Lunar eclipse of 10th January, 2020.
After a long break, I am back with a Technical Post; hope you all will like this…
Here are few Information & suggestions…
Timing in India (+5:30, UTC): Eclipse will begin at 10:37 pm on January 10 and ends at 2:42 am on January 11, 2020.
If you are trying to capture this rare event, then consider the following aspects.
Firstly, let us define what Type of Photo we need…
- Most important options are:
- Continuous video of the whole eclipse: Right from the beginning (or little earlier) of the eclipse, start shooting and switch off little after the eclipse. The same with proper post processing can be made into a presentable short-video.
- Time Lapse video: Taking a series of shots at regular intervals & creating a video, which can be of approx. 30 Seconds to 3 Minutes duration.
- Star Trail type: May not be all that great…
- Random Stills: which we all are used to.
- Sequential Shots: Shots taken at regular intervals, say once in 5 minutes; then, up to around 12 stills may be merged into one shot, at different positions, to give the feel of the full eclipse.
- Multiple (5 or more) Shots can be Merged into One Moon: 5 or More (even 12 Shots) Immediate shots, taken with different exposures, which can be post processed to a single image; this will provide better clarity & details.
Mobile Camera:
If you are expecting average output, then many of the mobiles, (particularly mobiles with 48 & 64 MP Sensors) can make you very happy:
- Ensure Stability using a stable Tripod.
- Try to get a tree or mountain (Tall buildings, without light), in the foreground.
- Use a timer or remote controller to click.
- Select highest resolution of the camera
- Switch off / Do Not use Flash
- Select Manual Mode (No Autofocus, too)
- Use the maximum zoom, but use ONLY OPTICAL ZOOM (don’t use Digital Zoom)
- Play around with HDR, if available.
There is no single setting, which will be best for all cameras.
- Aperture: Default of the mobile Lens.
- ISO: 100 to 400 (Sometimes, even 800)
- Shutter: start from 5 seconds and increase in multiples of 5 Seconds and fine tune.
Keep repeating your shots, till you are happy.
- Editing also has a key role for good output.
After selecting an appropriate location (suggestion given later) & mounting the camera, with the above settings, properly align the camera facing the Moon (with the moon in the corner of the frame). Touch on the Moon to get the best focus and LOCK the FOCUS, by touching & holding on the Moon.
Digital Camera:
- Ensure Stability using a strong Tripod
- Try to get a tree or mountain (Tall buildings, without light), in the foreground.
- Use a timer or remote controller to click.
- Select highest resolution of the camera
- Switch off / Do Not use Flash
- Full Manual Mode.
- Use the maximum zoom Lens (500 mm or more preferred)
- Play around with HDR, if available
There is no single setting, which will be best for all cameras.
- Aperture: 5.6 to 11
- ISO: 100 to 400 (Sometimes, even 800)
- Shutter: start from 5 seconds and increase in multiples of 5 Seconds and fine tune.
Keep repeating your shots, till you are happy.
- Editing also has a key role for good output.
After properly aligning the camera to face the Moon, Manually focus the Moon to get the best focus.
General Points, applicable to both Mobile Camera & Digital Camera.
- Collect all preliminary data regarding the Eclipse, well in advance – the main details like date, time of start & end of the eclipse, the type of Eclipse (Full or Partial, Blood Moon, etc.) are most important.
- Do research to ensure that you have sufficient details regarding Moons lighting (Exposure) conditions, weather conditions, etc.
- Select a place to shoot the event, preferable with some Trees in the foreground; maximum dark environment (Not Cityscapes) will be the best for the better results. Avoid polluted atmosphere, this will reduce the quality of the output.
A clear sky and natural landscape is a sure way to have an interesting foreground. (Mountains or forests are the best to fill the foreground) .
Water reflections give extra life to the shots.
- As you are aware these types of photography needs a firm Tripod.
- Just as a reminder, keep the Camera Lens (or Lenses, if you plan to use multiple lenses) extremely clean, and also carry the battery fully charged (Carry additional batteries or Power Banks, if needed). Long exposure shots will consume, more battery.
- Ensure memory card in the camera (preferably formatted in the camera itself & take some test shots), if you are using Digital Camera. Carrying an additional memory card for any eventuality will be also a good idea.
- Conduct a Camera operational trial session, a day or two in advance; this will help in positioning the camera, mounting, etc.
- Practice taking shots of the moon ahead of eclipse; ensure good photos of the moon before attempting more complicated shot of the lunar eclipse.
- Turn on the ‘Noise Reduction’ feature of the camera, if available. This will improve the image quality.
- The moon’s brightness will be continuously changing during the eclipse; be ready to compensate it.
A rough Idea about the size of the Moon:
- In a shot with a 50mm lens (full frame DSLR), the Moon size will be of 0.5mm.
- A 200mm lens will produce an image of 1.8mm.
- And shot using a 500mm lens will give a Moon size of 4.6mm.
NOTE:
In the year 2020, there are four penumbral lunar eclipse, which are on Jan 10th, Jun 5th, Jul 5 & Nov 30th.
A eclipse caused by imperfectly aligned Sun, Earth, and the Moon is known as ‘Penumbral Lunar Eclipse’.
Hope this help some of you; kindly Add your suggestions in the comment session.
@DeniGu , @AlexaAC @davidhyno @NareshDarji @AmbrishVarshney @KashifMisidia @hereisFU @Biomedikal
Thanks in advance.
PS:
Adding the both the original Images of the Cover Photo, here
The Moon… Lunar Eclipse - Blood Moon…
Solar Eclipse, by @AjithCyclist
He is not only a Photographer, but also a Pan Asia Cyclist.
All the best
