moon shots using D5000

[Wurdelak]

just want to share a few moon shots using the D5000.

[NovJoe]

Looks overexposed to me. Try higher f/stops.

For me, I usually use f/10 - f/13 with 1/25 - 1/100 (depending on cloud condition) at ISO 100.

A shot of mine to share:


18-200mm @ 200mm
f/10 @ 1/25s
ISO100
Manual Focus

[limwhow]

Originally Posted by NovJoe Looks overexposed to me. Try higher f/stops. For me, I usually use f/10 - f/13 with 1/25 - 1/100 (depending on cloud condition) at ISO 100.

At a shutter speed of slower than 1/100, won't you be experiencing blurring as the revolution movement of the moon and earth is magnified at the zoom focal length?
The reason why I asked this was, I tried a shot at 300mm with shutter of 1/60, and got soft pictures of the moon.
This is one of a series of shots that I tried:


Aperture: f 5.6
Shutter speed: 1/60 s
ISO: 50
Mode: Program Mode
Metering: Spot metering
Tripod
PP (Post processing): Cropped. Sharpened by 30%.

Still blur. Can yourselves and anyone advise me?
Thanks.

[Wurdelak]

nice shot novjoe...am using a 55-200mm handheld at the zoom end... will try harder next time...

[hongwen37]

Originally Posted by limwhow At a shutter speed of slower than 1/100, won't you be experiencing blurring as the revolution movement of the moon and earth is magnified at the zoom focal length? The reason why I asked this was, I tried a shot at 300mm with shutter of 1/60, and got soft pictures of the moon. This is one of a series of shots that I tried: Aperture: f 5.6 Shutter speed: 1/60 s ISO: 50 Mode: Program Mode Metering: Spot metering Tripod PP (Post processing): Cropped. Sharpened by 30%. Still blur. Can yourselves and anyone advise me? Thanks.

Dont think the revolution of the moon or earth is fast enough to cause blur at 1/60s or even lower... More probably it was caused by handshake... Did you use tripod?

[limwhow]

Originally Posted by hongwen37 Dont think the revolution of the moon or earth is fast enough to cause blur at 1/60s or even lower... More probably it was caused by handshake... Did you use tripod?

Well, yes it was tripod-ed and timer released.
I could not understand.
I tried using aperture of 11 up to 22. But the corresponding slowing of shutter speed for some reason caused the moon to be over-exposed.
My ISO is already at its lowest at 50.
Therefore I am truly wondering what else have I missed.
It was AF, not MF. But at infinity focusing is not an issue at all.

I believe your are right to say that there is some movement. But if I was already tripod-ed and timer released, then the only possible movment must have been from the moon itself, which led me to conlcude that at 1/60 the moon movement may be the cause.

[nice1888]

Originally Posted by limwhow Well, yes it was tripod-ed and timer released. I could not understand. I tried using aperture of 11 up to 22. But the corresponding slowing of shutter speed for some reason caused the moon to be over-exposed. My ISO is already at its lowest at 50. Therefore I am truly wondering what else have I missed. It was AF, not MF. But at infinity focusing is not an issue at all. I believe your are right to say that there is some movement. But if I was already tripod-ed and timer released, then the only possible movment must have been from the moon itself, which led me to conlcude that at 1/60 the moon movement may be the cause.

Other factors I can think of :-
a) Tripod not stable enough for your setup,
b) Windy during shot,
c) Vibration cause by moving vehicles, etc...

[Lomographer]

nice solid pic.

[NovJoe]

Originally Posted by limwhow At a shutter speed of slower than 1/100, won't you be experiencing blurring as the revolution movement of the moon and earth is magnified at the zoom focal length? The reason why I asked this was, I tried a shot at 300mm with shutter of 1/60, and got soft pictures of the moon. This is one of a series of shots that I tried: Aperture: f 5.6 Shutter speed: 1/60 s ISO: 50 Mode: Program Mode Metering: Spot metering Tripod PP (Post processing): Cropped. Sharpened by 30%. Still blur. Can yourselves and anyone advise me? Thanks.

The moon and earth orbit is not noticable unlike stars, therefore, you can go even as low as 1/25. For your shot, I believe that it is due to small shakes when you press the shutter. It is recommended that you use a shutter release for night photography.

For the half moon shot which I've posted, I have use the following settings.

Canon EOS 450D
Canon EFS 18-200mm Lens
Aperature value: F10
Shutter speed value: 1/25 sec.
Focusal length: 200.0 mm
Exposure program: Manual control
ISO speed rate: ISO-100

[limwhow]

Originally Posted by NovJoe The moon and earth orbit is not noticable unlike stars, therefore, you can go even as low as 1/25. For your shot, I believe that it is due to small shakes when you press the shutter. It is recommended that you use a shutter release for night photography. For the half moon shot which I've posted, I have use the following settings. Canon EOS 450D Canon EFS 18-200mm Lens Aperature value: F10 Shutter speed value: 1/25 sec. Focusal length: 200.0 mm Exposure program: Manual control ISO speed rate: ISO-100

Great, Novjoe.
Thank you for your settings.
You know, I am just going to keep trying.

nice1888:
My tripod is sturdy, and on the night of shooting there wasn't any vibration from vehicles and wasn't windy at all.

Let me keep trying.
Thanks to all!

[Saycheese78]

Originally Posted by limwhow Great, Novjoe. Thank you for your settings. You know, I am just going to keep trying. nice1888: My tripod is sturdy, and on the night of shooting there wasn't any vibration from vehicles and wasn't windy at all. Let me keep trying. Thanks to all!

Did you off your IS?

[NovJoe]

Originally Posted by limwhow Great, Novjoe. Thank you for your settings. You know, I am just going to keep trying. nice1888: My tripod is sturdy, and on the night of shooting there wasn't any vibration from vehicles and wasn't windy at all. Let me keep trying. Thanks to all!

Let me teach you one more trick to prevent shakes. Set a timer for between 2 to 10 secs if you do not have a shutter release cable. The most common shake when doing moon shots at the maximum range is after you press the shutter on the camera.

[Rashkae]

Also, know the limitations of your lens. Most 75-300mm lenses are very soft if you shoot at 300mm at max aperture (normally f/5.6). They're usually best at f/8-f/11.

[third3rdwheel]

Originally Posted by Wurdelak just want to share a few moon shots using the D5000.

Nice shots !

[limwhow]

Originally Posted by Saycheese78 Did you off your IS?

Saycheese, that's a good point. It is only these few days that I learnt that I should have turned off my IS. A good point noted. Thank you so much!

Originally Posted by NovJoe Let me teach you one more trick to prevent shakes. Set a timer for between 2 to 10 secs if you do not have a shutter release cable. The most common shake when doing moon shots at the maximum range is after you press the shutter on the camera.

Novjoe, yupe, I was using the 2 second timer. Didn't have my cable release at that time. Maybe I should really go with the cable release to really relly make sure no shake. Thanks so much!

Originally Posted by Rashkae Also, know the limitations of your lens. Most 75-300mm lenses are very soft if you shoot at 300mm at max aperture (normally f/5.6). They're usually best at f/8-f/11.

Rashkae, there... I was waiting for that from you! A good piece of advice. Eagerly taken note of and I will go at it again with f8-f11. Thank you so much!

[phazed1]

Hi, I shot this with a Fujifilm Finepix camera with a plastic telescope from Carrefour. There's lots of shake as everything is hand held.

[limwhow]

Originally Posted by phazed1 Hi, I shot this with a Fujifilm Finepix camera with a plastic telescope from Carrefour. There's lots of shake as everything is hand held.

Hey, that's very nice and sharp with a clear view of the craters!
Good job, man!

[phazed1]

Thanks man. I just wanna share my experience and love for moon photography. It is possible with a simple point and shoot camera put in macro mode, then purchase a $20 toy telescope from Carrefour. You can get other planets too but the resolution is decreased. But I also fill up an SD card with blurry pics before I can select a few that I like due to hand shake, wind shake, unstable tripod stand. In case anyone wants to know. The moon is such a great planet to photograph you have to be there every night to wait for clear skies. I admire the sharper pics you guys can get with your tele lens. It's much more accurate with proper glass. Let's work harder to perfect lunar imaging!

[limwhow]

Yupe.
Thank you for sharing with me.
In fact, if later on the sky is not bad, I might just pop out and try again with the advice from the members here.

[phazed1]

Thick clouds over my head so tonight zero visibility. Hope you have better luck!