moonscapes with equip ?

digidrone

I have been working on moon scapes the last couple weeks and I have a small prob.
I have a problem focusing in these situations. I am wondering if anyone could direct me to an eyepiece for Nikon D40. If you have any other suggestion Iwould really be grateful.
Here are a few I liked and any C&C is welcome!





The third one is the softest and quite typical of the prob I am having. I can't nail the focus thru my veiw finder. Any ideas?
Thanks

torags

I have a similar problem...

When I focus on the foreground, the moon is blown out...

when I focus on the moon the foreground is blurred.

I think I need a new lens that has a dof of a few thousand miles.....

I'm all ears for a solution...

digidrone

I have been trying to capture that scene, moon in focus and correctly exposed, plus the rest of the surroundings. Have been trying for that for along time and it can't be done due to the exposure values of each. I hope I'm wrong...
My problem is foucusing on details of fore ground or background in lowlight thru the veiwfinder.
I am wondering if there is an eyepiece that will enable a sharper view with the small window viewfinder?
Hope this clairifies my question.
Frustrating huh
Thanks

Mikko

The issue is that the moon is moving really fast. If you expose for the foreground you will have a long exposure. Which means the moon will move quite a distance in that time period which will blur it. If you expose for the moon your foreground will be completly black.

The trick here is multiple exposures. One for the foreground and one for the sky and moon. But when doing this you should keep the same focus point and apeture for both exposures. Just adjust the exposure time. Once you have what you want, blend them in photoshop or your desired program.

Hope this helps

schmoo

Mikko wrote:

The issue is that the moon is moving really fast. If you expose for the foreground you will have a long exposure. Which means the moon will move quite a distance in that time period which will blur it. If you expose for the moon your foreground will be completly black.

The trick here is multiple exposures. One for the foreground and one for the sky and moon. But when doing this you should keep the same focus point and apeture for both exposures. Just adjust the exposure time. Once you have what you want, blend them in photoshop or your desired program.

Hope this helps

and don't forget the Sunny 16 rule, which does apply to the moon since it moves so fast!

digidrone

Thanks for the replys folks!
I researched and found a couple of options.
Nikon makes an optical magnifier for viewfinder. The reviews are not so promising.
Hoodman makes an eyecup with a bit of extension. I think I'll try this out to see if blocking outside light interferance will help the focusing issue.
Thanks again!