A couple of the moon

[gjhsu]

Took the first one last night, but for some reason it wasn't coming out as focused as I would really be happy with. The second one is from a few weeks ago, when I guess the Earth was closer and it came out bigger

Any suggestions on getting better at shooting the moon would be greatly appreciated, although a friend of mine suggested a faster lens (used a 70-300 1:4-5.6 Nikkor cheapo ;) )

Anyway, just wanted to share these.

[Speed]

[QUOTE=gjhsu]Took the first one last night, but for some reason it wasn't coming out as focused as I would really be happy with. The second one is from a few weeks ago, when I guess the Earth was closer and it came out bigger

Any suggestions on getting better at shooting the moon would be greatly appreciated, although a friend of mine suggested a faster lens (used a 70-300 1:4-5.6 Nikkor cheapo ;) )

Anyway, just wanted to share these.


I'm guessing these were shot with a D100, given your signature. Which means that you're getting 450mm out of that lens. I've got the equivalent lens made by Sigma, which does remarkably well considering it's cost.

So how about giving me some information on your setup. Tripod? Shutter speed? Apeture? Also, are these cropped, blown up, etc? Did you use a remote (electronic or cable release)? If I know where you started from, I can give you some pointers. I have been known to take a photo or two of the moon myself.
I Can't Believe It Took Me Two Weeks...

The first one looks blurred like there was some camera shake. The second one came out pretty nice. Looks like you're off to a good start. Let me know the specifics about how you shot them, and we'll see if I can help you improve them.

[gjhsu]

Wow, I REALLY like your shot with the clouds!

I think the shutter speed was at about 1/8 at a higher aperture, which is probably the cause of those problems, but on the full moon shot, it was at 1/160s f/8. Both were at ISO 200, which is the lowest the camera goes. And, yes, I used a tripod, but used my finger to take it (I need one of those nifty remotes)

Anyway, any tips on getting better consistency from the shots is welcome!

[Speed]

I think the shutter speed was at about 1/8 at a higher aperture, which is probably the cause of those problems, but on the full moon shot, it was at 1/160s f/8. Both were at ISO 200, which is the lowest the camera goes. And, yes, I used a tripod, but used my finger to take it (I need one of those nifty remotes)

Anyway, any tips on getting better consistency from the shots is welcome![/QUOTE]


Thank you. That was a grab shot, taken with my N80 and my Quantaray 70-300mm f4-5.6 lens. The Quantaray is made by Sigma, and is the "brand" name for Ritz Camera. Basically, it is identical to the Nikon 70-300mm, so there's nothing wrong with the lens.

My large moon shot was taken through a Celestron C-8 telescope at prime focus. Basically, I used my telescope as a 2032mm telephoto lens. It works pretty good IMHO.

For your moon shots, the tripod is a must, so I'm glad to see you're using one. A remote release (or cable release) is VERY nice to have. Not a necessity, but very nice. If you have a steady, gentle finger, you can trip the shutter by hand, as shown by your second shot. A better option is to use the self timer. Set the self timer, frame the moon, focus it, and gently press the shutter release. The timer gives the camera time to stop shaking before it trips the shutter.

A good rule of thumb for shooting the moon is to use the "sunny f16 rule". Use f16 and 1/film speed. For you, that would mean using f16 at 1/250th, or any equivalent setting, ie, f11 at 1/500th. Use that as a starting point, and brackett.

On a clear night, you may find that sunny f16 is over-exposed, so use sunny f22 in that case. Conversely, if the moon is near the horizon, or if it's hazy out, you may need to use a slower setting, sunny f11 or even sunny f8.

Another thing to keep in mind, is to keep your shutter speeds at or below 1/500th of a second. Anytime I've shot the moon at 1/750th or 1/1000th, the moon comes out grainy and under-exposed. Also, you want to avoid very slow shutter speeds - 1/15th of a second and slower. At 1/15th down to nearly one second, mirror bounce can blur an image.

The moon is two days past first quarter, so now is a good time to shoot it. Go out and shoot it, use the self timer, and brackett your shots. And be sure to let us know how they come out. If you can think of any specific questions, then ask away and I'll do my best to answer them.