Photographing the moon

[rich888]

Last night I looked up in the clear sky and noticed the moon was very well illuminated and crystal clear, so sorely wished I had a decent level of equipment and experience to take a half decent pic.

I've tried on several occasions in the past to take a half decent photograph of the moon using a Canon S100 camera and have failed miserably, ending up with either a blur or a blob that looks more like the sun. I no longer own the S100 and have replaced it with a RX100, though think I may need a full blown DSLR and telephoto lens to achieve a decent photograph.

Do any PH camera enthusiasts have any experience of taking good quality photos of the moon, and if so, could they perhaps provide me with a few tips and tricks to achieving this?

[rich888]

GravelBen said:

Full Moon by gravelben, on Flickr

This is probably my best ever moon shot - Nikon D7000 with 400mm lens, 1/320 @ f/8. Pretty big crop at 400mm, a longer lens would have been better.

It was an unusually big bright moon, I was shooting handheld but sitting down and bracing against a railing for stability. I tried using larger aperture and faster shutter, but that lens is sharpest at f/8 and I managed to stay steady enough for at least some shots at the slower speed.

On a calm night I expect you would get more consistent results using a good tripod and remote release/timer to reduce camera shake, but I only have a cheap lightweight tripod and it was blowing a gale so that wasn't an option.

As others have said, spot metering and/or manual control is needed if you don't want to end up with a bright blurry blob.

Interested to see what techniques others use, hopefully I will learn something too!

Wow, what a stunning pic, and that is with you shooting handheld, am very impressed!

I have a decent quality tripod from years ago for use with my 35mm film Canon A1 which I no longer use. Have been considering purchasing a DSLR such as a 5D Mk3 but am looking for alternatives.

Edited by rich888 on Thursday 9th October 00:47

[rich888]

Hey, can I just say thank you to everyone who has replied and the fantastic photos and advice that followed which is what I was looking for.

Some terrific suggestions on how to make the pics rather unique rather than full on was very helpful because I had never considered doing this.

Was very impressed to note that the high level of detail on some of these photos is quite astonishing. I need to tell my lad that the moon really isn't made of cheese!

It was also very interesting to see that pics can even be taken successfully on a camera phone, though I don't think I will be trying that on my antique 3GS.

As for shooting the moon, it looks like it's received its fair share of impact damage over the years judging by the number of craters on the surface.

Once again, thank you for your replies

[rich888]

Brilliant pics

[rich888]

Just a reminder to everyone that there will be a rare super moon lunar eclipse this weekend (September 27th and 28th).

More info at: http://www.space.com/30427-supermoon-total-lunar-e...

[rich888]

Ed_P said:

I did this one on 3rd December. Canon 300mm F2.8 plus 2x tele-converter on a 5D3; 1/160th at F9, ISO 100. I kept increasing the shutter speed until it looked right, then a bit of contrast adjustment, sharpening and a square crop.

Gibbous Moon by Ed Phillips 01, on Flickr

Now that is one sharp pic of the moon in full glory, and just a quick reminder that there will be a rare super moon lunar eclipse this weekend (27th and 28th September).

I tried taking a few pics tonight using my RX100 but I'm ashamed to say that the pics just aren't sharp enough to be posted on here, seems a visit down to John Lewis or Jessops for a better camera and lense may be on the cards for tomorrow...

[rich888]

Have to say that some stunningly good photographs of the moon have been posted on here over the last few days by various more skilled members which further strengthens my justification with the wife for needing a better camera and zoom lens.

I took a few pics a few nights ago using the RX100 on manual focus which I was moderately pleased with, pics are shown below:




Last night at around 8pm I was driving home and spotted the moon in full glory, so pulled over, switched the RX100 to manual mode and tried taking a few pics, which when I viewed tonight were totally black so was totally unimpressed with the pics, however, when I applied a few filters the results rather surprised me, does the moon have an atmosphere?

Pics shown below:

[rich888]

LC2 said:

Around Midnight, the Full Moon in all it's glory

Full Moon 28 Sept 2015 by Tim White, on Flickr

Around 4am - The Blood Moon. This has had a little cropping and noise reduction (oh, and a plane removed!).
Either AF was struggling or the there was so little light that the blood moon shots have all come out a bit soft. ISO 3200 and a little NR isn't going to have helped either. I guess I need a lens faster than f/6.3 to get a really good shot when there is so little light available.

Blood Moon 28 Sept 2015 by Tim White, on Flickr

Tim I have to say that the first pic of the moon you took is staggeringly sharp with quite exceptional detail, might I say is very impressive indeed, and this is the type of pic which I would like to achieve once I've bitten the bullet and purchased an SLR with a decent zoom lens, as for taking pics of the blood red moon, think I will leave that to the experts on here.

[rich888]

ExPat2B said:

Managed to miss the eclipse due to a fog bank. Mutter. Its been today before I can even bring myself to look at the test shots I took earlier that evening. Here is my attempt to get as much sharpness and dynamic range without compromising fine detail.

Moon_Extreme by Nature Ist, on Flickr

Brilliant photograph of the moon and the detail is quite outstanding.

I took several photographs of the moon a few nights ago using my 700D and 55-250mm lens and really don't think it has the necessary reach for optimum focus. Has anyone on here used a telescope and a DSLR to achieve the necessary magnification?

In the meantime I've uploaded one of the pics on the moon I took and am somewhat intrigued by the plume of white hot gasses or 'other' shown to the middle left as outlined in the photo, has anyone else taken a few sharper photos?

[rich888]

maccboy said:

rich888 said:

I took several photographs of the moon a few nights ago using my 700D and 55-250mm lens and really don't think it has the necessary reach for optimum focus. Has anyone on here used a telescope and a DSLR to achieve the necessary magnification?

This was taken with my 70D and 55-250mm:




It was a full moon the following night but full cloud too!

Very sharp pic, are you using a tripod or just bracing yourself when taking the shot. I have mounted my camera on a tripod but find it difficult to manually focus and I noticed the shutter speed looks plenty high enough to hand hold the camera. Am sure I was using f5.6 or thereabouts at ISO 100.

Yes I noticed it was full moon yesterday but also very cloudy which was a shame because I was quite looking forward to having another go at taking the shots.

[rich888]

missingman said:

It's probably been mentioned but full moons don't always produce the best images as the shadows aren't anywhere near as strong as at other times.

1/4 to 1/2 full is always worth a go.

Thanks for the tip, will wait till we have a clear sky then give it a go.

And to the two previous posters, nice sharp pics of the moon, seems like a longer lens is the best bet, though that will have to wait for a while.

[rich888]

Looks like it's a full moon tonight and clear skies so might be a good opportunity to take a few pics.

I've tried taking a few photos tonight with the 700D and 55-250mm lens and this is the best I could come up with at f8 and 1/250th (is cropped!).

[rich888]

It's time to resurrect this thread due to the fact that tonight is the longest lunar eclipse of the century, and will see the moon turn a deep shade of crimson, making it appear as if it is drenched in blood, aka the 'Blood Moon'.

So whip out your cameras and zoom lenses, read a few tips and tricks on here, and get shooting from about 8:30pm tonight.

[rich888]

Well that was a bit of a disaster, we have potentially one of the best lunar eclipses in our lifetime and what happens after weeks of clear skies and hot sunny weather, it chucks it down with a solid blanket of cloud... bl**dy typical

[rich888]

Took these photos of the moon a few weeks ago using a Sony RX10M3 which I am mighty pleased with:


Hand-held at 600mm, 1/250th, F/4, ISO 100


Hand-held at 600mm + digital zoom, 1/320th, F/5, ISO 100


Hand-held at 600mm + digital zoom, 1/320th, F/5, ISO 100

These are unedited photos straight out of the camera and haven't been cropped.

Note: Click on the thumbnails to see the larger version.