What could've made this picture better?

[TCampbell]

I didn't have my tripod at the moment so I tried to hold it steady at full zoom with some foreground (very out of focus on the foreground but nice) but I couldn't steady it enough for the moon to be sharp.

When you get caught without a tripod... look for any solid surface; the hood or roof of a car, a patio table, a bench, etc.

 

[K9Kirk]

I didn't have my tripod at the moment so I tried to hold it steady at full zoom with some foreground (very out of focus on the foreground but nice) but I couldn't steady it enough for the moon to be sharp.

When you get caught without a tripod... look for any solid surface; the hood or roof of a car, a patio table, a bench, etc.

Yes, I do that at times but as it was I wanted to get the palm tree limbs on both sides in the pic (to kind of frame the moon and give it depth) and for that I had to stand out in the open between two houses away from anything to lean on. It's no big deal that it didn't turn out, I had my doubts that it would being handheld and no support. Thanks anyway!

 

[K9Kirk]

Im waiting for a shot that shows the Chinese open cast excavating machines.

Sorry, that one went over my head. Maybe I should switch coffee.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

In my opinion, the best moon surface shots are at half and quarter moon, when the sun cast longer shadows of the craters. The best moon with background pictures, are shot with moon light. Unfortunately, this wipes out the moon's surface features.

There are some daylight photo that capture the moon surface and scenery and it certainly can be done with post processing cut and paste.

Still moon light seems to have a quality all it own. After all it is 1.3 seconds older.

 

[DarkShadow]

My favorite moon shots are the waxing Crescent moon not the full moon, like one i did a while back.

 

[Photo Lady]

This is what BH photo says about the lens:
"*500mm ultra-telephoto lens for wildlife, sports and general photography
*Upgraded optical design and multi-coated lens elements provide sharp, high contrast images with minimal flaring. "
I would think it would or should give me a sharper image. I'll clean the lens and check my settings, do some bracketing tonight to see if it changes or not. Thanks!
Edit: I just found out my diopter was off if that makes a difference.

i hope you shot the moon last night.. the sugar super moon..it was gorgeous

 

[Photo Lady]

My favorite moon shots are the waxing Crescent moon not the full moon, like one i did a while back.View attachment 169535

wow awesome.. are you sure your not right there on the moon..... lol

 

[Photo Lady]

Ok, tonight's moon in RAW with some post tweaking. Much better I think, I can see some crates (edit: Ha, crates. Crates of beer around the moon, woot! I meant to say craters.) around the top edge now! F11, ISO 100, 1/100.View attachment 169461

wow great.. could be wine in those crates..

 

[LRLala]

Good job with the subsequent picture!

 

[Soocom1]

Couple of things.
I actually have the really long 500mm from
Vivitar and the 500mm Russian version of the mirror lens.

In both cases I found the M24 mount to be an issue.
Especially with newer cameras. Both had the M42 for first a Minolta MD then Minolta AF mount then later a Canon EF mount.
In both instances, the lens doesn't quite hit infinity perfectly. This may be the machining of the M42, but its always been an issue with the lenses.
Except they make some really cool Bokeh

 

[Original katomi]

Hi new here but not to Luna photography. I have not read all the posts so I will ask
1 how did you trip shutter? Eg contact or remote I used the 10 sec delay but you have to allow for moon movement
Did you try several settings of appature and speed I find 100 iso the best
Suggestions have a try using b&w not colour cos you can loose the grain/noise better ( sorry no digital vs film intended just the way I think)
When I find my old pics on the pc I will try and load some for you to view

 

[Original katomi]

nice

 

[Scott Whaley]

Much better.

 

[wfooshee]

Yes, if you were focusing by looking through the viewfinder, and your diopter was off, then that might affect the focus. My advice is to set your lens to "infinity" and with a moderate aperture, everything will be in focus.

Since you're using a tripod (good) your shutter speed can be practically anything faster than 1/60 of a second. Try 1/160 and use a cable release or set the self timer for 2 or 3 seconds so you're not jiggling the tripod with the shutter release.

Use the histogram to judge exposure, not the LCD.

I marked this post "disagree" for only one reason... I have several lenses that don't stop at the actual infinity setting, but the mechanism continues. Whacking the focus ring all the way that direction is not necessarily a good infinity focus.

As for diopter being off in the viewfinder, you could still find the sharpest focus by going back and forth around it. Even so, one should adjust the diopter by adjusting it to focus the readouts in the viewfinder.