Couldn't get any clear photo from eclipse red moon DSC-H400

[petloki001]

I am having a lot of trouble (because I am not an expert in photo's) trying to get good images from my camera specially those concerning low light places (like churches, stars, eclipses) so while UI tried unsucessfully of trying to get photos I noticed that the 1st time I pressed the obturator I saw the image I wanted on the small screen but whern I pressed the shutter for real it took the camera a while to respond and then the photo came not as expected because the lenght taken for the camera for taking the foto was too much and the photo came out moved (ghosts) or when I stayed really holding my breath and being steady the foto came "smooth-edged"

So couldn't get any "lunar crater" at all !!!!

Can you recommend me a place where I could learn how to use the camera

I bought it mostly to start my own youtube channel while I am hiking

Best regards

Pet

[IamNic]

Hello @petloki001,

you were using a long exposure, so the sensor receives enough light - you though shouldn't move the camera at all when doing a long exposure, since movement will cause "light trails".

I recommend to use a tripod and a remote shutter release for such images.

This video explains it very well: 

- Nic

[petloki001]

Thanks. I'll try

Learning something about a triangle but it seems my camera doesn't allow to chanhe those 3 parqameters at once but just 2 of them depending on the Letter you have selected for oeprating the camera

[petloki001]

One more thing:

Moon while an eclipse is not really bright !

While pointing at it it seemed ok in the screen ... full of craters and so on
( a little hard to focus though) 

but when pressing the shutter for taking the foto it will go like "Processing" .... and so on

took a couple of seconds (manmy seconds) anf then it came the photo looking abnormally 

nothing as it appeared in the screen like when focusing

Also, taking pictures in museums and churches is quite frustrating too (low light conditions not just for the object to be photographed but also for setting the camera properly ... you just can't see anything of the camera controls in the dark) 

[IamNic]

Hello @petloki001,

---

@petloki001  schrieb:

Moon while an eclipse is not really bright !

---

That is true, yet it is still considered bright for a long exposure shot.

---

@petloki001  schrieb:

but when pressing the shutter for taking the foto it will go like "Processing" .... and so on

took a couple of seconds (manmy seconds) anf then it came the photo looking abnormally 

nothing as it appeared in the screen like when focusing

---

the camera can only simulate how a long exposure would look like - but only to a point. So the image on your screen won't look even remotely like the image after the image is processed. You have to actually take test-shots and adjust the settings according to the outcome.

Too bright - expose shorter/close aperture/decrease ISO (you may only adjust one setting at a time)

Too dark - expose longer/open aperture/increase ISO (you may only adjust one setting at a time)

---

@petloki001  schrieb:

you just can't see anything of the camera controls in the dark) 

---

Using a headlamp might help.

- Nic

[petloki001]

Thanks

[darkframe]

Hi @petloki001,

---

@petloki001  schrieb:

While pointing at it it seemed ok in the screen ... full of craters and so on
( a little hard to focus though) 

but when pressing the shutter for taking the foto it will go like "Processing" .... and so on

took a couple of seconds (manmy seconds) anf then it came the photo looking abnormally 

nothing as it appeared in the screen like when focusing

---

just my 2 pence:

Well, your (and every other camera) needs a rather long exposure time in order to get an adequate image of the moon during an eclipse. In case you've additionally activated "High ISO NR" (High ISO noise reduction)  you'll see this "Processing" message for quite some time as the camera is trying to reduce noise artefacts from the image.

Anyhow, even if you had posted your camera on a tripod, an exposure time of e. g. 5 or more seconds won't allow for a sharp image because the moon is moving. You might not be able to see it but the camera will do within the exposure time. Therefor the image can't be sharp unless you're using a tripod which is being automatically adjusted to the movement of the moon (in this case).

Cheers

darkframe

[IamNic]

Hello @darkframe,

I disagree - 5 seconds is well within the timeframe you can get sharp images of the moon due to his own movement.

I suspect the pressing of the shutter release button causes more shaking (and therefore more blurriness) than the moons movement ever could.

Because of that I use a wired remote to not accidentally move the camera.

- Nic

[darkframe]

Hi @IamNic,

---

@IamNic  schrieb:

Hello @darkframe,

I disagree - 5 seconds is well within the timeframe you can get sharp images of the moon due to his own movement.

well, I agree and disagree simultaneously 

While 5 seconds are more than enough under normal conditions, i.e. no eclipse (1/50 are more than enough in this case) I needed at least 6 seconds when taking pictures of the eclipse (moon fully covered by the shadow of the earth) to get at least a rather dark image. Using 10 to 15 seconds the images got better but sharpness dropped.

Okay, I confess, 5 seconds sound rather less to actually lead to motion blur. In fact it takes about an hour to see the moon moving about 1.3 times of its diameter. But @petloki001's camera allows (fully zoomed) for 1550mm (crop factor 5.6 on a 277mm lense). In full zoom it's much more likely that the slow movement of the moon will result in visible motion blur.

On a page dealing with astronomic photography they're talking about a maximum of 1/5th second to suppress the (seeming) movement when using a 1500mm lense in order to get sharp pictures of the moon under normal conditions (i. e. no eclipse). Well, as 1/5 is much too less during an eclipse you'll certainly suffer from blurring when using necessarily longer exposure times unless you've got a tripod following that movement.

Anyhow, you are right in saying that there are different other reasons which lead to an unsharp image like pressing the shutter release manually (worst case, as this will a 100% result in visible shocks). Not to forget air pollution, different layers of air with different temperatures causing refractions (the closer the moon is to the horizon the worse it is) and more.

Here's an example of the pictures I took during the eclipse on July 27th last year. Exposure time was 1 second, using a 200mm (crop 1.5, so 300mm equivalent) on my a6500. This one was obviously taken some time after the full eclipse. 1 second was too much for the left bright side but just enough for the rest. Most pictures of the full eclipse are either too dark or blurred.

An here's an example of the full eclipse (exposure time 10s):

Blurry... And yes, I used my smartphone as remote control. The camera sat on a tripod but nevertheless the picture is rather bad.

Cheers

darkframe

---