Strange differences...

brads

Senior Member
Same camera (D7200), Same lens (Tamron 150-600) similar settings. Shot in the same place, the main difference being that the 2017 shot was originally RAW and a bit more wind outside. Any thoughts on why there would be such a huge difference in image? Hopefully I had all the lens settings the same!

2016 Moon.jpg

2017 Moon.jpg
 
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Lawrence

Senior Member
I read somewhere that taking your aperture beyond f16 does in a lot of cases result in inferior image quality although one might think it should result in sharper images.
I have never tested this theory out though.
That small aperture combined with the higher ISO would also result in a noisier image.
Msaybe try it again using exactly the same settings
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
A number of things are going on here in some combination to lead to an overall degradation of the image.

1. Atmospheric (softness and color)
2. Lighting in the night (color)
3. White Balance (color)
4. ISO (softness)
5. Diffraction at f/32 (softness)
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Definitely agree that the Diffraction at f/32 contributes to the softness. Also the wind could be a factors as well as atmospheric conditions. The OP mentions the 2017 photo was shot originally in RAW, so does that mean the 2016 photo was shot in JPEG? If so, post processing could be very significant.
 
so many things could be different
Focus, Aperture, post processing. You could go out an hour apart and not change a thing and get a different photo of the moon. If one were JPEG and the other was RAW then you really can't compare
 

LouCioccio

Senior Member
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/content/rules-thumb-finding-your-lens-sweet-spot
A good explanation at B&H.
Even though you can stop down f/32 its out of the sweet spot and can be soft compared to f/16.
Lou Cioccio
 

sharp shooter

Senior Member
Moon at higher elevation? With the moon low, there is far more of earth's atmoshere degrading the image.
Also, F8 is best for moon on your gear.
Mike
 

brads

Senior Member
Moon at higher elevation? With the moon low, there is far more of earth's atmoshere degrading the image.
Also, F8 is best for moon on your gear.
Mike
You could well be right Mike. Whilst only a few hours difference, the latest pic was taken when the moon was low in the sky, the sharper photo was when the pic was much higher. Thanks for your thoughts everyone.
 
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