Tim Rucci
Member
I was wondering of it might be possible to photograph the converging planets, since lots of folks are talking about it now.
I guess the only way to find out is to give it a try. Knowing there is not a lens big enough to capture any detail in objects
that far away, I tried stacking both a 2x and a 1.4x extender on my EF 500 f4 lens. That would bring the focal length to
1,400 mm on a full frame camera. But knowing I needed even more reach, I opted for the 1.3 crop sensor Canon 1D Mk4,
rather than either model 1DX. The result is an equivalent 1,820mm field of view. Before anyone gets the idea to argue about
the difference between filed of view and equivalent focal length, save that for another time.
The issue is the 1D Mk4 will not autofocus at max apertures smaller than f8, so this was an entirely manual focus experiment.
It's frustrating because even when mounted on a rigid tirpod with a Wimberly gimbal head, even breating on the lens barrel
moves it slightly and causes the planet Jupiter to bounce around the viewfinder like crazy. Half pressing the shutter button
engages image stabilization, which helps, but it's not 100% effective. Using live view helped, because I could magnify it 5x
and 10x, but the issue with that is unless the planet was virtually dead center in the rear LCD, zooming it in rendered it outside
the zoomed in portion that was visible on the LCD with out scrolling around.
If I was able to solve all the issues mentioned so far, I also had to navigate a constantly moving subject (or more accurately a
constantly moving Earth that I was standing on) which resulted on the planets constantly moving from the upper left side of
the viewfinder to the lower right. I was adjusting the position of the lens about every 15 seconds, just to give an idea of how
fast the subject was moving in the viewfinder or the LCD screeen in live view.
My method consisted of trying to postion both Jupiter and Saturn in the center of the LCD in live view, then zoom in 5x then 10x
assuming I was able to keep the planets centered enough to still see them on the LCD. Then if so, I would do my best to manually
focus and try to get a crisp image of Saturn and its rings on the LCD. (it was easier to tell if Saturn was in focus, compared to
Jupiter, which is just a bright blob). I did this continually and fired bursts of 5 or 6 shorts every time I managed to connect all
the dots I just mentioned above.
I think I fired off about 100 or so frames in the 20 minutes or so that I tried. Then I uploaded them to my computer and enlarged
all of the files to 100% to see if I got anything worth looking at. I probably manged to get about 1/4 to 1/3 of the frames at least
focused enough to make out the rings around Saturn. Keep in mind that this is very small stuff, even when zoomed to 100%.
I picked out one image that I think is decent enough to show. This is cropped from the center of the frame and enlarged to pixel,
or 100% crop.
Not great, but at least we can tell what it is. If you haven't tried this yet, take a look in the southwestern sky after dusk in the next
day or two with some binocurlars (or a telescope if you have one). You might be surprised at what you will see.
I guess the only way to find out is to give it a try. Knowing there is not a lens big enough to capture any detail in objects
that far away, I tried stacking both a 2x and a 1.4x extender on my EF 500 f4 lens. That would bring the focal length to
1,400 mm on a full frame camera. But knowing I needed even more reach, I opted for the 1.3 crop sensor Canon 1D Mk4,
rather than either model 1DX. The result is an equivalent 1,820mm field of view. Before anyone gets the idea to argue about
the difference between filed of view and equivalent focal length, save that for another time.
The issue is the 1D Mk4 will not autofocus at max apertures smaller than f8, so this was an entirely manual focus experiment.
It's frustrating because even when mounted on a rigid tirpod with a Wimberly gimbal head, even breating on the lens barrel
moves it slightly and causes the planet Jupiter to bounce around the viewfinder like crazy. Half pressing the shutter button
engages image stabilization, which helps, but it's not 100% effective. Using live view helped, because I could magnify it 5x
and 10x, but the issue with that is unless the planet was virtually dead center in the rear LCD, zooming it in rendered it outside
the zoomed in portion that was visible on the LCD with out scrolling around.
If I was able to solve all the issues mentioned so far, I also had to navigate a constantly moving subject (or more accurately a
constantly moving Earth that I was standing on) which resulted on the planets constantly moving from the upper left side of
the viewfinder to the lower right. I was adjusting the position of the lens about every 15 seconds, just to give an idea of how
fast the subject was moving in the viewfinder or the LCD screeen in live view.
My method consisted of trying to postion both Jupiter and Saturn in the center of the LCD in live view, then zoom in 5x then 10x
assuming I was able to keep the planets centered enough to still see them on the LCD. Then if so, I would do my best to manually
focus and try to get a crisp image of Saturn and its rings on the LCD. (it was easier to tell if Saturn was in focus, compared to
Jupiter, which is just a bright blob). I did this continually and fired bursts of 5 or 6 shorts every time I managed to connect all
the dots I just mentioned above.
I think I fired off about 100 or so frames in the 20 minutes or so that I tried. Then I uploaded them to my computer and enlarged
all of the files to 100% to see if I got anything worth looking at. I probably manged to get about 1/4 to 1/3 of the frames at least
focused enough to make out the rings around Saturn. Keep in mind that this is very small stuff, even when zoomed to 100%.
I picked out one image that I think is decent enough to show. This is cropped from the center of the frame and enlarged to pixel,
or 100% crop.
Not great, but at least we can tell what it is. If you haven't tried this yet, take a look in the southwestern sky after dusk in the next
day or two with some binocurlars (or a telescope if you have one). You might be surprised at what you will see.
