Problems taking shots of the moon

[afroyeti]

Hi

I've been trying to take a detailed shot of the moon but they just end up balls of light, any help for little old me out there?

Thanks in advance for all replies

BTW i'm using a Canon EOS 350D and a Bigma.

[matt_xyz]

it's only when you try to photograph the moon that you realise how bright it is. Try using spot metering or failing that just experiment with different apertures and shutter speeds. I would begin with something along the lines of 1/250 at f8, but that's a bit of a guess.

Matt

[glsammy]

Also leave it until it's not full. You get far more detail when crescent. Here's a shot I took about a month ago.



That was at 1/100 sec F16.0.

[nicola]

Ive been trying to do just the same tonight, will go back out again in a bit to try again. Here is what I managed

DSC_0013.jpg (image)

[WildGarlic]

WOW what wonderful shots!!!

I tried tonight but there was lots of cloud about and it was moving quickly.

Which camera are you using Nicola and glsammy?

[nicola]

Thanks, I wasnt all that happy with mine..erm I have a nikon d80, now that I am happy with

[glsammy]

Thanks. A Canon 20D. I don't think the make of camera makes any difference. I uses the Sigma 50-500mm lens, so any camera with a 400 - 500mm lens could do just as well.
Just remember the Moon is a very bright object, so you'll need quite a fast shutter speed if you don't want it washed out. My shot was at 1/100sec @ F16.0, you could easily change the aperture to say F8.0 and increase the shutter speed. I did use a tripod and cable release though, as I was also trying to get some wider sky shots at the same time.

[mart_d50]

here's my effort of the full moon from 3 days ago, 100% cropped so it's not very large
taken on a D50 handheld at 300mm, f11, 1/350sec shutter

I find using aperture priority mode at f8 or f11 and spot metering with exposure compensation -1/2 to -1 stop works best for me so far

[nightshade]

I was once told 125 at f8 will get you a picture of anything,it does seem to work with most things

[afroyeti]

Got say guys thanks for the great response, i managed to take a couple of shots that i'm pretty pleased with, just gotta wait for the moon to come back now so i can test it out some more.

And to sohow my gratitude i will very shortly post one or two.

[Ambriel]

We've had very bright skies the last couple of nights but my best shot of the Moon was still a bit fuzzy:

[Ambriel]

We've had very bright skies the last couple of nights but my best shot of the Moon was still a bit fuzzy:

I'm going to try again tonight with a smaller aperture and longer exposure, to see if I can sharpen it up a bit more.

My shot of Orion came out quite well though:

[Bushcraft]

The settings will of course vary but it is often wise to start off at 1/200 at f8. ISO set at 200. IS/VR off if on a tripod (although this is up for debate). I usually -1 stop too. Mirror lock-up in effect and a remote release. I took a couple of shots a few nights ago using a
30D and 500f4 but a couple of teleconverters would be a good idea too. I know people who stack a 1.4 and 2x on the 500f4 with good results.

Kris

[WildGarlic]

Originally Posted by Bushcraft

The settings will of course vary but it is often wise to start off at 1/200 at f8. ISO set at 200. IS/VR off if on a tripod (although this is up for debate). I usually -1 stop too. Mirror lock-up in effect and a remote release. I took a couple of shots a few nights ago using a
30D and 500f4 but a couple of teleconverters would be a good idea too. I know people who stack a 1.4 and 2x on the 500f4 with good results.

Kris

What?? What does 1/200 mean? I get the f8 and the ISO bit... Also, what is IS/VR? I've got a remote release but it doesn't appear to work - do you get different ones for different cameras?

I wish photography wasn't so difficult to understand. It's mostly trial and error for me.

I like the colour in your pic Ambriel.

I took some too - I'll try and get around to uploading them at some stage.

[henrya]

Originally Posted by WildGarlic

What?? What does 1/200 mean? I get the f8 and the ISO bit... Also, what is IS/VR? I've got a remote release but it doesn't appear to work - do you get different ones for different cameras?

I wish photography wasn't so difficult to understand. It's mostly trial and error for me.

I like the colour in your pic Ambriel.

I took some too - I'll try and get around to uploading them at some stage.

1/200 is the shutter speed - you will need to have your camera set on full manual control so that you can set both shutter speed and aperture, or else the auto exposure system will probably be fooled by all that dark sky and seriously overexpose, unless you have a spot metering system, in which case you may be all right.

IS/VR is Image Stabilisation/ Vibration Reduction.

Just think how much easier trial and error is with digital cameras! With film, you had to wait at least a few days before you saw your results and could make another trial (and if you were photographing the moon you'd have to wait another month for another moon for some more trials!).

[nightshade]

Ambriel,try mart_d50's settings as an initial start point
I was wondering what sort of tripod if any you were using
could it be vibration?

[Ambriel]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Ambriel,try mart_d50's settings as an initial start point
I was wondering what sort of tripod if any you were using
could it be vibration?

It's not the sturdiest tripod but I was using it in conjunction with a 5 sec self-timer delay to allow any shaking to settle. I think the biggest problem was that I wasn't using a sufficiently small aperture to get maximum benefit from the depth of field. I'll try that next time, combined with a longer exposure.

If you look at the picture of Orion there's no shake evident there and that was a much longer exposure.

[carlos_dfc]

A little while ago, i experimented to see what kind of results you can get with the simplest of equipment.

Here's a ..*VERY SIMPLY DONE*.. Moon shot....

Through 10x50 binoculars costing only £9-99 (Special offer in Lidl shop - very good bins for the price) - Using a Kodak 2mp digital camera (at about 2x of it's OPTICAL zoom)
HAND-HELD.... Camera lens simply pushed up against one of the eyepieces.
I let the camera use it's autofocus, and compensated the exposure DOWN by 2 stops.
No other messing about at all - no fiddling with ISO, or specific f/stops and shutter-speeds.

This was the best of only 4 shots - you can see a little vignetting against the inside of the eyepiece FOV at the bottom edge of the Moon - coulda probably centred it better if I put the binocs on a tripod, but I was experimenting to see what I could get using the SIMPLEST possible method.

(click for full size pic)

[glsammy]

Considering the method, that's some shot!

[Jolanta Zofia Nowak]

I'm really sorry to hijack your thread but I joined the site today and posted a new thread of my own about telescopes on ebay.

I've come back several hours later and it seems no longer to exist. Is something strange going on? I would have posted a further thread about it but was worried the same thing would happen!

[Ambriel]

Originally Posted by glsammy

Considering the method, that's some shot!

Wot he said!

Very nice shot.

[carlos_dfc]

Originally Posted by Jolanta Zofia Nowak

I've come back several hours later and it seems no longer to exist.

It's back - weird!

Unless maybe new threads, when posted by a brand-new member. have to be OK'd by Admin or Moderator - I've seen similar sysytems on other forums - helps to keep down the SPAM.

[carlos_dfc]

Oh - and thanks for the positive comments guys

[Jolanta Zofia Nowak]

Originally Posted by carlos_dfc

It's back - weird!

Unless maybe new threads, when posted by a brand-new member. have to be OK'd by Admin or Moderator - I've seen similar sysytems on other forums - helps to keep down the SPAM.

I imagine it must be something like that. Thanks Carlos - have replied to your pm.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Jolanta Zofia Nowak

I imagine it must be something like that. Thanks Carlos - have replied to your pm.

Er, it was an admin error. The thread was accidentally moved, and restored again when the error was realised..Sorry!