Okay, this is my first attempt at taking a picture of the moon.


This was taken with my A300 in RAW. Shot with the Sony 75-300 lens at 300mm. The aperture was 5.6, ISO 200, 1/60th shutter. This is a 30% crop of the original picture. So, please let me know what you guys think will help make this better. Thanks!

Hi airwake, welcome to the forum. Photographing the moon is on my to-do-list. I like your crescent moon. I would have perhaps just cropped in more around the crescent.

There have been some recent threads with nice moon pics. The Doc's and Jonathan K's are my favourites.

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=882&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=moon

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1115&p=7897&hilit=moon#p7742

Thanks for the links, I will have to check them out. My Dad has an 8" telescope that I want to try and borrow and head out to the mountains with. Any ideas on where I can buy a mount for my A300?

Kevin will come out with an answer. I have just sent a PM.
By the way, did you shoot mounted on a tripod? If yes, then was your SSS on?

Yes, this was shot on a tripod on my balcony. SSS was on.

That might explain why it's not in exact focus.
Whenever on a tripod, try to remember to switch off the SSS, as it will deteriorate your picture. Do try again and you'll be more content.

Okay, weather permitting( it's raining in San Diego right now) I'll try it again tonight with SSS off. Any tips on how to try and capture some of the clouds around the moon as well?

That would be hard.
And good luck with your shooting. Try different methods, that way you'll learn and discover a lot.
Happy shooting.

Thanks Doc, it seems I am committed! This is a question I asked a while back but didn't really follow through on, but I remember researching the answer. It is still a project I'd like to do, as I too have an 8" reflector telescope.

First you'll need a T mount adapter for your camera. Search "Minolta T-mount" or "Maxxum T mount" to find them. They are available through several channels and basically get your camera to mount to something a little more universal. They range from $10-20 I think.

Next you'll need an adapter to get you from the "T mount" that is now on your camera, to the telescope eye-piece size. I'm guessing you have 1.25" as I do, and I was able to find the adapters on this site, as well as some explanation of what it all will look like.

All of this isn't as clear as I'd like to present to you, but if it were, then I'd already have done it myself. Hopefully I was able to give you a place to start, though.

Okay, awesome, thanks for the information! I will have to look into this tonight to figure out exactly what I'll need. Looks like a Minolta T adapter, then a ring adapter to mount to the eyepiece, correct?

Just make sure the T mount adapter is for "Minolta AF mount," "Maxxum mount," or "Alpha mount," and not "MD" or "MC"