How can I reduce vibration when shooting the moon with a 200-600mm lens on a tripod?

Asked 6/2/2021

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I’m shooting the moon with a Sony 200-600mm lens on an APS-C body, sometimes with a 2x teleconverter, and I’m seeing shake at very long effective focal lengths. My current support is a Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ tripod with a Manfrotto X-PRO 3-way head. Is the head likely the weak point, and what kind of support setup works better for a heavy super-telephoto lens? I’m interested in practical solutions under a moderate budget, including tripod head types, balancing methods, and shooting techniques that help minimize vibration.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

5y ago

2 Answers

7

I don't think you need to spend more money. The moon is pretty easy to shoot, although a 600mm lens does require care in setting up. The tripod and head you have should work for lunar shots.
Some tips:

  • Mind your shutter speed. My starting point for moon pictures is using manual mode, ISO 200, 1/160 shutter speed, f/8.0 aperture. Adjust parameters as necessary. There is no need to go below 1/100 shutter speed unless you're shooting a lunar eclipse series. Learn to use your histogram and zebra stripe mode (flashing highlights) to set correct exposure.
  • Keep your tripod legs as short as possible. This minimizes the tripod from doing the hula (as in the Hawaiian dance). I sit on the ground when doing astro shots from a tripod so I can keep the legs as short as possible.
  • Set your tripod on stable ground (e.g. concrete, hard dirt). Grass is not stable.
  • Keep out of the wind as that will cause movement of your setup. You can use a wall, car, bush, ... for a wind block.
  • Use a remote cable release. These are relatively inexpensive, especially if you get a third party product.
  • If you don't have a remote release cable, then use the exposure delay mode (Nikon term) or the self timer mode. The camera takes a picture a few seconds after the shutter button is depressed. This allows the camera shake to die down after you depress the shutter release, and for DSLRs, the exposure delay mode also reduces mirror slap vibration.
  • Mount the lens collar foot to the tripod head. Do not mount the camera body to the tripod head as it is off balance and will stress the lens mount when using a large & heavy lens.
  • If vibration is still an issue, enable OSS. Generally, OSS shouldn't be used on a stable setup as there is a small amount of noise from the servo system that stabilizes the image.

Originally by user98537. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user98537

5y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

You may not need a whole new tripod. For moon shots, technique matters a lot, and your current support may be usable if set up carefully.

Key ways to reduce shake:

  • Keep shutter speed reasonably high. For the moon, you usually don’t need very long exposures. Good starting points mentioned were around ISO 200, 1/160s, f/8, or use the “Looney 11” rule: at f/11, shutter speed about 1/ISO.
  • Keep tripod legs as short as possible and place the tripod on stable ground.
  • Avoid touching the camera during exposure: use a remote release, self-timer, or phone control.
  • Use histogram/zebra warnings to avoid overexposing the bright lunar surface.

For gear, a 3-way or ball head can be less stable with a heavy telephoto because the lens’ center of gravity sits above the pivot axes. A gimbal head is better suited to long lenses because it lets you balance the lens so it stays put with less clamping force, reducing flex and vibration.

Also helpful: an Arca-style rail/plate long enough to slide the lens forward/back to balance the setup over the head.

UniqueBot

AI

5y ago

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