Its likely the S25 did well because it knows what the moon looks like so it fakes the details.
Since the Galaxy S21 series, Scene Optimiser has had the capacity to recognise the moon as an object. This means that the detail enhancement engine, a key feature of Scene Optimiser, is applied to photos of the moon.
When you take a photo of the moon with your Galaxy device, the camera system uses deep learning-based AI, along with multi-frame processing, to enhance details.
The OP has not said anything about turning the relevant options off.
cderg 6 hours ago [-]
Doesn't Samsung use AI models to fill in images of the moon with higher resolution detail? Not sure if this comparison makes sense given that the astrophotography device almost certainly won't be doing that.
Gonna be some wild conspiracies some day in the future, when humanity has altered the moon visibly but 'good old phones from way back in the day' take photos that "clearly" show no change to the moon.
ale42 2 hours ago [-]
Those phones will be long dead at that point, as well as the cloud services they depend on.
dreamcompiler 5 hours ago [-]
Slightly off-topic but as a fairly serious backyard astronomer I almost never look at the full moon with my telescope because it's boring. Full moons are like cloudy skies: The viewing will be shitty tonight so best not to even set up the 'scope.
But looking at the terminator during a partial moon -- especially a new moon -- is quite spectacular.
ktrask 2 hours ago [-]
I fully agree! But at least this shot with the Seestar 50 motivates me to try to get a more sharp shot on the full moon with my telescope. Just to prove to myself that I can do that.
fennecbutt 1 hours ago [-]
Pointless article really.
Casual shots of the moon, a phone is fine (duh). High quality shots of the moon you need a telescope (duh).
snapetom 6 hours ago [-]
The author asks, "So... do you need a telescope?" then politely and politically answers the question.
I, however, looking at the side-by-side comparison, would answer, "hell yes."
dreamlayers 5 hours ago [-]
What's the point of taking your own highly detailed photos of the moon? You can find much higher resolution images elsewhere. I usually only want to take a photo of the moon as part of a moonlit scene.
KaiserPro 8 minutes ago [-]
Whats the point of taking photos of nature, when there are much better ones out there?
Its about having a hobby. Let us all be frivolous.
_caw 4 hours ago [-]
I love observing the moon, whether that's taking a picture with a telephoto or peeping through telescope.
There's something special about seeing the craters with your own eyes and then sharing that with friends. The framing & cropping, zoom, color of the sky are all unique to that experience.
Plus the moon is always looking slightly different each time, with different areas shadowed; fuzzy details one day are sharp the next.
And it's a skill like any other, which feels great to improve day after day.
etoxin 4 hours ago [-]
Most people take photos of DSO's, but while you've got the gear, why not photograph the moon. It's also technically fun. Using a cooled camera, I video the moon/Jupiter at 20fps at 3000x3000. Then using software, I only take the frames where there is minimal atmospheric distortion. With the remaining frames, you stack them to get a very detailed image of the moon/planets.
Look up the other gear from ZWO the maker of the seestar.
cenamus 3 hours ago [-]
How do you cool them? Dry ice?
Also how do the batteries hold up, or are you powering it off a cable then?
teamonkey 11 minutes ago [-]
They have active Peltier coolers and you use mains power, a portable battery box, or the 12V output from your car. You also need to power a computer or laptop to capture the images.
Roboscopes like the Seestar are an all-in-one kit and have internal batteries that last about 3-4 hours (although for the moon you don't need more than a minute or so). The S50 can take uncompressed video, which you can then process as GP describes but, compared to a more powerful setup, the camera is 1920x1080 and uncooled, the framerate is limited to 30fps, and it only has a 50mm aperture.
noja 2 hours ago [-]
What's the point of taking a photo of Big Ben? I can get much better photos elsewhere.
userbinator 5 hours ago [-]
You can also find much higher resolution images in the phone's generative AI "image enhancement" model.
eclipxe 5 hours ago [-]
Samsung phones use pre baked images of the moon. This is not a great test.
Incidentaly, the S25 has an astrophotography mode which can be used to take a picture of Milky Way and such (in a low light-pollution zone).
esafak 6 hours ago [-]
Does the Samsung have night mode?
nuopnu 3 hours ago [-]
Yes, but it's irrelevant here.
roelschroeven 49 minutes ago [-]
To expand on that a bit, the moon is directly lit by the sun. A proper exposure for the moon is not different from any other scene brightly lit by the sun.
We often associate moon with night, and night with needing high ISO, long exposure and wide open aperture. And when you use the auto mode on camera's, that is indeed what you will get because even with telephoto lenses the moon is only a small part of the field of view, so the camera will base its exposure on the dark sky around the moon. That will case an overexposed moon, with a lack of contrast.
(Another issue you'll encounter trying the view or photograph the moon is that when viewed with large amplification, the moon is actually pretty fast and you're going to have to re-aim your camera regularly.)
adgjlsfhk1 7 hours ago [-]
Honestly the main thing I notice is how awful the color balance is on the telescope.
Rendered at 10:12:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
Since the Galaxy S21 series, Scene Optimiser has had the capacity to recognise the moon as an object. This means that the detail enhancement engine, a key feature of Scene Optimiser, is applied to photos of the moon.
When you take a photo of the moon with your Galaxy device, the camera system uses deep learning-based AI, along with multi-frame processing, to enhance details.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-galaxy...
The OP has not said anything about turning the relevant options off.
Some technical detail from an older thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35172190
https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/how-galaxy...
But looking at the terminator during a partial moon -- especially a new moon -- is quite spectacular.
Casual shots of the moon, a phone is fine (duh). High quality shots of the moon you need a telescope (duh).
I, however, looking at the side-by-side comparison, would answer, "hell yes."
Its about having a hobby. Let us all be frivolous.
There's something special about seeing the craters with your own eyes and then sharing that with friends. The framing & cropping, zoom, color of the sky are all unique to that experience.
Plus the moon is always looking slightly different each time, with different areas shadowed; fuzzy details one day are sharp the next.
And it's a skill like any other, which feels great to improve day after day.
Look up the other gear from ZWO the maker of the seestar.
Also how do the batteries hold up, or are you powering it off a cable then?
Roboscopes like the Seestar are an all-in-one kit and have internal batteries that last about 3-4 hours (although for the moon you don't need more than a minute or so). The S50 can take uncompressed video, which you can then process as GP describes but, compared to a more powerful setup, the camera is 1920x1080 and uncooled, the framerate is limited to 30fps, and it only has a 50mm aperture.
https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/SMBooks/AstrophotographyV1.p...
We often associate moon with night, and night with needing high ISO, long exposure and wide open aperture. And when you use the auto mode on camera's, that is indeed what you will get because even with telephoto lenses the moon is only a small part of the field of view, so the camera will base its exposure on the dark sky around the moon. That will case an overexposed moon, with a lack of contrast.
(Another issue you'll encounter trying the view or photograph the moon is that when viewed with large amplification, the moon is actually pretty fast and you're going to have to re-aim your camera regularly.)