Shooting at night i.e. the moon?

jryans10

jryans10

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Hi all,

I think a couple of nights ago I watched an episode of BBC Click, and there was a photographer there taking photographs of the moon and teaching watchers how to do it.

He said something on the lines of "Use an aperture of about f/4".

My question is, surely it would be better to use a low aperture (high number) such as f16.

Does anyone have any idea's what benefits you get of using a high aperture (low number) such as f4 when shooting something such as the moon?

Thanks!
 
To get as fast a shutter speed as possible at the lowest ISO, when shooting at several hundred mm the moon moves through frame really fast ;)

I shoot as the sharpest aperture for the lens I'm using when shooting the moon
 
The moon is incredibly bright, and it also moves very fast. If you use a slow shutter speed, you end up with a bright worm like creature across your frame. You want as fast a shutter speed as you can really.
 
Its also fair to say that at that kind of distance, you could probably shoot at F1.2 and still have it all in focus ;) F4 is fine, gives you a quick enough shutter speed, especially on longer lenses where the movement would be accentuated and allows you to keep ISO's low.
 
Thanks a lot all for the information.

For some reason I forgot the moon moves! :/
 
I recommend starting off with all the 8s - f8, ISO800, 1/800, 800mm. That should give you a good sized, well exposed image. Most people will have problems with the last of these. As well as being brighter than one might think, the Moon is smaller than one might think (hold a 5 pence pice at arm's length - that's roughly the size of the full Moon). So you'll need your longest lens.

Also, don't shoot at Full Moon - it looks too flat. When it's a quarter, or crescent, Moon you'll get a lot more detail.
 
michael23 said:
Interesting, done this before and it didn't help, will try again on the next clear night.
Click to expand...

i may have mis read that post i originally quoted. ive not used program before. spot metering however in aperture priority or shutter priority will be fine.

:)
 
Spot metering + any of the automated modes should be OK as long as you're happy with an 18% grey moon (or compensate).
 
Shoot at whatever the aperture is for your lens that yields the sharpest image. Usually around 2 stops from widest. Depth of field is irrelevant... it's quarter of a million miles away.

Focus manually with a zoomed in live view instead of using auto focus (with AF switched off entirely).

You're also shooting an object lit by the sun, so fast speeds will be needed, even at ISO100. The "Sunny 16" rule is a good starting point, so assuming your lens is sharpest at f5.6... use reciprocity to get the shutter speed...

ISO100, f16, 125th
ISO100 f11, 250th
ISO100, f8, 500th
ISO100 f5.6, 1000th
ISO100, f4, 2000th
ISO100, f2.8, 4000th
etc..


If your camera has a spot meter, you could also just use that, but bear in mind that a spot meter sets an exposure value that will render whatever it is pointed at as a mid grey, so meter using spot, and dial in +0.7 exposure comp and you'll be damned close.
 
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As David's said, the Sunny f/16 rule is a good starting point. If you have the time and inclination, bracket around that starting point and see which setting gives you the result you want.
 
this moon was shot at
Camera Canon EOS 600D
Exposure 025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/18.0
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 200

Have a play with the settings and take loads of shots as the quality of shot can change even with the same settings

7668951050_99c63bf4d2_z.jpg
 
freelanderuk said:
this moon was shot at
Camera Canon EOS 600D
Exposure 025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/18.0
Focal Length 400 mm
ISO Speed 200
Click to expand...

Why f18? You're using an aperture that will make the image softer due to diffraction as well as forcing a very slow shutter speed, which can only impair image sharpness. If you'd have used f8 then you'd have been able to use something like 1/250s

Even with a tripod, a faster shutter speed will help prevent vibration induced blur.
 
On the night when I was taking shots at different settings this was the best of the bunch, if I had one at f8 as sharp I would have shown that
 
f8 should have been noticeably sharper, as the lens would be suffering from less diffraction effects, and you would have had a faster shutter speed. Seems to me this was just chance it was the sharpest. I'm assuming you were using a tripod, so perhaps the actual releasing of the shutter is adding some vibration. Remote release used?
 
Yes I used a tripod and a shutter release , I have had sharper photos at f8 with the same set up but not of the moon, it was the best of the bunch that I took that night
 
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