This stunning moon footage was shot with “the world’s sharpest super-telephoto lens”
Apr 9, 2021
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
Share:
Seeing the Moon up close through my crappy telescope was one of the moments that left a huge impression on me. And I’m sure that seeing it through a super-sharp super-telephoto lens would have been even more impressive. Well, Markus Stark did it and he created a stunning video of the moon using a Leica 400mm f/2.8 lens. He wonders if it could be the world’s sharpest super-telephoto lens, so let’s see – is it?
The “full name” of the lens is Leica Telephoto 400mm f/2.8 APO Telyt R. It’s a manual focus lens that you can find used for $15,000. With that price tag, I’m sure it must be pretty darn sharp. Marcus used it on a Panasonic GH4 and added a 1.4x + 2x + 2x Leica Apo Extenders. So technically, that’s around 4,480mm full/frame equivalent focal length.
Marcus filmed the video clips in August 2015 at only 290m above sea level at a camping site in Germany. The video was published a year later, but it gained attention again in 2021. The idea was to make the viewer feel like observing the moon from a spacecraft. So, Marcus added some zooming in and out and spinning in post-production with Magix VDL 2016.
I honestly don’t know if this is the sharpest super-telephoto lens ever. It might be. But I know for sure that Marcus sure put it to good use and created a stunning and inspiring video with it.
[via Leica Rumors]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
Related Posts
TTArtisan announces super-low-budget 500mm f/6.3 super telephoto lens
This 250mm f/4.9 lens is the “world’s sharpest” and has interchangeable camera mounts
James Webb Telescope’s first photo revealed: The deepest, sharpest shot of the universe ever
Meet the X3, a filter that claims to be the ‘world’s sharpest and most color neutral circular polarizer’
Join the Discussion
DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.
4 responses to “This stunning moon footage was shot with “the world’s sharpest super-telephoto lens””
Stunning !
At 2:58 what is that?? ISS??
I’m wondering the same. Many people says is ISS on youtube, but the fact is ISS orbit earth and not the moon so is not possible its shadow to be seen over moon surface.
Other people says its a bug in the lens… but that should not appear with that good definition in the image.
It has to be something near/orbiting moon.
I have this lens, and can attest that it is crazy sharp. I use it for photographing hummingbirds with the 1.4 APO TC from a distance of 12-15 ft, and the feather detail it renders is magnificent.
I’ve tried shooting the moon with my 1.4 and 2X APO TC’s on my Olympus EM1 Mk2 and have never been able to get the sharpness Marcus got in the video posted. The reason is atmospheric pollution, as I lived on the Sea of Cortez in a very dusty area, and now on the coast of northern Baja California, where there is a lot of salt in the air.
I’ve been told that the best possible place to photograph the moon is from an observatory, as these are always at elevation, and much of the atmospheric pollution is eliminated.
Mark’s video is the most impressive I’ve ever seen, and I commend him for an outstanding job!