Beginner Moon photography - first attempt

JamesM93

JamesM93

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James
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My first attempt at moon photography.

Nikon D5200
55-300mm lens.
ISO 500
Shutter speed 1/125s
Aperture f5.6

I am after some advice on what I can do better, please. I could not figure out how to keep the shutter open for longer than 30 seconds with Bulb mode, without a shutter release remote so I didn't use it.

DSC_0161_01_zpstwnds135.jpg
 
The moon is very bright object in the night sky. It does not need a long exposure. Google it.

But depending on the phase and looking at this photo you probably could have gone for f8 and 1/250.
 
I am totally unsure of what I have to do in order to photograph some of the moon's detail (and an earth shine would also be nice).

The longest range lens I have is a 55-300mm VR lens.
 
I've just been out an shot the moon. I used 400mm and a 2X teleconverter on a crop sensor and still didn't fill the frame! You may need to think about how to get closer...

Settings I used were 1/50th second, F11, ISO200. The are probably slightly under exposed but bring out more detail on the moon surface as a result. Will post some pics after I have processed them...
 
Thank you, WattieTattie.

It's lucky that the night is still clear and the moon is in a different (and better) place now so I am going to get set up and go back out in a minute to try to get a better shot, using those settings.
 
Or hand held with vr on but a tripod should always be your first choice.
Converting to black-and-white white makes it look a little more pleasing on the eye too.
Try the settings I suggested and alter the shutter speed up and down and then analyse the pictures to see what you prefer
 
Couple of things to be aware off - the moon actually moves quite quickly. Use your live view and you'll see this. Regarding focusing, use live view and zoom in (+ in liveview), to get focus.
Start at 1/250 shutter speed and move to quicker speeds. Also try to alter your fstop, i.e. start at f8, then f11, etc.

Take plenty of photos, you only need a few or even one, to get it right.
 
TimmyG said:
I've just been out an shot the moon. I used 400mm and a 2X teleconverter on a crop sensor and still didn't fill the frame! You may need to think about how to get closer...

Settings I used were 1/50th second, F11, ISO200. The are probably slightly under exposed but bring out more detail on the moon surface as a result. Will post some pics after I have processed them...
Click to expand...

You will always need to crop heavily into the picture unless you have friends at NASA that can get you a couple of days on the ISS
 
Thanks again for the advice, guys.
I followed WattieTattie's advice and I got a result I am happy with, although I would like to improve on the brightness of the subject. I think I am going to need a slightly bigger lens or at least a teleconverter to achieve the stunning colour result that chuckles has just posted.
I will definitely be experimenting with this to try to get better images. My main interest is in wildlife (macro) photography, although I am also getting in to astrophotography and also aircraft photography.

DSC_0199_zpsugo2rrxs.jpg
 
I know you're getting mixed messages here, but I really wouldn't slow down the shutter speed.
You used 1/400 which is a good starting point.
but ISO 100 is a bit low, so as mentioned above, up that rather than reducing the shutter speed - try 400 or even up to 800 - I've got good shots up to iso1600
you could also open up the aperture a bit too, maybe 7.1 or even 6.3.
(also consider spot metering because of the brightness of the moon vs the dark of the sky)

But it was also mentioned above that the moon is very bright, but it also moves very quickly too. If you frame up the moon on a long zoom, you can very clearly watch it traverse the viewfinder - and ever since I saw that I've kept the speeds up in my moons shots.

Everyone has their own settings of course, and you might find a lot of trial and error to suit your camera/lens combo, but good luck :)
 
1/250th // ISO400 // Taken through a telescope with an adaptor, I think the aperture is f8 equivalent. It surprised me me the first time i looked at it through a long lens or telescope how quickly it actually moves across the sky, This image is a bit soft as the 550D wasn't great at even remotely high ISO so theres a fair bit of NR been done which has killed the detail in the lunar seas. I'll get the telescope out again soon in the next couple of weeks when the moon is a bit fuller and get a couple more with my new camera!

 
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