XL2 Full Moon Shot

A. J. deLange · December 28th, 2004, 06:39 PM

Terry,

The first time I tried it I used a 300mm Nikkor ED 1:4.5 left over from old days of still film photography. This is a pretty sharp lens. I just think the seeing was lousy that night because it always is when the weather is warm. Last night I tried an AF VR-Nikkor 80-400mm zoom 1:4.5-5.6D which isn't probably the sharpest lens Nikon ever made (it was their first shot at AIS and not generally considered a great success) but I thought it might do with the AIS turned off (which it is definitely going to be when the lens is mounted on an XL2!). I definitely had trouble finding the best focus (though stopped down to f/22). Too lazy to haul a monitor out there which would have made focusing easier. Guess I'll keep trying.

Terence Reis · December 28th, 2004, 07:03 PM

A.J.,

Okay on the Nikkor lenses and your poor viewing condition.
My Canon 600mm with 2X extender was fairly easy to focus
in. I even opened up the eye piece on the XL2 and just looked at the
LCD to focus in. I was thinking of adding in my 1/4X
but decided 2X was good enough for what I was trying
to do.

Good luck on your next go at it!

Happy Holidays,

-Terry

TingSern Wong · January 1st, 2005, 10:07 PM

I was using the XL1 (not my present XL2) with EF convertor with a 600mm mirror lens and 2X teleconvertor = 1200mm x 7.2 = 8000mm) from Everest Base Camp (on Tibet side) to the summit of Mt Everest - back in 2001.

I could catch leading sherpas (2 of them) summitting Everest - being the first folks for the 2001 (spring) season.

Straight line distance from EBC (Tibet side) to summit = 23 miles.

Comparable to a Celestron telescope :-).

TS

Terence Reis · January 1st, 2005, 10:40 PM

Good deal TS.

Do you have any captured footage of this event posted
on the internet?

-Terry

TingSern Wong · January 1st, 2005, 11:26 PM

Unfortunately, no Internet (yet). Only on DVD. If you are interested, I could extract a portion of the entire DVD (just this scene) - encoded it into Divx and send it to you? It is "shaky" - not because of camera, but, due to air movements between the camera and summit of Everest on that early morning.

TS

Terence Reis · January 1st, 2005, 11:40 PM

It's okay TS.... I thought maybe you might have it
on the internet for viewing... Happy New Year
and good shooting!

Aloha

-Terry

Ron Armstrong · January 2nd, 2005, 12:00 AM

For more stability with your XL series vidcams, check my website at www.ronsrail.com. For some reason, I was not able to view your moonscapes, But, I have done the moon with reasonable success with some of the setups shown on the site. quite impressive.

TingSern Wong · January 2nd, 2005, 12:20 AM

Hi Ron,

Saw your goodies for sale at ZGC.COM. Looking great. However, you need a super heavy video tripod to hold the rig too. I am investigating the entire loading on my existing video tripod - but, I don't think it can bear the load as such. Thanks for crafting a good piece of metal - will think about it when the need arises.

TS

Yi Fong Yu · January 2nd, 2005, 01:09 PM

is it me or do ya'll get the desire to howl & grow hair really, really fast?

Ron Armstrong · January 2nd, 2005, 04:46 PM

Thanks TS, for your compliments.
For quick capture of your subjects, take a good look at the RONSIGHT. At $25.00 a second for video clips, you'll pay for it in 10 seconds with the quicker "lock on" time. Those people shooting surfers will really benefit!!
Best;
Ron

Terence Reis · January 2nd, 2005, 06:53 PM

Ron,

Tks for your website information. I looking over all the
goodies!

Mahalo!

-Terry

TingSern Wong · January 3rd, 2005, 08:09 AM

Hi Ron,

Since you are on this discussion list, your RONSIGHT ... does it suffer from "parallex" problem? Since the mic axis doesn't align with the lens axis and there is a vertical displacement of 3" to 5". Or it is used as crude alignment then you go and view the image from viewfinder?

Thanks,
TS

A. J. deLange · January 3rd, 2005, 09:34 AM

Sure there would be parallax so what you would have to do is put the red dot on the sherpa's coat's top button to be sure the lens was aligned on his middle button.

TingSern Wong · January 3rd, 2005, 09:41 AM

I reckon, at a certain shooting distance and beyond (yet to be established - because I don't have the RONSIGHT yet) ... the parallax is so small that it can ignored.

I shoot wildlife (birds in particular) and when using EF convertor and a 35mm telephoto lens (like 600mm), it can be an exercise of frustration ... because you don't even know where the lens is pointing to ... if I use a zoom lens, that helps - because you can zoom out, position the camera and lens accurately, and zoom in. A fixed focal length telephoto don't afford me with that facility.

Need to do some experiments with the Ronsight once I have it in my hands.

TS

P.S. Hi DeLange, you mounted a Nikkor AF lens on a XL2 camera? Using EF adaptor? How?

A. J. deLange · January 3rd, 2005, 10:20 AM

Hello. I used an OpTex adapter (which I got from ZGC though I think they are actually made in the UK). I too have shared the frustration of watching an interesting target wander off while I fiddled around trying to get it into the field. I remember asking here a while ago if anyone knew of a mount for a rifle scope for the XL1s but this thread is the first I've heard of the RonSight. I'll certainly be ordering one soon.

And yes, that was the point I was trying to make about parallax. If you are a respectable distance away from the target parallax should not be an issue. For example 6" would give an angular error of 0.57 degree on a target 50' distant.

December 28th, 2004, 07:03 PM	#17
Terence Reis New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Waipahu, Hawaii Posts: 24	A.J., Okay on the Nikkor lenses and your poor viewing condition. My Canon 600mm with 2X extender was fairly easy to focus in. I even opened up the eye piece on the XL2 and just looked at the LCD to focus in. I was thinking of adding in my 1/4X but decided 2X was good enough for what I was trying to do. Good luck on your next go at it! Happy Holidays, -Terry __________________ Shredder

January 1st, 2005, 10:40 PM	#19
Terence Reis New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Waipahu, Hawaii Posts: 24	Good deal TS. Do you have any captured footage of this event posted on the internet? -Terry __________________ Shredder

January 1st, 2005, 11:40 PM	#21
Terence Reis New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Waipahu, Hawaii Posts: 24	It's okay TS.... I thought maybe you might have it on the internet for viewing... Happy New Year and good shooting! Aloha -Terry __________________ Shredder

January 2nd, 2005, 01:09 PM	#24
Yi Fong Yu Trustee Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vulcan Posts: 1,564	is it me or do ya'll get the desire to howl & grow hair really, really fast? __________________ bow wow wow

January 2nd, 2005, 06:53 PM	#26
Terence Reis New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Waipahu, Hawaii Posts: 24	Ron, Tks for your website information. I looking over all the goodies! Mahalo! -Terry __________________ Shredder

December 28th, 2004, 06:39 PM	#16
A. J. deLange Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: McLean, VA United States Posts: 749	Terry, The first time I tried it I used a 300mm Nikkor ED 1:4.5 left over from old days of still film photography. This is a pretty sharp lens. I just think the seeing was lousy that night because it always is when the weather is warm. Last night I tried an AF VR-Nikkor 80-400mm zoom 1:4.5-5.6D which isn't probably the sharpest lens Nikon ever made (it was their first shot at AIS and not generally considered a great success) but I thought it might do with the AIS turned off (which it is definitely going to be when the lens is mounted on an XL2!). I definitely had trouble finding the best focus (though stopped down to f/22). Too lazy to haul a monitor out there which would have made focusing easier. Guess I'll keep trying.

January 1st, 2005, 10:07 PM	#18
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	I was using the XL1 (not my present XL2) with EF convertor with a 600mm mirror lens and 2X teleconvertor = 1200mm x 7.2 = 8000mm) from Everest Base Camp (on Tibet side) to the summit of Mt Everest - back in 2001. I could catch leading sherpas (2 of them) summitting Everest - being the first folks for the 2001 (spring) season. Straight line distance from EBC (Tibet side) to summit = 23 miles. Comparable to a Celestron telescope :-). TS

January 1st, 2005, 11:26 PM	#20
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	Unfortunately, no Internet (yet). Only on DVD. If you are interested, I could extract a portion of the entire DVD (just this scene) - encoded it into Divx and send it to you? It is "shaky" - not because of camera, but, due to air movements between the camera and summit of Everest on that early morning. TS

January 2nd, 2005, 12:00 AM	#22
Ron Armstrong Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kent, Washington, USA Posts: 113	For more stability with your XL series vidcams, check my website at www.ronsrail.com. For some reason, I was not able to view your moonscapes, But, I have done the moon with reasonable success with some of the setups shown on the site. quite impressive.

January 2nd, 2005, 12:20 AM	#23
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	Hi Ron, Saw your goodies for sale at ZGC.COM. Looking great. However, you need a super heavy video tripod to hold the rig too. I am investigating the entire loading on my existing video tripod - but, I don't think it can bear the load as such. Thanks for crafting a good piece of metal - will think about it when the need arises. TS

January 2nd, 2005, 04:46 PM	#25
Ron Armstrong Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kent, Washington, USA Posts: 113	Thanks TS, for your compliments. For quick capture of your subjects, take a good look at the RONSIGHT. At $25.00 a second for video clips, you'll pay for it in 10 seconds with the quicker "lock on" time. Those people shooting surfers will really benefit!! Best; Ron

January 3rd, 2005, 08:09 AM	#27
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	Hi Ron, Since you are on this discussion list, your RONSIGHT ... does it suffer from "parallex" problem? Since the mic axis doesn't align with the lens axis and there is a vertical displacement of 3" to 5". Or it is used as crude alignment then you go and view the image from viewfinder? Thanks, TS

January 3rd, 2005, 09:34 AM	#28
A. J. deLange Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: McLean, VA United States Posts: 749	Sure there would be parallax so what you would have to do is put the red dot on the sherpa's coat's top button to be sure the lens was aligned on his middle button.

January 3rd, 2005, 09:41 AM	#29
TingSern Wong Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Singapore, Rep of SINGAPORE Posts: 749	I reckon, at a certain shooting distance and beyond (yet to be established - because I don't have the RONSIGHT yet) ... the parallax is so small that it can ignored. I shoot wildlife (birds in particular) and when using EF convertor and a 35mm telephoto lens (like 600mm), it can be an exercise of frustration ... because you don't even know where the lens is pointing to ... if I use a zoom lens, that helps - because you can zoom out, position the camera and lens accurately, and zoom in. A fixed focal length telephoto don't afford me with that facility. Need to do some experiments with the Ronsight once I have it in my hands. TS P.S. Hi DeLange, you mounted a Nikkor AF lens on a XL2 camera? Using EF adaptor? How?

January 3rd, 2005, 10:20 AM	#30
A. J. deLange Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: McLean, VA United States Posts: 749	Hello. I used an OpTex adapter (which I got from ZGC though I think they are actually made in the UK). I too have shared the frustration of watching an interesting target wander off while I fiddled around trying to get it into the field. I remember asking here a while ago if anyone knew of a mount for a rifle scope for the XL1s but this thread is the first I've heard of the RonSight. I'll certainly be ordering one soon. And yes, that was the point I was trying to make about parallax. If you are a respectable distance away from the target parallax should not be an issue. For example 6" would give an angular error of 0.57 degree on a target 50' distant.