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First attempt at photographing the moon and it's, well, terrible!

Nadine2704

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Nadine2704

Nadine2704

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I seriously just cannot get the hang of using a telescope!  I feel like a child who has been given a ferrari to play with...

I'm slightly ashamed to admit how awful I am at using my new 8" Dobson Skyliner, but here goes: I suck.  I'm surprised I haven't broken it already due my sheer ineptitude!

I think I must've had unrealistic expectations.  I read a lot, and watched a lot of YouTube videos before I bought my scope, and I think it's the videos that gave me false hope as to what I would see.  I assumed that everything would look a lot bigger than it does.  I certainly didn't expect to look through my telescope and see the moon looking exactly the same size as it does with the naked eye, only with slightly more detail!  I didn't take into consideration that the people who filmed the view through their telescopes probably used some sort of hi-tech cameras which more than likely would've zoomed in on the moon, hence why it appeared to be too large to fit in the viewfinder.  Silly me!

Anyway, after getting over my disappointment that I wasn't going to get a close enough view to see any little green men sitting in the craters, I decided to take a few snaps using my phone, to see if the camera would give me a better view than just looking through the scope... most of the pictures just looked like giant fuzzy snowballs but, after editing the exposure on one of them, I ended up with the pitiful photo at the bottom of this post :(


I'm wondering if there is any way that I can get the moon to fill the shot?  I know I'm only using a mobile phone camera, but I've seen some great pictures that others have taken using phones and I'd love to know how they did it!  Also, the moon was so bright that most of the pictures I took were terrible... do I need some sort of filter?

I was hoping to try and get some shots of Jupiter too tonight, but that'll have to wait until a time when I can actually see the planet looking like a planet, and not a fuzzy bright star :/  I need telescope lessons...



 

post-34004-0-64745700-1389227777.jpg

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ArmyAirForce

ArmyAirForce

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I take it you were holding the phone to an eyepiece? If so, what size was the eyepiece? A 10mm eyepiece will give more magnification than a 25mm, a 5mm more than a 10mm. So trying other eyepieces, or adding a x2 barlow should help. Your picture is a good start, and most likely identical to almost everyone's first image! It is a bit over exposed, but that's difficult to overcome with a camera phone. A Moon filter would help cut down the glare, so may help improve the image.

Imaging is a steep learning curve, almost a vertical cliff rather than a curve, but keep trying and keep posting and asking for honest opinions on how to improve. I'm sure others will be along to offer advice soon, so don't despair.

This was my first Jupiter image, 20 months ago.....

jupiter1.jpg

and this was taken a couple of days ago!

jupiter35.png

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narrowbandpaul

narrowbandpaul

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That's really not a bad start. The moon is a bit overexposed, possibly because the camera doesn't have enough control over its exposure. Perhaps there is a setting which gives you some control over how bright the object appears. It will vary between manufacturers.

A shorter focal length eyepiece will magnify the moon for you.

Don't be too disheartened. There are far worse photos than this kicking about on the internet.

Paul

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JamesF

JamesF

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Trying to image anything with a manual dob is hard, so you shouldn't be disappointed.  It's really not what they're best at :)  Jupiter will be tough to photograph, to be honest.

Given the right eyepieces however, you should be able to see the Moon in "reach out and touch it" sort of detail.  The 200P is certainly capable of providing astonishing views of the Moon that are much more than "like normal with a bit more detail".  A 2x barlow combined with the 10mm eyepiece would certainly make a fair bit of difference, though I'm really not a fan of the kit Skywatcher 10mm eyepieces.  They're hardly the best quality ever.  Instead I'd be tempted to look at buying a 5mm or 6mm eyepiece for high magnification.  There are a few brands that are reasonably-priced and decent quality.

It's true that camera images are different from what you see.  Cameras and eyes don't work the same way and there's a lot of technical work that goes into producing a good image of the Moon or a planet.  Video footage is probably a closer approximation of what you'll see than stills, but it's even then there are lots of things you can do to improve the image.

Stick with it.  Practice makes things much easier.  If there's an astronomy club near you then they might be able to help you out with using the scope, but there are always plenty of people here willing to offer advice too.

James

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JamesF

JamesF

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Do you have a DSLR, by the way?  It will be tricky without a doubt to track with your dob, but it is certainly possible to have a go at imaging the Moon with a DSLR on the scope.  You should then get an image will probably fill three quarters of the frame.

It will be tricky though.  Did I say that enough times yet? :D

James

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Leveye

Leveye

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All things considered thats a pretty good shot. The highs are all blown out but it's focused pretty well. Unfortunately you'll never get the proper exposure using a cellphone up to the eyepiece at this point in time. you need to get a real DSLR using manual mode or a CCD on there. Thats going to pose another issue because if you want to take pictures using prime focus which is the best way you will have to move the mirror up the tube a bit to achieve that focus. Then you won't be able to use eyepieces unless you moved the mirror back to its original position again. I just move mine back and forth it's no big deal really.For ccd and webcm stuff though you'll be good leaving the mirror where it's at i guess. I don't dabble in that kind of magic yet anyways.

The proper exposure time i use with my Newt is about 1/15th of a second and live view doesn't really help much you still have to experiment. Here's one from the other night prime focus with a Canon dslr on my 6' Newt and cropped a bit. 1/15th iso 100

11846476814_4b2d35b5d3_o.jpg
Tonight's moon by Leveye, on Flickr
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Luke

Luke

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Well it's bigger and better than my first ever moon picture, so well done!

You have a very good scope there that is easily capable of giving "wow!" views of the moon! I had "wow" views of the moon in a much less capable scope :smiley:

Some nights conditions are better than others. Also, your telescope needs to be left outside for I would think at least 30 minutes, ideally longer, to "cool down" to the outside temperature for best higher power viewing.

I agree with James - a 5mm or 6mm eyepiece would be on my shopping list or try the 10mm with a 2x Barlow if you had one included with your scope (sometimes scopes come with one, but I am not sure about the 200P).

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Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

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Not a bad first shot at all!

Trying to take pictures through the EP with a phone is very difficult. I know first hand. 

There are a few adapters out there that mount externally to the focuser to help with stabilizing the camera and I've seen a few that have turned out very well.

My advice is to get a webcam for lunar and planetary images. There are a wide variety that can be used. Just search youtube and there are a lot of videos that show how to modify them for use with a telescope.

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Nadine2704

Nadine2704

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I take it you were holding the phone to an eyepiece? If so, what size was the eyepiece? A 10mm eyepiece will give more magnification than a 25mm, a 5mm more than a 10mm. So trying other eyepieces, or adding a x2 barlow should help. Your picture is a good start, and most likely identical to almost everyone's first image! It is a bit over exposed, but that's difficult to overcome with a camera phone. A Moon filter would help cut down the glare, so may help improve the image.

Imaging is a steep learning curve, almost a vertical cliff rather than a curve, but keep trying and keep posting and asking for honest opinions on how to improve. I'm sure others will be along to offer advice soon, so don't despair.

This was my first Jupiter image, 20 months ago.....

and this was taken a couple of days ago!

Yeah, I was holding my phone to the eyepiece.  This was using a 10mm EP and a 2x Barlow.  I'll definitely look into getting a moon filter - the glare was extremely frustrating!!

Those are fantastic images of Jupiter!  I was impressed as it was by the first one, but wow - the second picture is incredible!

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Nadine2704

Nadine2704

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Stick with it.  Practice makes things much easier.  If there's an astronomy club near you then they might be able to help you out with using the scope, but there are always plenty of people here willing to offer advice too.

Thanks for your advice!  I wish there was an astronomy club near me; it seems that not many people in my area share my love of staring at the sky!  Shame really, as the sky can be quite beautiful where I stay (when the clouds are away on holiday, that is!).

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Nadine2704

Nadine2704

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Do you have a DSLR, by the way?  It will be tricky without a doubt to track with your dob, but it is certainly possible to have a go at imaging the Moon with a DSLR on the scope.  You should then get an image will probably fill three quarters of the frame.

It will be tricky though.  Did I say that enough times yet? :D

Haha, no, I don't think you mentioned it would be tricky; jeez, you could've warned me!! :p

I don't have a DSLR, unfortunately, but my uncle has just arrived this second and he comes bearing a DSLR and some sort of camera mounting device... so I'm off out to see if I have more luck with his expertise!!

Thanks everyone for your advice, I'll let you know how tonight's attempt goes!!

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Nadine2704

Nadine2704

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Ok, the following confession is why I don't deserve to own a telescope:

Just realised I was looking through the finderscope, assuming that it was the the eyepiece...  I genuinely don't know what is wrong with me!!  What a numpty :p  No wonder the view I was getting was so disappointing! 

So, now that I've got that off my chest...

Had a much better viewing experience tonight, now that I'm looking through the right part!  The moon looked beautiful, and I finally saw Jupiter with two bands and it's four moons!  Very happy bunny over here :)

Here's my second attempt at photographing the moon :p  Still not going to win any astro-photography awards, but it's certainly a slight improvement on the first picture haha!

post-34004-0-28022000-1389305127_thumb.j

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Nadine2704

Nadine2704

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Well that's a positive result then :)  And brave of you to admit to such a lapse of reason :D

The Moon image looks pretty good for a single frame, I'd say.  Is that one from the DSLR? 

James

No, my uncle took a lot of fantastic photos with the DSLR, but this one is just one of my own using a cheap Samsung camera.  I didn't want to post one of his photos and take the credit haha!

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Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet

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Ok, the following confession is why I don't deserve to own a telescope:

Just realised I was looking through the finderscope, assuming that it was the the eyepiece...  I genuinely don't know what is wrong with me!!  What a numpty :p  No wonder the view I was getting was so disappointing! 

So, now that I've got that off my chest...

Had a much better viewing experience tonight, now that I'm looking through the right part!  The moon looked beautiful, and I finally saw Jupiter with two bands and it's four moons!  Very happy bunny over here :)

Here's my second attempt at photographing the moon :p  Still not going to win any astro-photography awards, but it's certainly a slight improvement on the first picture haha!

I love these kind of posts, all of us newbie's have these trial and error moments, even the pro's when they 1st started. mine continue on a daily basis lol.

great 1st image btw look forward to seeing your future images  :grin:

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Little Big Planet

Little Big Planet

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I am not quite sure you would want to do it but some members on this site are on a website called flickr i believe? i will post link below. its something you could look into as for uploading your images then put the link to your images beneath your name on this site so people can just click n view them.

http://www.flickr.com/

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