Moon photography

[cgipson1]

Well not an expert at these types of shots. Actually the one pixmedic posted is the first time we tried this. Tripod is a must and a remote would be very helpful. We used. Iso 200 I think f/4 varied the shutter speed here and there to see results. Anywhere from 1/640 to 1/800. I'm sure others here have different settings they find work for them. Also used our fixed focal 300 mm lens for the occasion.

While F4 would still give you more than adequate DOF, most lenses are not at their sharpest there. Unless you have the 2.8 version.. and even it will be sharper at F8! If you have the F4 version.. there are very few lenses sharpest wide open!

I understand you shoot professionally? I am surprised you don't have a remote already. Very handy!

we do have a remote. and I left it on f/4 due to a lack of paying attention. left the remote and flashlight in the house. I got so fixated on the shutter speed that i wasn't really messing with much else.

Gotcha! Well.. at least the moon isn't going anywhere... can always reshoot!

 

[pixmedic]

While F4 would still give you more than adequate DOF, most lenses are not at their sharpest there. Unless you have the 2.8 version.. and even it will be sharper at F8! If you have the F4 version.. there are very few lenses sharpest wide open!

I understand you shoot professionally? I am surprised you don't have a remote already. Very handy!

we do have a remote. and I left it on f/4 due to a lack of paying attention. left the remote and flashlight in the house. I got so fixated on the shutter speed that i wasn't really messing with much else.

Gotcha! Well.. at least the moon isn't going anywhere... can always reshoot!

I think the next time i do the moon thing again i will do it when its like a half or quarter moon or something. aaaand remember to bring the remote and flashlight outside. "I" wasn't very good at taking the wife's advice. the moon was kinda MY thing so...i figured i could fly solo on it, even with the wife out there with me.

 

[JD_Case]

I just joined the forum and had to get in on this thread. Here are a couple of shots I've taken over the last few months.The first was just a happy accident. As I looked around with my camera, a plane taking off from DIA looked as though it was space bound. The second is a shot of the Blue Moon on 8/31/12. Both taken with my Pentax *ist DL using a old PK mount 135mm macro/zoom lens with a doubler.

 

[enzodm]

Missing a remote, you could use the self timer, so that you do not move the camera to shoot. And remember mirror lock, which can also automatically obtained by using Live view instead of viewfinder.
However, the best time for shooting the moon is when is not completely full: more details (e.g., cgipson1 picture).



vs.

 

[TCampbell]

Keep in mind that the moon rises nearly an hour later each day. A full moon doesn't rise until the Sun sets. But a night earlier... and you can catch the moon rising when the sky behind it is still a rich vibrant blue instead of black because the Sun wont quite have set when the moon is rising. This looks particularly good in shots where you include some of the landscape or cityscape in the shot and adds a bit of context to the image (so it's not just a moon.)

 

[jwbryson1]

You can use standard sunny 16 exposures for the moon.. google it and you will see what I mean.

Or my favorite ISO100, F8, and a shutter anywhere from 1/60 to 1/250 depending how bright the moon is. You can spot meter on the moon and get a good metered exposure that way, if wanted. Just remember you will get more detail on a partial moon, the full moon has no crosslight to create shadows.

View attachment 19157

Tripod, and either a remote, or self timer.. highly recommended.

Charlie, what focal length did you use on this? Lots of sharp detail!

 

[cgipson1]

You can use standard sunny 16 exposures for the moon.. google it and you will see what I mean.

Or my favorite ISO100, F8, and a shutter anywhere from 1/60 to 1/250 depending how bright the moon is. You can spot meter on the moon and get a good metered exposure that way, if wanted. Just remember you will get more detail on a partial moon, the full moon has no crosslight to create shadows.

View attachment 19157

Tripod, and either a remote, or self timer.. highly recommended.

Charlie, what focal length did you use on this? Lots of sharp detail!

I thought I had shot that one with my 28-300 @300 on my D7000... but I checked, and it shows 400mm. So that would be my 70-200 2.8 VRII with the TC-20E 2X TeleConverter on it. Thanks!

 

[Rwsphotos]

Yeah cgibison I do but I shoot weddings moon and star type shots are new to me lol. Was a nice clear night with no obstructions so figured we would give it a try. Yeah let pixmedic run amuck more than usual lol. Needless to say there were a few interesting effects on the first handful of shots Still happy with the final results for a first time. Plan is or at least mine is few more tries at different stages to see what the results are. And try a few of the above suggestions at the same time. Maybe I'll even remember the remote lol. Doh!!

 

[timnottphotography]

Has anyone tried it with mirrored 600 or 500?

 

[cgipson1]

Has anyone tried it with mirrored 600 or 500?

Mirrored lenses typically are cheap, and have all sort of IQ issues. Basically junk... after all, look how cheap they are. You get what you pay for.

 

[brett_93_ex]

I'll jump in on this. Did this with a 2 sec. delay on the tripod. Full zoom.

 

[unpopular]

Has anyone tried it with mirrored 600 or 500?

Mirrored lenses typically are cheap, and have all sort of IQ issues. Basically junk... after all, look how cheap they are. You get what you pay for.

A quality mirror lens should do fine at infinity, however.

there isn't anything wrong with mirror lenses per-sey. it's more the application.

 

[Dao]

I think the Tamron 500mm mirror lens is not bad for moon shots. I do not like the donut shape bokeh but for moon shot, it is not going to be any issue.

 

[enzodm]

Has anyone tried it with mirrored 600 or 500?

Yes, however the equally cheap Wündertute aka Girlwatcher lens I use normally (the one of above pictures) is better.

 

[ceejtank]

Here's my attempt.. from last week