The Moon

Zachery · Oct 5, 2009

Hello again, guys. Hope I'm posting this query to the right thread. I want to take a photo of the moon after dark. Can anyone advise on how I should do this? I'm a beginnner, and I've got a Nikon Coolpix camera. If you could point the way to a thread on this forum that would help, or offer some practical advice, it would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Z

benlonghair · Oct 5, 2009

Never used a coolpix, but one thing I can say for sure is you're gonna have to put the exposure comp at like -2.7 or something because your meter is going to try to get the sky gray which doesn't work well. For example, this shot was taken in aperture priority with a comp of -14/3 (or 4-2/3 stops).

DennyCrane · Oct 5, 2009

Start out with f/8, 1/100, ISO 200 and play with each number individually. Use a tripod and either a remote shutter release or use the timer. If you have Live View, zoom in and manually focus.

That should get you in the right direction. The moon is very bright and will smear with any automatic settings. The full moon is so bright, it washes out the details. The best details are seen in a quarter moon.

Good luck.