Shooting The Moon

[Jack W.]

Hi all. Here's my first attempt at a moon shot.
Not so hot, but not too bad for a first attemp, I guess. Original size shows the best.
20D, 300 f/4 L IS, Canon 1.4TC, tripod, cable release, no clue as to what I'm doing. :-)
Jack
http://www.pbase.com/image/45100695

[PhotosGuy]

Nice shot! Much better than some I've seen! ;-)

[Jack W.]

Thanks Photosguy.

[tim]

Yeah, that's pretty damn good for a first try! Now all you need is that 1200mm lens and you can show us the junk we've left on the surface ;)

[mrclark321]

Nice shot Jack...Just posted one also and mine sucks compared to yours...lol

Dan

[GovtLawyer]

It is a beautiful full moon evening, so I took my tripod, Canon XT and Sigma 18-200 up to my roof. I tried several dozen different settings, and no matter how I tried, I came up with a blurry white ball. On all of the settings I used mirror lock-up, long exposure compensation and a remote control shutter.

I have a fairly cheap SLIK tripod, so I tried it as close to the ground as I could get, to lower the center of gravity.

I tried manual focus and auto. I tried average metering and then realized the center weighted would be best, so I changed it. I used F stops from wide open to closed down. I changed the ISO from 100 to 800.

I think, in the final analysis, the problem might very well have been the tripod, although it wasn't windy and it seemed fairly secure.

So, what is the best way to Shoot The Moon? Be as specific as you can with all of the settings and variables.

[mrclark321]

I tried tonight too and mine turned out so so. Jack W. posted a shot that was excellent. I used Man mode, AV-11, TV-1/250, ISO 100 and center point focus.

Dan

[glangston]

Hey, it looks just like it. :)

Now you made me want to get a 1.4TC. I tried some moon shots with a 200 and it was kinda small

[defordphoto]

Try tonight. It's a "Honey" Moon. So-called when a full moon falls on the summer solstice.

[Jack W.]

Thanks all! :-)

[Roach711]

Use the Sunny 16 rule (1/iso @ f16) for shooting a full moon where it's a bright sunny day. For instance, in manual mode set iso at 200, shutter at 1/200th, and f16. Vary f-stop for best exposure. Enable mirror lockup if it's available and use either the self-timer or a remote shutter release to minimize vibration. Make sure your tripod is rock solid and use your longest lens with a teleconverter if you have one.

Often, the best moon shots are not of a full moon. A 3/4 moon has better shadow detail. Check out Wayne53's moon shot for an example.

(I learned every bit of this right here at POTN)

Da Roach

[Wazza]

You may find it's not really blurred but overexposed?

I can hand hold shots at night time, with 400mm down to about 1/100th.

Shots through a telescope, I pulled out at between 1/80th and 1/125th.

http://wazz*****scity.com/astro.htm

What shutter speed were you using?

[ron chappel]

That is seriously,SERIOUSLY sharp!
I can't remember seeing stars in other moon shots!

My 'different' attempt,inspired by another forum member. (this with an elcheapo 400/6.3 tele)

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/3464187-lg.jpg

[Jack W.]

I like your shot Ron. Like the blue sky. Might try that next.
Jack

[Jim_T]

That is seriously,SERIOUSLY sharp!
I can't remember seeing stars in other moon shots!


Yes Good shot..

You can't get stars and the moon in the same shot. The moon is just too bright.. If you expose for the moon's brightness, the stars get wiped out..

What are those speckles against the sky ? Is it camera noise, or did you do some creative editing :)

[zarkann]

Ok ! i'm getting a 1.4TC :D . Nice picture Jack, All details are there, very clear, Prety nice !


Ron, your picture is nice too , you took the picture around what time and when ? i might try to do something like that one day :lol:

[scottbergerphoto]

http://www.pbase.com/scottbergerphoto/image/28637982.jpg
Canon 1DM2, Sigma 500mm f/4.5, Gitzo Tripod
I meter the moon as I would any other object. Use either a spot meter or fill the viewfinder with the image as best you can and use partial metering. Increase the exposure by about 1 stop to keep the moon white. Take a shot and adjust based on the histogram.

[GovtLawyer]

Thanks to you all. A beautiful full moon. I've only looked at the photos in camera, but they look as good as I could possibly expect from a 200MM. I'll post the best few in a day or two and you can be the judge. The problem was obviously overexposure as opposed to tripod shake. They seem fairly sharp. It's late here in NYC, so I'll get these tomorrw or the next day. Thanks.

[GovtLawyer]

Followed your directions, with the added twist of AEB. Will post soon. They look good.

[MTalley]

Here's mine from this evening, while the moon was still a little orange.

DRebel (300D), Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 LD at 300mm, 1/3 sec., f/22, ISO-100.
Sharpened in PSCS to 250%, 0.5, 0. 100% crop. Originally shot in RAW.
Used mirror lockup to prevent camera shake (using Wasia hack).

[GovtLawyer]

To all those who helped me with my exposure, thanks. The exposure was right on. 200MM is definitely too small for a decent photo, and I do not think it had anything to do with the lens - Sigma 18-200. You have to enlarge it way too many times to have a decent size, and the details are lost. Thanks again.

[ron chappel]

Yes Good shot..

You can't get stars and the moon in the same shot. The moon is just too bright.. If you expose for the moon's brightness, the stars get wiped out..

What are those speckles against the sky ? Is it camera noise, or did you do some creative editing :)

Later i started thinking the same thing......how can this be without photoshopping?



Zarkahn- That one was sometime before full moon,when the moon is getting bigger but is still comming up in the daytime.
Don't be tempted to try getting a shot as it is rising when it looks bigger because the thicker atmosphere really cuts down on sharpness.
I think i might have used normal auto metering for that shot ,or something very close to it.