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PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS › ›<br />
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL<br />
Solar System Imaging: The Moon<br />
Imaging the solar system is a natural progression from wide-angle sky images, and an easy way to delve deeper into astrophotography.<br />
The Moon: Nikon D300, NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 lens with 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 200 @ f/16 and 1/125.<br />
Background: Nikon D3S, NIKKOR 17–35mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 3200 @ f/2.8 and 25 seconds.<br />
Because the targets are bright, exposure times are short enough to prevent blurry star images. A tripod as a base will suffice<br />
and a full-frame DSLR will yield better images than cropped sensor bodies. Added cost will come into play if you lack a long focal<br />
length lens.<br />
After setting up, find the moon in your viewfinder. Shutter speeds will typically be 1/250 for a full moon, 1/60 for a quarter moon,<br />
and 1/15 for a slivered crescent moon at ISO 400 and f/16. Once you have the moon composed in the viewfinder, shoot quickly<br />
because the moon won’t stay in your frame for long.<br />
› › photoshop user › february <strong>2016</strong><br />
080<br />
Solar System Imaging: Planets<br />
Going from moon to planetary photography requires a step up in equipment. To avoid blurry, faint images of planets, you’ll need a<br />
telescope that has a focal length of 2000mm or more to achieve the necessary magnification for these targets.<br />
An investment of $500 or so in a used 8"<br />
Schmidt Cassegrain telescope (SCT) will give<br />
you the necessary focal length. Celestron and<br />
Meade have been making SCT telescopes for<br />
years and they’re plentiful on the used market.<br />
You’ll also need a T-mount attachment<br />
for your camera to connect a DSLR camera<br />
body to the back of the telescope. Finally, a<br />
Barlow lens is a must. Barlow lenses increase<br />
magnification without affecting f-stop value.<br />
They come in various magnification factors<br />
from 2–5x, and while you can scrimp on<br />
these lenses, the only ones I’d recommend are<br />
TeleVue Powermates. These are optimized for<br />
photography and are well worth the price tag<br />
of approximately $200 for a new one, less for<br />
used ones.<br />
The imaging process is the same as the one<br />
described for shooting the moon, with one<br />
exception: because of the slower shutter speeds,<br />
use a remote shutter release or the camera’s selftimer<br />
feature to trigger the shutter. You should<br />
also lock your mirror in the up position. This<br />
will minimize camera vibration, which produces<br />
blurry images.<br />
Jupiter: Nikon D3S, Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope, and TeleVue 4x Powermate.<br />
Ninety images @ ISO 800, f10, and 1/10th to 1/30th.
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