Frustrating moon shots!

[Don Kondra]

I don't understand what the whole "hand held" shoot the moon is all about ?

Why would you not take advantage of a tripod, anti shock, live view focusing and/or remote triggering ?

Sigma 50-500mm, 1/125, f8, iso 100, all of the above except live view focusing..

Cheers, Don

 

[Alan92RTTT]

Of course a tripod is better. its just not impossible to do it without one.

I really need a lens longer then 200mm.

 

[fokker]

Of course a tripod is better. its just not impossible to do it without one.

This

Mine that I posted were taken handheld and are better than the last lot I took with a tripod. IS helps a lot, but at shutter speeds up around 1/500 it doesn't really matter.

 

[thelaw]

I just wanted to say thank you for all the useful tips on shooting the moon here. I did a crash course before the lunar eclipse by reading this thread. In some cases I couldn't use all the advice but using the Av mode was by far the most helpful tip I received. Here are my results:

Here is my favorite, the others are here:

The Lunar Eclipse

This shot was taken with a Canon Rebel xSi using the stock kit lens, 55-250mm, Av mode, f/9, ISO 800, Exposure time 4 seconds, Focal Length 240mm. yes, I'm a total amateur but it was fun. You might like some of the others I posted too. Thanks a lot guys. Look forward to learning more here.

 

[subscuck]

Nice shot. I wanted to couple my cam to my telescope to get some shots, but unfortunately that white crap that falls from the sky up north here prevented it.

 

[thelaw]

Nice shot. I wanted to couple my cam to my telescope to get some shots, but unfortunately that white crap that falls from the sky up north here prevented it.

I thought we were done for in the Northeast US. The clouds came in and threatened to ruin it completely for at least 20 minutes. Not sure how much cloud cover caused blurriness but, for the most part, we were lucky to have some clarity early on and later in the evening. Better luck in four years... my sympathies.

 

[Nikon_Dude]

I seem to remember someone else posting a pretty good detailed moon shot and listed they used the 55-200 lens on their Nikon D5000...well i have the same thing and my pics turn out about like yours..actually worse...Ill see if i can find one to post here real fast....

I don't know if you were referring to mine, but I got some like the ones in the first post, and it is simply overexposed. The shutter speed is too slow and the moon is getting blown out. Also get camera shake.

This was taken at 1/60 sec. I believe.

I deleted all the bad ones but they were just like the first post.

 

[Aerin328]

Keith, great moon shot. What were the settings for that shot?

Flawed, your "blob moon" is definitely an exposure issue. Play w/ exposure triangle, and use a tripod, and you should get it.

Also I vote tripod over new glass! Tripod opens up whole new world of shots.

 

[DerekSalem]

I seem to remember someone else posting a pretty good detailed moon shot and listed they used the 55-200 lens on their Nikon D5000...well i have the same thing and my pics turn out about like yours..actually worse...Ill see if i can find one to post here real fast....

I don't know if you were referring to mine, but I got some like the ones in the first post, and it is simply overexposed. The shutter speed is too slow and the moon is getting blown out. Also get camera shake.

This was taken at 1/60 sec. I believe.

I deleted all the bad ones but they were just like the first post.

Well it looks a lot better but that's *still* slightly overexposed. Try upping the shutter speed to 1/100 or even 1/200. The only way to get good detail on the moon is nailing the exposure.

As for the tripod debate...it's not necessary. Yes, it can be immensely helpful, especially if you're using a lens without IS/VR, but it's absolutely not necessary. Tripods can be helpful in a *VAST* array of situations, but much of the time a lens with good IS (or good hand-holding techniques) will bring you at least in the same realm as using a tripod...and you don't have to carry anything extra around with you. This shot was taken purely handheld (while at a football game, none the less):

As was this one:

And yes I know the second one is dark...but that's because it's the best way to show the details in the moon. Makes it look great as a wallpaper too.

 

[Raven]

this thread would come in handy for when i get a dslr!

thanks folks