating and limiting. I learned to shoot using an old Zenit 35mm SLR that was utterly manual, then upgraded :) to a Pentax K1000 (also fully manual). So when I finally got on the DSLR bandwagon, auto modes were a novelty. I do use programmed auto for everyday type snapshots, but when the shot counts, I still go manual.
Hope this helps. If you are near the south end of the SL valley, and would like some hands on help, let me know. I'll be at the public outreach event at the Herriman Library this Friday from about 7:30 on. If you want to join us there, we can try shooting the moon together.
Mat
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Howard Jackman Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 1:41 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Images of the eclipse from Cedar City.
Mat great images! I'm still struggling with afocal using my D7000 on an etx (I haven't tried it out yet on the 10" LX-50 which I'll use for the transit) I thin you mentioned this before but which eyepiece and camera lens settings did you use? With my Panoptic 22mm eyepiece and my 50 f/1.8 lens I still couldn't get the whole image in the camera. My wife's little point and shoot did a better job but the exposure's all wrong (stupid auto modes) Thanks for the info! Howard
--- On Tue, 5/22/12, Hutchings, Mat (H USA) <mat.hutchings@siemens.com> wrote:
From: Hutchings, Mat (H USA) <mat.hutchings@siemens.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Images of the eclipse from Cedar City. To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 9:01 AM The filter was one I made about 15 years ago with the solar film sold by Tuthill. It is a full aperature filter for my 8" f5.7 dob. I don't think that filter material is available any longer, which is a shame. The camera was my Nikon D40, handheld for afocal photography at the eyepiece.
For previous solar images taken recently with this setup, I edited the color balance in Photoshop to make the sun appear yellow. But I thought I would keep these images the way they were shot, since almost all the others I saw posted were yellow/orange. The yellow/orange solar images are very pleasing to the eye, but variety is also nice.
Mat
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 2:41 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Images of the eclipse from Cedar City.
Hi Mat,
What did you use to get the pictures?
Specifically what filter were you using to get those colors?
patrick
On 21 May 2012, at 18:24, Hutchings, Mat (H USA) wrote:
Hi all;
Here is a link to some of the images I took of the eclispe from Cedar City: https://picasaweb.google.com/1028899789 ... d2R---hpgE<https://picasaweb.google.com/102889978938539029003/May212012?authkey=Gv1sRgCMGdgd2R---hpgE>
I think it is cool that you can see lunar craters on the limb of the moon in sillouete. In the last image you can also see what I suppose would be considered Bailey's Beads, but since this was not a total eclipse, the effect was minimal. Someone correct me if wrong about that.
I had a really great time observing with Jeff Porter at an elementary school near his mother's house. Our two families were the only serious observers there. Some others did come by and we shared the views from our telescopes and shared our eclipse glasses.
Really enjoyable to me was seeing and hearing the reactions of my children throughout the event. As someone else also posted, I was struck by the "weak" sunlight and the cool temperature. What a day!
Mat
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