Newbie Shot Of Moon


Shafune

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Feb 3, 2010
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Hello! Its the first time I shot a moon. I used a tripod with 2-sec self timer. Upon zooming, i realised that the details are not sharp! Why? I hope some bro's here can help me out. The moon was shot at 200mm.

moon26.jpg
 

You are correct to use the spot metering on your A300, but with the ISO100, f/20 and 1/8 sec, I guess it was unerexposed. After you shoot, you should zoom in the picture to see the result and made some adjustment, check result and re-shoot until you got the result you want.

Cheers!

.
 

You are correct to use the spot metering on your A300, but with the ISO100, f/20 and 1/8 sec, I guess it was unerexposed. After you shoot, you should zoom in the picture to see the result and made some adjustment, check result and re-shoot until you got the result you want.

Cheers!

.

I tried a few times with a bigger f number and longer shutter speed but it still isnt sharp. It turned out more or less the same. Does the ISO help in making the moon sharper?
 

I think 2 seconds is too long as the moon seen to move, actually is the earth rotating.
This is one of my shot which I am rather satisfied with.
4158153266_78f3ee2408.jpg

Shot handheld with my 5D Classic mounted with a 100-400mm lens. Setup was Focal Length:400mm Aperture:F13 Shutter:1/250
 

I think 2 seconds is too long as the moon seen to move, actually is the earth rotating.
This is one of my shot which I am rather satisfied with.
4158153266_78f3ee2408.jpg

Shot handheld with my 5D Classic mounted with a 100-400mm lens. Setup was Focal Length:400mm Aperture:F13 Shutter:1/250

That is a nice shot!
 

I suppose there could be a lot of causes for the blur:
1. Lens sharpness
2. Camera shake (use mirror lockup?)
3. Atmospheric turbulence

You could also try to stack several images together to get better detail.
 

I suppose there could be a lot of causes for the blur:
1. Lens sharpness
2. Camera shake (use mirror lockup?)
3. Atmospheric turbulence

You could also try to stack several images together to get better detail.

Mirror Lockup? How does that work? First time hearing about it.
 

There is no need for a slow shutter speed, like Sebody just mentioned the earth roared around the moon not the other way around.
 

There is no need for a slow shutter speed, like Sebody just mentioned the earth roared around the moon not the other way around.

The slower shutter speed is just to the compensate the bigger f number and get a better exposure. But i guess too big a f number wouldn't make much of a difference.
 

a stupid question.:confused: is your IS/OS enabled/turned on ? If it is, I think it is best if is disable/off.

when I mount my camera on a tripod, the photos are blur if my IS is on as compared to when they are off.
"Image Stabilization (and vibration reduction) lenses look for vibrations in your camera in order to reduce it – however if they don’t find any (like when you are using a Tripod) they actually can cause it – and as a result actually cause camera shake."
http://digital-photography-school.com/image-stabilization-on-tripods
 

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a stupid question.:confused: is your IS/OS enabled/turned on ? If it is, I think it is best if is disable/off.

IS is image stabiliser right? It is turned on. I'll take note of that on my next shot.
 

There are a lot of factors that will affect sharpness.

  • A sturdy tripod.
  • A cable or remote release (if you don't have these then try a 10 second delay rather than a 2 second delay).
  • Mirror lockup.
  • Fast shutter speed.
  • Good fast lens.
  • Some post processing, particularly sharpening.

These are some things that will help you to get a sharper moon shot. There will be others and I'm sure that they will be posted. Try shooting in manual mode and play around with your settings until you get something satisfactory.

Good luck.
 

There are a lot of factors that will affect sharpness.

  • A sturdy tripod.
  • A cable or remote release (if you don't have these then try a 10 second delay rather than a 2 second delay).
  • Mirror lockup.
  • Fast shutter speed.
  • Good fast lens.
  • Some post processing, particularly sharpening.

These are some things that will help you to get a sharper moon shot. There will be others and I'm sure that they will be posted. Try shooting in manual mode and play around with your settings until you get something satisfactory.

Good luck.

Thx alot! Will try the mirror lockup, longer delay and faster shutter speed on my next shot.
 

Mirror lockup is used to prevent vibrations caused by the mirror when it flips up to expose the sensor. I'm not sure how that is done on a A300, you might want to check your camera manual for that. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_lock-up for more details.

Another thing I forgot to mention is of course the focus. Maybe you could use live view to check that the moon is indeed in sharp focus when you use a large aperture. Just focusing the lens at infinity probably wouldn't do.
 

Mirror lockup is used to prevent vibrations caused by the mirror when it flips up to expose the sensor. I'm not sure how that is done on a A300, you might want to check your camera manual for that. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_lock-up for more details.

Another thing I forgot to mention is of course the focus. Maybe you could use live view to check that the moon is indeed in sharp focus when you use a large aperture. Just focusing the lens at infinity probably wouldn't do.

Sounds interesting. Thanks for the tip! =)
 

Just to add a point, the moon itself is bright, imagine you are going to shoot a light bulb, so if your shutter is too long, it will usually give an over exposure.
Keep your IS off whenever you mount your camera on a tripod, if not it will spoil your lens.
Another thing that you might want to take note is shoot only without cloud near or covering the moon.
 

The following was my shoot of the moon:



IMG_7519p.jpg




The setting was 1/160 sec, f/7.1, 200mm, ISO800.

To avoid hand shake flur, you might want to increase shutter speed. Try my setting if it work, and make you own adjustment if needed.

Happy shooting.

Cheers!

.
 

You all got ask permission from "Chang-er" before shooting at her place or not? Later she angry and cut your ear with a comb...... (Folklore mentioned not to point at the moon)

The picture clear enough maybe can see her playing with the jade rabbit...... hehehehe
 

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Just to add a point, the moon itself is bright, imagine you are going to shoot a light bulb, so if your shutter is too long, it will usually give an over exposure.
Keep your IS off whenever you mount your camera on a tripod, if not it will spoil your lens.
Another thing that you might want to take note is shoot only without cloud near or covering the moon.

Didn't know about the IS on tripod thing. Will take note. Thx for the tip! :D
 

Hello! Its the first time I shot a moon. I used a tripod with 2-sec self timer. Upon zooming, i realised that the details are not sharp! Why? I hope some bro's here can help me out. The moon was shot at 200mm.

Do your adjustments so that your shutter speed is 1/200. And turn off your IS when mounting on tripod.