My first shots at the moon - very happy.

Crotal Bell

Crotal Bell

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Keith
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Had my first stab at photographing the moon tonight. Took some at dusk but the later ones came out better. I had some with more overall detail to the right edge of the moon, but this one really made me happy after I edited the RAW image. It's a cheap bridge camera, and it's a first bash, but this photo has wet my appetite, and while there may be far better shots of the moon achievable, it's made me very pleased tonight. Photography can be so much fun, even on a budget. (I can see the holes where the Clangers live)
Dark moon ISO 100 (2).jpg
 
That's better than anything I've ever got. Well done.

What zoom length is that?
 
Next time you try, dial in some exposure compensation to underexpose from what the camera thinks is the correct exposure. Or (if possible) spot meter off the bright part of the Moon. It looks like the camera is trying to average out the exposure for the whole frame, much of which is black so the lit part of the Moon is quite overexposed.
 
Nod said:
Next time you try, dial in some exposure compensation to underexpose from what the camera thinks is the correct exposure. Or (if possible) spot meter off the bright part of the Moon. It looks like the camera is trying to average out the exposure for the whole frame, much of which is black so the lit part of the Moon is quite overexposed.
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Thanks for the tip. I did get some with all the sun-facing moon in picture but they didn't seem quite so sharp, there was just something about this one I really liked. I'll try what you said next time and see what they're like buddy.
 
I have mixed feelings on spot metering and stopping things from blowing. In the past I usually tried to stop everything blowing but these days I'm happy to let things blow for effect and sometimes of course letting things blow can make for a picture that's closer to what we actually saw and I do quite like the blown over bright effect in that moon picture.
 
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Nice shot for your first try.
The image is a bit overexposed as others have said. There are more clanger holes in the bright area that you cant see:)

What camera / lens are you using?
 
wornish said:
Nice shot for your first try.
The image is a bit overexposed as others have said. There are more clanger holes in the bright area that you cant see:)

What camera / lens are you using?
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It's a Panasonic Lumix FZ82 - budget super zoom bridge camera. Certainly not an astro photography set up, but looking forward to having the moon in a closer orbit to see what more I can get.
 
That's a nice camera and capable of getting detailed clanger holes.

Can I suggest that you try shooting the moon in Manual mode (M)

Try these settings as a starting point.
  • set the aperture to F5.6
  • set the shutter speed to 1/1000th sec
Take a shot

If the image is too dark then change the shutter speed to 1/500th sec.

Have fun.
 
wornish said:
That's a nice camera and capable of getting detailed clanger holes.

Can I suggest that you try shooting the moon in Manual mode (M)

Try these settings as a starting point.
  • set the aperture to F5.6
  • set the shutter speed to 1/1000th sec
Take a shot

If the image is too dark then change the shutter speed to 1/500th sec.

Have fun.
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Have you owned one David? I can't get the timer to work for the shutter, whatever I try there is no way I can get the 2 sec or 10 sec delay to work.
 
Crotal Bell said:
Have you owned one David? I can't get the timer to work for the shutter, whatever I try there is no way I can get the 2 sec or 10 sec delay to work.
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Sorry no. I just looked it up on the web to see if it had a manual mode. Looking at the manual it says you need to select the drive mode to self timer page 123.
 
wornish said:
Sorry no. I just looked it up on the web to see if it had a manual mode. Looking at the manual it says you need to select the drive mode to self timer page 123.
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Aha ! The provided manual only has 62 pages, I'll check out the online one, sounds like it has a lot more detail, many thanks.
 
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I don't know if this will help...

I'm sat look at one of my Panasonics and if I enter the menu system one icon looks like a camera and if I click on that I get a list of options one of which is the self timer.

Good luck finding it.

PS.
It might be possible to put the options you use most in a custom menu. That's what I do with my Panasonic and Sony cameras, this makes things easier and means I only have to go into the menu to format the card and set the clock.
 
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wornish said:
Sorry no. I just looked it up on the web to see if it had a manual mode. Looking at the manual it says you need to select the drive mode to self timer page 123.
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It worked ! Serves me right for not downloading the full manual before. Thanks for your help buddy.
 
woof woof said:
I don't know if this will help...

I'm sat look at one of my Panasonics and if I enter the menu system one icon looks like a camera and if I click on that I get a list of options one of which is the self timer.

Good luck finding it.

PS.
It might be possible to put the options you use most in a custom menu. That's what I do with my Panasonic and Sony cameras, this makes things easier and means I only have to go into the menu to format the card and set the clock.
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David has cracked it mate, you have to press the drive mode option and select self timer. I feel a bit of a prat, I should have downloaded the full manual sooner !!
 
Crotal Bell said:
David has cracked it mate, you have to press the drive mode option and select self timer. I feel a bit of a prat, I should have downloaded the full manual sooner !!
Click to expand...

Yes. Don't know if you have one but here's a drive mode button on my Panasonics below the menu button but I have that and the other three buttons around the central menu button disabled as I use them to move the focus point. If like me you disable the rear buttons to move the focus point you should be able to access the timer through "self timer" in the menu or via a custom menu, if you can have a custom menu on your camera. If you can have a custom menu it's worth thinking about as once you've put the options you want in there chances are you'll hardly ever need to access the full menu.

Anyway. Glad you're sorted :D
 
woof woof said:
Yes. Don't know if you have one but here's a drive mode button on my Panasonics below the menu button but I have that and the other three buttons around the central menu button disabled as I use them to move the focus point. If like me you disable the rear buttons to move the focus point you should be able to access the timer through "self timer" in the menu or via a custom menu, if you can have a custom menu on your camera. If you can have a custom menu it's worth thinking about as once you've put the options you want in there chances are you'll hardly ever need to access the full menu.

Anyway. Glad you're sorted :D
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Yes, there is a custom mode option, something I can look at as another option. There's a lot to learn with these modern cameras. I'm at the point now where I feel comfortable with the basic SS/ISO/F Stop, and how to combine them. I'm sure some of the menu features will help once I start learning those too.
 
You certainly seem to have got to grips with both the settings and taking pictures very quickly.
 
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