getting lens to shoot at full 250mm @ moon

Ok so i took my t2i out and fired away.. tried Av and couldnt get them to come out not washed out..

so off with the search feature.. it schooled me on what i was doing wrong..

i had F7.1 - 250mm - iso 200 - 2 seconds.... oops there i found it..

so learned that i need to shoot M

I did
1/160
F/8
ISO - 100
but it will only go to 146mm

if i send it to 250.... and focus it zooms back out....
so i tried manual focus....

what am i doing wrong??

thanks guys... getting ready for the next moon wave (think googling said end of january)....

this pic is cropped WAY OUT... as it was really small @ 146mm

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Manual is a must.. if your camera has live view, use that and you can zoom in further to make sure the focus is perfect. Use mirror lockup, and a self timer if you don't have a remote. At that focal length, keep your exposures short (less than 2 seconds). After that, focus on the post processing.. sharpen the photo, reduce noise if necessary, adjust levels. Hope this helps

While rules can be broken, But start from the Sunny 16th rule for shooting moon.

"F16 and Use a that Shutter Speed equals or near your ISO." Start there and adjust your shutter speed.

So if you're shooting ISO 100. Use F16 with Shutters Speed of 1/100 or whatever your camera has. Adjust SSpeed as necessary to get the right exposure.

And yea, you'll probably have to manual focus, depending on what focal length your lens is at 250mm

I don't understand this statement at all. The camera can't automatically adjust the zoom. That's the little ring you turn. Maybe you are confused or got your terms mixed up.

Just remember the moon is lit by the sun so your exposure could be similar to a shot taken in your back yard in the afternoon.

Something like this...
Info
Canon 40D, Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 plus Sigma 2x TC = 600mm
ISO 400, 1/125ss, F/7.1 Manual camera control and manual focus using Live View.

When the lens does a big hunt from one end of the focus travel to the other, it does kind of look like it's zooming if you're using live view and it's trying to set the exposure at the same time. I'm guessing it's something like that anyway.

+1 for the rest of the answers.

No need to use mirror lockup if you're using live view as the mirror is already up.

Steve.

well here is a really newbish question... live view... anotherwards focus through the back lcd vs looking through the hole???

ill give all these a try tonight... and yes.... during the focusing.. it appears to zoom in and out... i zoom it all the way out and when i go to focus.. it searches.. locks.. and 5 pics all said @ 146mm

thanks... ill test it out tonight...

I have T1i, prior had the 55-250 lens you have, it can take pretty decent full moon shots.

a) Full moon settings @ 250mm: Manual mode ISO100, f11, 1/250 sec.
Even less than full moon @ 250mm I usually dial open the aperture slightly first, then the shutter speed slightly. Always underexpose the moon so not to blow out the highlights. Keeping shutter relatively fast will keep pict sharp.
b) Use Live view for focus, 10x, move the box to contrasty portion of moon and press the *, it will zap focus and go green box
c) Tripod is best if you have one
d) wireless timer is best, else use the 2 sec delay self timer or the up to 10 picture multi timer, set it to 2 and it will countdown 10 seconds, this way camera is still.
e) turn IS off

Have fun, good luck, post results.

mtbdudex wrote in post #11496371
b) Use Live view for focus, 10x, move the box to contrasty portion of moon and press the *, it will zap focus and go green box

Have fun, good luck, post results.

think my problem lies within here...

ok live view... moon filled up the entire view.... 10x??? not following that part....
press * (is that the shutter button? dont remember seeing a * icon anywhere).... will zap focus.. so lens in manual focus or auto?

Thanks... and yeah i will post results.. once i can get this dialed in!!!!!!!!!! Appreciate it all....

Read the section on Live View in your users manual. No manual- download it from the Canon USA website.

If you switch your lens to "M", and adjust the focus "manually" you won't have the wild gyrations. That is why it is important to use the Live View feature. The instructions will explainhow to zoom the view to 5x or 10x. Then you can focus a lot easier. Then back the zoom view out to normal and take your picture.

I say shoot everything on manual. Don't be skeered!

MT Stringer wrote in post #11497099
Read the section on Live View in your users manual. No manual- download it from the Canon USA website.

If you switch your lens to "M", and adjust the focus "manually" you won't have the wild gyrations. That is why it is important to use the Live View feature. The instructions will explainhow to zoom the view to 5x or 10x. Then you can focus a lot easier. Then back the zoom view out to normal and take your picture.

I say shoot everything on manual. Don't be skeered!

HAH thanks.. ill give it a try... however my son is in a xmas choir tonight... so may not get to try tonight...

I was shooting in M.... but the live view i was mistaken.. though that was just hitting the button and seeing it out back.... but im misconfused!!!!

I believe to get into Live view you hit the red dot.
To select between normal/5x/10x you hit the white checker 9 box button, to use contrast focus use the * button.

I actually focus in 10x and even shoot the shot in 10x, does not hurt anything.

I see you commented on my picture.

This is exactly what I used.

T1i
55-250mm @ 250mm

First and foremost I used a tripod and turned IS off. I zoomed all the way in on the moon, and made sure the moon was on the center dot and had the camera focus. Then I turned it to manual focus.

Several days ago I got a great shot @
ISO 100
F/11 (all of my sharp shots with surface detail was with F/11)
1/60 - 1/100

Then for the Lunar eclipse I used the same settings but I couldn't get a good sharp shot. Its important to note that only 1-2 shots out of 5 shot at the above settings came out clear.

Because my previous settings were failing me I tried a large range of ISO 100-800 and shutter speeds from 1/60 - 1/800. Oddly I got sharp results with many different settings, but only 5-6 really good shots out of 100+ different configurations.

First is
ISO 400
F/11
1/800

InfiniteGrim wrote in post #11501104
First and foremost I used a tripod and turned IS off.

Unless you're using a remote shutter release I would definitely leave IS on. Even with a remote release I'd probably leave it on for two reasons -

1. Unless you've got a really good tripod it's likely that there will be some small movement. The IS will compensate for that.

2. The IS on the 55-250 can sense when it's on a tripod and disable iteself, if necessary.

MT Stringer wrote in post #11497099
Read the section on Live View in your users manual. No manual- download it from the Canon USA website.

If you switch your lens to "M", and adjust the focus "manually" you won't have the wild gyrations. That is why it is important to use the Live View feature. The instructions will explainhow to zoom the view to 5x or 10x. Then you can focus a lot easier. Then back the zoom view out to normal and take your picture.

I say shoot everything on manual. Don't be skeered!

Instead of just answering a simple question, you go out your way to respond to a thread, only to say go read your manual? I hope you are not a school teacher, because you sure don't know how to pass on knowledge

Geez

syndicate1 wrote in post #11508692
Instead of just answering a simple question, you go out your way to respond to a thread, only to say go read your manual? I hope you are not a school teacher, because you sure don't know how to pass on knowledge

Geez

actually something so simple.. i did go download it and readup some... seems simple...yes i should have done that first.. but i did search here first... but i was looking more for the specifics on people with the nifty two fifty that have shot the moon..

appreciate it all folks... still havent had a chance to get back out there...

happy holidays!!!!!!!!!! now we got tons of people coming over....