Then I happened to spot what, at first, I thought was a bright star. There was too much light in the garden to see much else so I had a go at photographing it to see how it would turn out. Every time I took a shot I could see what looked like reflections or refractions on the photo which I couldn't see in the sky:
I tried different positions and extra shade in front of the lens until the penny finally dropped. That was no star. It was Jupiter and with the camera taking about a 1/3 second exposure it was also picking up four of Jupiter's moons which I couldn't see with the naked eye. Probably Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. The above is quite a small crop from the full photo. Definitely an improvement on my last attempt in November 2010 when I failed completely to get any recognisable still shots of Jupiter.
Jupiter was a wonderful find.
ReplyDeleteIt was Adrian. Must have a go at other planets when they are in the right place, and a clear sky.
DeleteInspirational shot of Jupiter, John. Thanks! I've got an old Sigma 150-600mm. that I'll try to clamp steady enough for a shot of the moon.........
ReplyDeletePhil: Look forward to some close Moon shots with a 600mm zoom. The hard job will be finding a clear spell.
DeleteAmazing shots John, especially the one of Jupiter.
ReplyDeleteKeith: Just shows what modern cameras are capable of.
Deletewow, that's awesome!
ReplyDeleteTWG. It does make a change to look upwards some times and I enjoy a challenge from time to time.
DeleteAmazing, especially getting the moons.
ReplyDeleteBonnie: The four largest Moons of Jupiter do show well.
DeleteWhat amazing photos. I bet you were thrilled to realize you had a photo of Jupiter with 4 moons! The moon shot is terrific also, but the Jupiter shot is just super :)
ReplyDeleteGlo: Next I want to get some shots of the Sun when the filter needed arrives. Also have ambitions of better shots of Jupiter if all goes to plan.
DeleteSuper shots John, how do you rate the 70D so far.
ReplyDeleteThank you Roy. Over all I am very pleased with the 70D. Better picture noise handling, ability to switch to video. The 3x digital zoom on video is a boon for getting in closer without losing too much quality. For video it has the same problem as all have with built in microphones, it picks up noise from the auto focus and stabilizer motors. I have bought a cheapish add on microphone which has cured that. At least the camera has a socket for an external one, unlike some. It has two speeds of burst shots which helps a lot with catching action shots. Lots of built in facilities which I haven't tried yet. In live view the touch screen is useful as is the ability to swing out the screen for awkward angle shots. All in all I'm very pleased I took the plunge and bought it. Like all new toys it takes a while to get used to the way it works.
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