Quote:
Originally Posted by astanton
Beautiful moon pix! I have two questions and am really looking forward to your response (and help!).
I am a serious pleasure photographer who would like to migrate my work toward art in the very near future. I just recently received my new camera (5D Mark II) and also bought a tripod (Manfrotto 055XPROB) and ball head (Manfrotto 488RC2) and set up last night to experience moon photography but I ran into a couple of troubles, one with the tripod/ball head and the other with my exposure. I am wondering if you could advise me what I am doing wrong.
I used my Canon EF 300 mm 1:4 L IS lens for a few shots and then added a 2X II extender (also by Canon), which puts considerable weight on the ball head and tripod. that is why I bought this tripod and ball head... it is supposed to be able to support up to 11 lbs but I could only fix the camera focus centering the moon if I originally aimed way up over the moon and after I tightend, the camera naturally sagged down to the center of the moon... naturally none of the shots turned out sharp as a result. What is your suggestion on this one?
And in terms of my shooting... all were way over exposed.. I don't have a light meter so I am relying on Canon's sensors but I probably have something set wrong and it is averaging the dark background with the light moon. How do I get the camera sensors to just meter the brightness of the moon? is that possible at all?
Thanks for your help!!!
Angela
|
Hi Angela,
It's best to try and have the camera+lens centre of gravity over the centre of the tripod. Are you using a collar fitted to the lens attached to the tripod? This limits the amount of off-center loading seen by the ball-head. As a workaround, you could try fixing your camera in "a" position on the ball head, and make minor adjustments by altering tripod leg lengths. This has worked for me in the past, but you do need a second person to support your setup just in case...