[Leica] Shoot the moon

[Douglas Barry]

Nice one Peter. Don't downplay that '70s lens! Your shot is a lot better 
than the moon image Orthostat 47.
OK, O 47 is megalithic and about 5,200 years old :-) That one is about 
30 miles away from here at the prehistoric tomb of Knowth and is the 
oldest image of the moon found in the world so far. Access to the tomb 
is closed over the winter and opens in March for small groups. My wife 
has agreed to accompany me next month to visit it.
Anyway, you've inspired me to check eBay for a T ring for my oddity for 
peanuts purchase of a 400mm f6.3 Spiratone which has languished in my 
vast "Must Get Around to Using" cabinet. The thing has no fungus so it's 
perhaps worth getting an adaptor for.

Douglas



On 23/02/2024 07:37, Peter Klein via LUG wrote:
> There was a gorgeous full moon tonight. I set up a tripod and my EM-1 
> Mark II on my front porch and mounted my longest lens, a 1970s Vivitar 
> T-4 mount 300mm f/5.5.
>
> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/53546899144/in/dateposted-public/> 
>
> This is cropped to 100% and sharpened by eye to my taste.
>
> Not too bad for a 1970s lens I picked up for pocket change. It is 
> decent at f/8 and very good at f/11. It has a T4 Nikon mount, to which 
> I added a micro 4/3 adapter. Also helping was a very nice "pre-owned" 
> Manfrotto pan/tilt head that I found at a camera store sale last week. 
> Separate knobs to tighten down pitch, roll, and yaw. Nice.
>
> Focusing was very difficult because the magnified moon's image was too 
> bright even with the "live view boost" turned off.  And I'm not sure 
> about using image stabilization on an imperfect tripod. Officially, 
> we're supposed to turn IS off, but I've read that sometimes it helps, 
> anyway.  I left it on "I.S. Auto." I took many shots with the 12 
> second self-timer. Some were good, some were a little blurry.  This 
> one was the best.
>
> I'll have to try this again on a quarter or crescent moon when there 
> are long shadows.
>
> Anyway, enjoy.
> --Peter
>
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