Photographing the Moon

[richard_martin10]

<p>This evening while out for a dog walk I noticed the Moon was exceptionally bright and full with lots of visible detail. I ran inside and grabbed my 40D, 400mm 5.6 L and tripod. I took a number of shots but they all came out with no detail, just a bright white disc without the dark features visible on the surface. How do you shoot the Moon ( no jokes please!) without it just turning into a featureless white disc?</p>

[andre_mcnichols]

<p>You're photographing sun lit object against a black background, evaluative metering will most likely overexpose the moon. Try spot metering, works a lot better.</p>

[chrisjb]

<p>Try manual exposure, auto settings often don`t work well, it is very briht and moves quickly, 100ISO f8~11 125~250th sec. a starting point .. HTH</p>

[Stock-Photos]

<p><a href="http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/howtophoto/index.htm">http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/howtophoto/index.htm</a></p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Sunny 16 rule works perfectly, and it was the closest the moon comes to the earth for 12 months, probably why it looked bigger and brighter, it was!</p>

<p>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16</p>

<p>Take care, Scott.</p>

[harold_motte]

<p>Just did this last night. Manual settings: f/11; ISO 100; 1/100th second/ auto whith balance.<br>

IF you want a little blue moon put the white balance on Tungsten. Your camara should af using the<br>

center dot focus point.<br>

best wishes.</p>

[len_kocurek]

<p>I've done it a few times. If you look at the No Words thread, you will see my latest moon photo as well as photos from other members. I used a 5D with the 100-400mm lens and 1.4 extender, so I had to manual focus. I take a series of shots, each time changing the shutter speed. A bunch of them look like a white circle but a few of them come out with detail. My settings were ISO 100, shutter 1/640, F8 and spot metering. I took the shot from an open window, hand held with the camera resting on the window. I also adjust the Shadows/Highlights in PS. Keep trying, and good luck!</p>

[chrisjb]

<p>My effort last night to was a rush job, moon was brighter than normal, this was ef100~300 + TC 1.4 (kept jumping ro `00`) hand held so should have been better on tripod, exposure may help tho :) </p><div></div>

[Mike Howard]

<p>I always use Luney 11 rule, 1/filmspeed at f11. I still have to develop my shots from last night, hopefully they turned out ok.</p>

[clgriffin]

<p>Here's what I shot last night. I kept checking the playback to see the results, when I found a setting that looked good I shot a bunch. You can use the screen on the 40D that way.</p><div></div>

[j_smith6]

<p>It's so bright and big because its in the closest position to the Earth since 15 years.</p>

[richard_martin10]

<p>Thank you all for your suggestions, I'll give it a try tonight if the conditions are clear. I spend so much time on my racing and railroad pics that I sometimes forget about some of the other cool stuff to shoot!</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Yes, the moon was unusual -- see <a href="../casual-conversations-forum/00RmHX">thread</a> and <a href="../no-words-forum/00Rmbs">other thread</a> .</p>

[john_hennessy4]

<p>Found this in my archive of miscellany:<br>

==================================================<br>

Lunar Photography Exposure Guide (@f/16)<br /> <br /> ISO Full 1st Thick Thin<br /> Moon Gibbous Quarter Cresc Crescent Earthshine<br /> 25 1/15 1/8 1/4 1/2 1 <br /> 50 1/30 1/15 1/18 1/4 1/2 <br /> 100 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/8 1/4 <br /> 200 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/8 40 to 80 sec.<br /> 400 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 20 to 40 sec.<br /> 800 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 10 to 20 sec.<br /> 1600 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 5 to 10 sec.<br /> 3200 1/2000 1/1000 1/300 1/250 1/125 2 to 5 sec.<br /> <br /> <br /> Exposure Times vs. ISO Film Speeds<br /> <br /> The speed (ISO) of the film being used for lunar photography determines the exposure times due to the varying brightness phases of the moon. The higher the speed (ISO) of the film, the shorter the exposure. The drawback of using super high speed films such as the ISO 3200 is that the finished pictures tend to be very grainy especially when enlarged. The following table gives the exposure times (in seconds) for various speed films at different phases of the moon. Due to atmospheric turbulence and light pollution, it is best to 'bracket' your exposures. Bracketing consists of taking exposures on both sides of the recommended shutter speed.<br>

=======================================================<br>

I don't see how to use a fixed-width font so the table stays squared up.</p>