About damn time...

[PerfectlyFlawed]

Ok... so, I may be a BIT too excited over this...lol but, for any of you who have helped me out, or followed my threads/posts in regards to this theme.. know i've been struggling with my "MOONS SHOTS"; So I have a reason to be excited!:lmao:

For weeks I have got blobs of white.. you couldnt even tell it was a moon.HAHA. :thumbdown:

So this is a huge step up for me. I am still working on it...the results were not as clear as if have liked them to be. But for my first shot of the night...not to shabby. I'm so much more motivated now that I have gotten some better results.

Anyone want to give me some feedback re: this?
C/C?..anything?

1.)

2.)

3.)

I cropped them..thats the only PP done to them.
I believe i used...

Manual mode- 200mm.
Hand-held. ( yes.. i know i need to invest in a tripod.lol)
ISO 800
Aperture F/18
Shutter 1/1000
Exp. comp. (-3.0)
​

Metering Centered.

 

[fokker]

Compared to your other efforts this is much better. They are still a bit grainy and soft though.

Tips to improve:

Lower your ISO and use a much wider aperture. You can pretty much use any aperture you like to shoot the moon so it makes sense to use the one that gives sharpest results. Usually somewhere around f7.1 - f11 is best.

If you can use a tripod at all, then do. It helps a lot with framing and focusing. If you have live view, use that and manual focus. When you zoom in to 10x normal view on live view you can focus very precisely indeed, which I found made a big difference.

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

Compared to your other efforts this is much better. They are still a bit grainy and soft though.

Tips to improve:

Lower your ISO and use a much wider aperture. You can pretty much use any aperture you like to shoot the moon so it makes sense to use the one that gives sharpest results. Usually somewhere around f7.1 - f11 is best.

If you can use a tripod at all, then do. It helps a lot with framing and focusing. If you have live view, use that and manual focus. When you zoom in to 10x normal view on live view you can focus very precisely indeed, which I found made a big difference.

i know HUGE difference.. right?.. Its still way grainy though.. im going to go do a retake right now.
stupid question.... get ready for it..ready?... haha... HOW in the crap do you change the aperture from f/18... ive done it screwing around with settings in manual.. but i couldnt seem to budge it this time.. only the shutter speed etc...

i feel like an idiot. ( dont comment on that) LOL.... ugh.

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

Got cold quick out outside, so i made it a fast retake. Will try more tomorrow (hopefully)

i adjusted the ISO lower... they looked crappy..
Adjusted the Exp. Comp -lower..eh..didnt see to much difference.

But heres 1 i retook.. worse?better? hmm how do i get more of the detail on the moon?

 

[myfotoguy]

I suggest:
Aperture Priority
f/5.6
ISO 200-400
Spot Meter
-Neg compensation - Whatever it takes to get a good exposure.
WB=Auto (you could try sunny since the sun is reflecting off the moon)
Your gear lists 70-300, so I would use that with VR on. Unless you bought a tripod in the last few hours

Don't use live view, use viewfinder and tuck elbows at your side to be as steady as possible.

I think your results are getting better. If you can get more stability and lower the ISO and use a bigger aperture to increase the shutterspeed I think you'll nail it. You might try and find something to brace against or a railing or something to rest the lens on while aiming at the moon.

EDIT TO ADD: If there is haze in the sky then you will have a tougher time getting a clear shot. (not sure if that's the case or not, just something I thought of). If you can't get a clear shot, blame it on the haze just kidding of course.

In the link below you can see the settings I used in the tab labeled "photo info". The moon was extra bright that day, so normally I would not have gotten such a high shutterspeed.
Timothy Bury Photography | Mixed Bag

 

[joeamy05]

Well, I can for sure tell it's the moon. I am watching all of your advice closely because I would like to capture the moon sometime soon. Good luck!

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

I suggest:
Aperture Priority
f/5.6
ISO 200-400
Spot Meter
-Neg compensation - Whatever it takes to get a good exposure.
WB=Auto (you could try sunny since the sun is reflecting off the moon)

Don't use live view, use viewfinder and tuck elbows at your side to be as steady as possible.

I think your results are getting better. If you can get more stability and lower the ISO and use a bigger aperture to increase the shutterspeed I think you'll nail it. You might try and find something to brace against or a railing or something to rest the lens on while aiming at the moon.

http://myfotoguy.zenfolio.com/mixedbag/e9780b30

Thank you very much for the feedback...not many people are responding. lol I cant suck THAT bad.

Anyhow, tonight..i am going to try the settings you gave me..and i will continue to play around with settings.. I wonder if higher shutter speed would be better?

I am going to lean on the cars in my driveway to stabilize me from shaking as much...maybe itll be a little more in focus.

As for the lighting, or haze.. it was clear as could be.. and the moon was amazingly bright and visible most of the evening.. wasnt full, just very big and bright.

... I dont have the 300mm right now. *sigh*. I loaned it to my aunt when she went on vacation. Gutsy, i know..haha Im feeling the pain now!

 

[JimmyO]

ISO800
Aperture F/18
Shutter 1/1000

Please explain why

 

[fokker]

I suggest:
Aperture Priority
f/5.6
ISO 200-400
Spot Meter
-Neg compensation - Whatever it takes to get a good exposure.
WB=Auto (you could try sunny since the sun is reflecting off the moon)
Your gear lists 70-300, so I would use that with VR on. Unless you bought a tripod in the last few hours

Don't use live view, use viewfinder and tuck elbows at your side to be as steady as possible.

I think your results are getting better. If you can get more stability and lower the ISO and use a bigger aperture to increase the shutterspeed I think you'll nail it. You might try and find something to brace against or a railing or something to rest the lens on while aiming at the moon.

EDIT TO ADD: If there is haze in the sky then you will have a tougher time getting a clear shot. (not sure if that's the case or not, just something I thought of). If you can't get a clear shot, blame it on the haze just kidding of course.

In the link below you can see the settings I used in the tab labeled "photo info". The moon was extra bright that day, so normally I would not have gotten such a high shutterspeed.
Timothy Bury Photography | Mixed Bag

I definitely recommend using liveview to focus if possible. The focus adjustment to get the moon sharp or blurry is absolutely tiny (at least, it is on the two lenses I've tried it with). There is no way you can focus that accurately through the viewfinder, though I do agree that if shooting handheld it is a better idea to actually take the shot with the viewfinder after focusing with livewview.

OP - to answer you question why you couldn't change the aperture setting, it will depend what mode you are in at the time (big dial on the top with P, Tv, Av, M etc on it). I'm not sure what camera you have, but something makes me think it was an XSi or similar - in which case, if in M mode, you adjust the shutter speed with the finger rotary dial and the aperture by holding the little Av button (exp. comp) and then turning the same dial.

Hope that helps.

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

ISO800
Aperture F/18
Shutter 1/1000

Please explain why

Through taking notes from previous moon theme threads....I decided to try the settings others had chosen, hoping for better results.
That specific setting was one I had written down to try.Happened to be the first one I tried, and I got results with it.
Does that better explain why ?

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

ISO800
Aperture F/18
Shutter 1/1000

Please explain why

Through taking notes from previous moon theme threads....I decided to try the settings others had chosen, hoping for better results.
That specific setting was one I had written down to try.Happened to be the first one I tried, and I got results with it.
Does that better explain why ?