3 replies to this topic

[NY2KW]

I'm a newbie and trying to get tonight's Lunar Blood Moon eclipse on my 5D.  I've done PA with the Air Plus and my C8 Edge on a Wave 150i mount.  I am using a Zwo 120mm scope with a ASI174mini for guiding.

 

Few questions about the Canon / Air setup?

 

Air suggests a shutter cable for Nikon for long exposures but no comment about the Canon.  Is a shuuterr cable preferred?

 

Should I lock up the mirror?  Do I have to worry about damaging the DSLR sensor with prolonged lunar eclipse exposure?

 

Any ball park ISO settings recommended?  I thought to start with 400.

 

Any other tips appreciated.

[ToxMan]

I have a Canon 5D Mk IV

 

A shutter release cable is so you don't jiggle camera while getting a photo. If you don't have one, you can use the shutter release timer instead.

 

Mirror lock up is the avoid jiggling the camera when the camera shutter is activated to get a picture, and the mirror is moving out of the way. I think I used it for last time I photographed the eclipse.

 

ISO 400 might be okay depending on your lens aperture and shutter speed settings. The last time I shot a lunar eclipse with a Canon DSLR and EF 300mm lens, I used f4, 2 seconds at ISO 1600 at the peak of the eclipse while the camera and lens rode piggyback on the telescope. The scope was well polar aligned and so autoguiding was unnecessary. No harm in using it, if you already have it. I assume you are not shooting through the telescope but using it for tracking.

 

If you are using the telescope for your lens, all you lose is the ability to set the aperture value. But the whole moon won't fit on the sensor, and you have to consider a mosaic.

 

Use your histogram to tell you the best settings. I think in live view mode, you can access the histogram, and the mirror will already be in lock-up position. But live view mode is a battery drainer. Hope you have spares. Or you can shut the camera off between shots. Figure the phases take around 3 hours. If you get a shot every 10 minutes, that's 6 per hour and 18 total. At each interval, get extra shots in case you blew it on one.

 

And you're not going to damage the sensor. It's reflected light.

[NY2KW]

Well, clouds came in quickly around 12:30a EDT and it was a bust but I learned alot during the setup while the moon was bright and in good position.  ASI Air plus recognized the Canon 5D IV and controlled shutter by USB. I had the mirror lock enabled, so I think that was all good.  I was not using my C8 Edge and instead had the Canon and lens on a vixen dovetail mounted directly to the Wave 150i mount.  I was going to use a ASI174mini for guiding but the cable I brought was defective.  I was able to do a PA using the Canon as my main camera even though the sky was so light polluted from the Moon.  I took some pictures at different ISO's in BULB mode as that is what Air said to use.  I had seen the Moon the night before with my C8 Edge and a ASI2600MC.  As a newbie, it was a thrill to see the entire sensor filled with the supersharp details with the C8 but with the Canon 200mm it was hard to see any detail in Preview mode just a lot of hazy light.. could not seem to get it into any sharp focus on the Canon LCD screen or in the ASI-Air image.  Always seemed over-exposed.  Need to read more and experiment more .... 

[ToxMan]

I shot on a tripod using the 500 Rule. With a 300mm zoom f5.6 was my widest aperture,  and 1.3 second shutter speed at ISO 800 at totality. In live view the mirror was in lock-up already. Took 18 shots at totality because of manual focus, hoping 1 or 2 would have good focus.

 

I wasn't sure about getting anything because it rained most of the evening with storms parting to clears skies right at totality. And the clouds returned before the end of the eclipse. One shot was in good focus and stars were visible in frame. Feeling blessed.