A DSLR video and still image of the July “Thunder Full Moon. These were taken with a Nikon D3s camera and Questar 7” telescope. The moon disk just fits within the D3s sensor, and is clipped in the video. The official full moon is on the 15th, but these images and the video were taken within 4 hours of the full moon on the 14th. I used Adobe CS5 Premiere Pro to edit the video. The digital art version of the full moon was created using Nik Color Efex Pro — Weird Lines Filter.
Thunder Full Moon Digital Art. Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and Questar 7 inch telescope (ISO 1600, ~2500 mm, f/16, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Color Efex Pro (Weird Lines) and Photoshop CS5Thunder Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and Questar 7 inch telescope (ISO 1600, ~2500 mm, f/16, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5
Jet Transiting the Waxing Gibbous Moon. I am still having issues with the video mode automatic gain “feature” with the Nikon D3s. In doors with normal light levels it doesn’t seem to be that much of a problem. However, when trying to take video images of the moon through a telephoto lens, the moon is over-exposed. During the testing, I managed to catch a jet transiting in front of the moon. I happened very quickly (less than one second). The video below shows the transit across the lower part of the moon 1) as is; 2) zoomed in from 100% to 250%; and 3) zoomed in at 250% and slowed down to 33% speed. There was also some cloud cover moving during the sequence.
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I also took some still images of the moon with the same camera and lens, but with a TC-E III 20 teleconverter. The goal was to see how sharp an image of the moon I could get with a 1200 mm lens. Focusing was through “Live View”, and to minimize camera shake used the “mirror up” mode to allow the system to stabilize. The D3s allows the use of “Live View” and “mirror up” because “Live View” is now selected via a button on the back of the camera. You don’t have the ability to use “Live View” and “mirror up”. The first still image of the waxing gibbous moon at 92% illumination was taken at ISO 200, f/8, and 1/200 second. The second at ISO 200, f/16, and 1/50 second. If I did my calculations right for a 1200 mm lens on a FX sized sensor, the moon should only move ~0.2 pixels for a 1/50 second exposure.
Waxing Gibbous Moon (92%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, and Photoshop CS5Waxing Gibbous Moon (85%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5
Backyard Summertime Night Sky in New Jersey. Star, Jet, and Firefly Trails.
A composite of 897 images looking south taken after midnight. I used the Startrails program for creating the composite.
Star, Jet, and Firefly Trails. Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 14 mm f/2.8D lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 8 sec). Composite of 980 images combined using the Startrails program.
Second day attempts for a DSLR video of the moon continued to be problematic. It appears that the camera is controlling the exposure and not allowing manual selection of aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. The only way I could get an exposure that was not way over exposed was to add a TC-E III 20 teleconverter (effective 1000 mm).
To confirm that there was not a problem with the camera or lens I took this following single image of the waxing gibbous moon with the same setup (Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 800, 1000 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec))
Waxing Gibbous Moon (85%). Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 800, 1000 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5
Summer Backyard Nighttime Sky in New Jersey. Star, Moon, Jet, and Firefly Trails.
A composite of 980 images looking south taken before midnight. I used the Startrails program for creating the composite.
I had actually gone out to see what type of video I could take of the moon using the D3s camera and a telephoto lens. The moon phase (according to the US Naval Observatory site) is waxing gibbous (76% illuminated). I started by shooting some single images and found that ISO 200, 500 mm, f/8, 1/50 second should be about right. Even though I had the camera set to shoot in manual mode, all of the images of the moon were way over exposed. It didn’t appear that I had manual control while taking the video. I made sure that the ISO setting was fixed (not Auto), that Active D-Lighting was off, and that the white balance was fixed (4000 K). I need to try this again!
Star, Moon, Jet, and Firefly Trails. Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 14 mm f/2.8D lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 8 sec). Composite of 980 images combined using the Startrails program.
While reviewing images from last night, I found one where I captured a firefly flashing. So far it is early in the firefly season and I hope to get more images before the season ends.
Late Spring Night Sky with Firefly in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/8, 60 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, NIK Define 2, and Photoshop CS5
