John Erin
(K=460) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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ah maybe cause the moon is moving. You need to use a faster shutter speed to freeze the moon's motion. Try a wider f stop and faster speed
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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You are kidding, right? Isn't 1/30th fast enough?
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James Bambery
(K=13421) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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No, most suggest 1/250'th at F/11 or something like that. The moon, sun and all planetaries move exceptionally fast for a camera.
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John Erin
(K=460) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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no joke. some guys use a motor with the tripod head to have the camera track the moon in it's orbit. Also if your camera has a mirror lockup that always helps. good luck
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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Thanks James. Either you are both ganging up on me or you speak the truth! Of course the clouds have now come over, so I have to wait a bit to try....
Thanks also for the quick reply - I hadn't realised this forum was so efficient!
Happy Easter,
Steve.
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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Thanks John. Please see comment to James above, ditto to you. 20D does have mirror lock-up, but am not sure how that would help?
Thanks for your time & a Happy Easter to you,
Steve.
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John Erin
(K=460) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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mirror lockup minimizes camera/shutter shake. Also use of a shutter release cable (or the camera's self timer in a pinch) would help in eliminating any camera shivers.
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James Bambery
(K=13421) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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Steve,
Mirror lockup is real important if you want semi- long exposures with the assurance of NO camera shake from the photographer. I'm not real sure this will help you with a moon shot, but if your into macro's or landscapes or basically anything that takes a sec. or so to expose, you should take advantage of it.
Jim
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Lea Mulqueen
(K=7396) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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I don't know why it's not sharp...but perhaps you need to try a wider aperature and faster shutter speed. There is no point to a small aperature with the moon so far away! Another possibility. Do you have a heavy tripod? If you are using a small light one any bit of breeze would move it slightly.
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Peter Witkop
(K=3189) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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Another thing I would do if I were you, turn off auto focus, and just focus at infinity. If the moon isn't at infinity, nothing is, the easiest manual focus you'll ever do.
Peter
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/25/2005
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Peter, strangely enough, I tried that (as a last resort) - the image was totally out of focus!! I'm not sure what infinity is meant to suggest on Canon lenses!! Regards, Steve.
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Sally Morgan
(K=9219) - Comment Date 3/26/2005
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Have you tried the autofocus on the centre, or the edge of the moon? There may not be enough contrast in the middle of the moon for the autofocus to lock on to.
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/26/2005
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Interesting point Sally, the middle I think.... will try your suggestion. Thanks!
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James Bambery
(K=13421) - Comment Date 3/26/2005
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Just a Thought?
What about Manual Focus, can't go wrong there:)
Jim
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hi there
(K=15) - Comment Date 3/27/2005
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Hello. I was just passing through and saw your post. That's a great moon shot you've got. If it's any help there is a great Exposure Calculator for lunar photography at http://www.mikeoates.org/mas/projects/calc/. I have found it very helpful. Also some great astrophoto links on Mike Oates site. You just need to use a higher speed because the moon is a moving object and the longer the lense the more pronounced the movement. Best of Luck.
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Pete Dawes
(K=272) - Comment Date 3/28/2005
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Don't forget that the moon is really a VERY bright object. It may well be the same colour as the standard grey card in some parts, and it is basking in the glare of the suns rays unobstructed by atmosphere.
You mention clouds, showing that it is only our atmosphere dimming any light from the moon!
After all, it is possible to walk about in the moonlight, so there must be quite a bit of light coming from the moon.
You could probably get away with a shot at f11 or f16, with the film speed equal to the ISO rating of the film.
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Charles Morris
(K=5969) - Comment Date 3/29/2005
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ok, moon pics are fun because it is always a dayligt exposure. use your sunny 16 rule and if you think the atmoshpere is stealing some light open up a stop. i generally won't try t take a moon shot at less than 1/250 even with a heavy tripod and delay release. self timer on 2 seconds and use a cable or wireless remote to fire the camera.
infinity focus is a joke on most modern superzooms. most of them have the ability to focus a little past infinity because the telescoping lens barrels are more susceptible to dimensional changes with temperature. don't just throw the lens over to the stop and assume that will always be infinite focus. take a look and you will find that with the zoom all the way out, infinity will be just short of the stop. cooler temperatures make this condition worse. the infinity stop is usually made to be correct at some high but human livable temperature. maybe 140 degree F. (camera in the sun on a hot day) and as the lens gets cooler it gets shorter. it does not take a great deal of change in the dimension of the lens barrels to effect the point of focus of the lens. because of manufacturing slop and tolerances, there can be a difference whether the lens is poiting up at the sky or hanging down from a tripod taking a macro of an ant hill.
2cents@large
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Stan Pustylnik
(K=6768) - Comment Date 3/29/2005
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Steve.
1.Weather - must be ideal. Slight moisture in the air will cause detail loss. Best nights are cold - with crisp clear sky.
2.Noise reduction must be off, software is smoving pixels too much, killing detail.
4. If you are using "actual pixels view" crop this image will look so soft. Don't cropp so much.
Exposure looks fine to me. However I can recommend you to use 400mm end without teleconverter, manual focus at infinity, max opened diaphragm + shorter shutter speed. ISO 200 or 400 on Canon 20D must give you great detail.
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/31/2005
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Thanks Stan. Interesting comment about the quality of the light due to weather - I tell friends "you cant shoot what's not there" when they try to shoot in the wrong conditions - I guess I should take my own advice!!
Regards
Steve.
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/31/2005
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Hi Charles, useful info here, thank you very much for commenting. Now all I need is a clear night...... very frustrating!!
Regards
Steve.
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Steve Tomkinson
(K=3243) - Comment Date 3/31/2005
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Hmm, have to agree - point taken about how bright the moon really is. Thanks Pete.
I'm not sure where you are in the world, but I've noticed sometimes the moon appears very much bigger in the sky, from memory in August (the 'Harvest moon?'). Perhaps that's the best time to photograph?
Regards,
Steve.
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Pete Dawes
(K=272) - Comment Date 4/1/2005
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The variation in the size of the moon is a perceptual phenomenon, caused by the level of concentration of the watcher, the clarity of the sky, and whether or not there is anything else in the field of vision. (I think...)
Actually, if you look at the moon as it rises above the horizon it is a tiny thing, as there are buildings and mountains etc to give a sense of scale.
Yet when you look at it hanging in a clear dark night sky your brain sorta zooms in on it, so that it seems to fill your field of vision. It doesn't, it's just that your brain has nothing else on which to concentrate, so it acts as though the moon is much bigger.
Films like ET don't help either, as the use of massively long telephoto lenses supports the belief that the moon appears bigger than is truly the case.
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