Shooting the moon!

[ogre1231]

Ok, so I'm not playing hearts. I'm actually trying to take pictures of the moon and I'm trying to figure out the best way. I'm using my 70-200 at 200. I tried shooting at av at 2.8 and at 11, i tried shooting at as quick an exposer time as i could and some time lapse and no luck. anyone have any suggestions?

[adsayer]

you need to go longer, much longer.

400mm didn't cut it when I last tried. Provided you have some sharp glass you can always crop. Your best bet is to go manual... @ 200mm the moon is going to be a tiny beast in your view finder and the chances are the metering will be way off so manual is your friend :) as the moon is deceptively bright you'll find that at f/4 and a ISO of 400-800 that the shutter speed should be suitable enough to get a clear shot of the moon.

enjoyyyyyy

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[FlyingPhotog]

If you're on a tripod:

In Manual Mode w/ self timer or shutter release:
ISO 100
1/100 sec
f/11

Bracket around these settings and you should have some success.

[kevinf]

On my 40D ISO 200 provides noise free images and allows for a smaller and sharper aperture and faster shutter to stop blur from the motion of the moon across the sky. Last settings I used were ISO 200, F10, and 1/50th second using mirror lockup and a 15 second timer to minimize camera shake as well. And to get a decent size you need at least 500mm. Shoot in RAW, expose to the right, and bring out the details in Adobe Camera Raw.

http://www.trickingq3.com/misc/photoshop/forum_posted/photos/800mm%20Moon%206-11-08%20-%20cropped.png

[Dusty]

Ok, so I'm not playing hearts. I'm actually trying to take pictures of the moon and I'm trying to figure out the best way. I'm using my 70-200 at 200. I tried shooting at av at 2.8 and at 11, i tried shooting at as quick an exposer time as i could and some time lapse and no luck. anyone have any suggestions?
Without getting longer FL the image will be small, at least try getting a 2x TC for the 70-200mm, use a tripod and as mentioned use mirror lockup and timer/release.

Good luck.

[ogre1231]

thanks for the info. i am using a tripod and self timer, but no mirror lock. i'll try that next time. a 2x TC is not in the budget as of right now, a 1dmkii is coming first. I'll try again tonight with those settings and see what I can get. assuming there's no clouds here in the UK. haha, who am i kidding, of course there will be.

[ogre1231]

which metering mode would work best? centerpoint? or will it matter?

[kevinf]

Take shots and chimp until you get it so the highlights aren't blown.

[Bubble]

which metering mode would work best? centerpoint? or will it matter?

not much different. Spot mettering also good.

Manual
iso: 100
f range from f/6.3 to f/11
shutter: 100 to 800

just play around with the f/s ratio until you get the image you like the most.

Some of my moon shoot here:

http://www.aphanphoto.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5

They are all in M mode with the value i listed above. Good luck and keep trying.

[ogre1231]

I'm pretty jealous of the pictures you guys have take. I should post what i took last night and what i'm going to take tonight just for a good laugh. :D

[mattograph]

On my 40D ISO 200 provides noise free images and allows for a smaller and sharper aperture and faster shutter to stop blur from the motion of the moon across the sky. Last settings I used were ISO 200, F10, and 1/50th second using mirror lockup and a 15 second timer to minimize camera shake as well. And to get a decent size you need at least 500mm. Shoot in RAW, expose to the right, and bring out the details in Adobe Camera Raw.

http://www.trickingq3.com/misc/photoshop/forum_posted/photos/800mm%20Moon%206-11-08%20-%20cropped.png


Man, the proof is in the puddding! Great shot, Kev!

[bubba zanetti]

What you must allow for is what phase the moon is in. A full moon is a much different object than a waxing crescent. Also dont be put off taking a late afternoon photo as this one below was taken at 5:13 PM and adjusted.

Of course air quality will have a lot to do with it as well.

I find my 400 fine with obviously a big crop.

Date Taken 2005-05-18 17:13:41
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Exposure Time 0.01s (1/100)
Aperture f/7.1
ISO 200
Focal Length 400mm (640mm in 35mm)

http://wadjelaphotography.smugmug.com/photos/41080189_fxdGB-L-20.jpg

[ogre1231]

i think my 200 wont be good enough, but damnit i'm gonna try anyway

[jm4ever]

Try this site for some moon shot settings

http://www.adidap.com/2006/12/06/moon-exposure-calculator/

[ogre1231]

that looks like a pretty handy tool to use.
I tried last night, however, the clouds prevailed and I was stuck cleaning my house instead of taking pictures. Here's one from my first try. The moon sucks, but I like the clouds surrounding it. Anyone have any thoughts? If you check the exif, you can tell I was way off.
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh114/ogre1231/moonshot-2.jpg

[ogre1231]

Another one that's pretty bad. Though, you can kind of see the craters along the line between the light and dark. I can't remember what it's called to save my life. still, the 200mm is most certainly WAY too short of a focal length. I cropped the living daylights out of it and there's some major pixilation as you can tell.
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh114/ogre1231/moonshot.jpg

[Bubble]

why you use S mode? we all told you to use "M" mode. :)

[3Turner]

The fault in the shots you posted Ogre1231 is a slooooow shutter speed. Use manual mode like suggested above in previous posts. 6 seconds and 1/25 are way too slow....the moon is reflecting the sunlight so it's almost like taking a picture of the sun and exposing the surface to get detail. You'll get an exposure soon enough if the clouds cooperate with you. ;) Good luck.

[ogre1231]

why you use S mode? we all told you to use "M" mode. :)
These were before i asked for help. i mean these are why i did ask for help. :D

[ogre1231]

The fault in the shots you posted Ogre1231 is a slooooow shutter speed. Use manual mode like suggested above in previous posts. 6 seconds and 1/25 are way too slow....the moon is reflecting the sunlight so it's almost like taking a picture of the sun and exposing the surface to get detail. You'll get an exposure soon enough if the clouds cooperate with you. ;) Good luck.

Yeah, I realize that now. I haven't had an opportunity to take pictures since my first bit of shenanigans. I plan on putting to use the information I've learned as soon as the damned clouds let me.

[3Turner]

Well, hopefully you are not near Faye with all the storms around.

[ogre1231]

No clue where Faye is. I'm near Cambridge UK.

[3Turner]

Oops...Faye is over the easter coast of the US. No worries for you then :lol:

[ogre1231]

well, no worries of storms. england still has it's pitfalls.

[Bubble]

try again tonight and let us know how it goes. :)

[ogre1231]

I will assuming the moon comes out to play. it's not looking promising right now. Grrr

[cL0d]

This is what you can expect to obtain with the 70-200.
I've taken it at 1500mt, during a crystal clear night. 100% crop.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/2792989285_a80484902b_o.jpg

[ogre1231]

that's good enough for me

[sgogula]

shot handheld with 55-250mm lens at 250mm, ISO 100, 1/50

[ogre1231]

I'm still waiting on the clouds to give me an opportunity to try to shoot again.

[ogre1231]

After not being home for a while and finally having a semi clear night and the moon out.... I finally got something better than I had. so here it is.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh114/ogre1231/Moon-1.jpg

Tonight is looking like it will be a better night. Crossing my fingers.

[Fellipe de Paula]

Is seems way out of focus... But the overall exposure is quite good!

[ogre1231]

Thanks, I'm half way there. Just gotta walk it in a bit more. Good thing practice makes perfect. Or at least getting better.

[Bubble]

Thanks, I'm half way there. Just gotta walk it in a bit more. Good thing practice makes perfect. Or at least getting better.

keep shooting. Almost there. :)

[yonni]

I sure hope Romy weighs in on this thread. His moon shots are to die for.

[Kronie]

I sure hope Romy weighs in on this thread. His moon shots are to die for.

I agree. Here is my humble effort. Heavy cropping. Someday I want to get a telescope just to shoot the moon.

http://www.pbase.com/akrone/image/93072821/original.jpg

[liquidstone]

I sure hope Romy weighs in on this thread. His moon shots are to die for.

Lol...... here's one from an "overclocked" Sigma 18-200 OS. :mrgreen:

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/103241848/original.jpg

[Johnny9s]

Here is my first moon shot from when I received my new telescope. Looking forward to the moons return.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2865133304_21dd3de29b_o.jpg

John

[cL0d]

WOW!

[funhouse69]

Be careful I also got the Moon Bug recently and I've gotten some very nice results with my Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS. I believe the last one might have also had a Kenko 1.4 TC on it as well. Since then I bought a new Sigma 150-500mm Lens but was disappointed with the results so it is on its way back. I was thinking about the Canon 400mm f/5.6L but might go completely insane next year and get the 500mm f/4L IS. Then again for that much money I am sure I could buy a very sweet telescope setup.

I've found that there is no real set value as you can see below. You have to mess with the exposure but you can get a base from here. I didn't even realize until I went through these that they were all shot around the same shutter speed and within a stop or so of each other. So you can use these as a baseline.

These were all shot RAW (All I shoot) and processed with DPP, each one had sharpening added and may have adjusted the exposure a tad (usually no more than a half a stop either way).

Here are a couple of my favorites I've taken over the last few weeks. The first few believe it or not were taken Hand Held, The reminder are taken on a Tripod, with Mirror Lockup and a Remote Release.

1. ISO 200, f/8.0 @ 1/160th
http://funhouse69.smugmug.com/photos/368732065_rjR3L-XL.jpg
2. ISO 100, f/6.3 @ 1/160th
http://funhouse69.smugmug.com/photos/374219655_3BnAD-XL.jpg
3. ISO 200, f/7.1 @ 1/160th
http://funhouse69.smugmug.com/photos/375411280_dQcMV-XL.jpg
4. ISO 100, f/7.1 @ 1/100th
http://funhouse69.smugmug.com/photos/387431205_kWrPA-XL.jpg

[matthew1371]

How's this?

ISO 200 f/8.0 @ 1/400th using a Canon 400mm on an XSI.

[dan j]

Thanks to this thread I finally have a moon shot I'm happy with. Unfortunately, the best one was shot with RAW and I can't get it posted. This one is a JPEG.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b173/Dan-imal/Sedona/IMG_0007mooncropped.jpg
I followed the moonie rule but f11 was too dark, f8 seemed to be better. This shot was taken with my P.O.S. Ambico tripods legs collapsed and the head lowered. Since I couldn't see the image without laying down I used Live View through my computer to focus manually.

It's not an incredible shot, but I was ready to give up until now. All of my previous photos were blurry and I couldn't figure out why. Obviously the tripod was a major issue.

Anyway, thanks for posting the sunny16rule and the moonie rule.

dan