200-600mm

[Soundmike]

I've put this under the astro heading as I have just been attempting to capture the ISS transiting the moon . But as usual the weather turned and it was cloudy anyway while I had the 200-600mm out thought I'd practice on the moon in between cloud breaks . Anyway took a few and came in and noticed a lot were out of focus, I've got a really heavy and sturdy tripod so I knew that wasn't the problem . It was fairly windy so I went back out and put the camera back on the tripod ,I observed the lens and noticed it was moving ever so slightly . Back inside I stripped it down and took the foot off and that's when I noticed that the four screws that have the plate with the thread in were all loose . Thought this was worth mentioning in case anyone wants to check their lens for the same reason I had . Went back out and seemed OK but the wind had really got up by then. One other point,experts reckon when using a tripod Oss should be off but I accidentally left mine on ,realising this I switched off but to tell you the true I couldn't see the difference. I was looking back on the camera and not a full computer screen but even so zooming in I couldn't see the difference . Just wondering if people think that when it's windy it's worth leaving OSS on.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I'd say off really, it can't compensate enough for wind, and may make things worse trying.

 

[Slug]

All my moon shots are hand held as the moon is quite bright and higher shutter speeds can be comfortably used. Focus is more of an issue so I tend to focus manually.
Clouds and atmospheric interference can upset the best of intentions so there's a bit of luck there too. Living in Tasmania is probably an advantage.

 

[Roland]

I use a tripod and manual focus.
Mine are not really that sharp either.

 

[iain clyne]

I don’t like tripods so tend not to use them. I hand hold or use a monopod.