Shooting The Moon Failures

You guys/girls are good. I printed all replys to this post and worked on it when I could. Finally, using the information obtained here I was able to get a pretty good shot one morning. More importantly, I was able to determine that what I thought was spot metering wasn't, that mirror lock up is what I want vs bulb, that I need to cool the lens, etc(I know, read the manual better). What matters to me is that I was able to get some shots like what's been posted here. Ok, maybe not that good but I'm still evolving. The goal is to get one that I can print to 13x19 and hang on my wall.


This reply is simply to thank everyone who took the time to help me. It's genuinely appreciated. gary





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Nice one, Gary. You chose a good-looking phase. You must have woken up pretty early in the morning to capture that :)


Is it with the 500mm? Do you mind posting shutter, iso, etc?

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Camera: Canon EOS 450D, Lens 70-200 2.8 IS USM, mounted on tripod, no mirror lock up, using remote cable release!


Exp: 1/4000 @ 4.5, 0EV, Exp Program: Manual, Metering: Spot, ISO: 400, Focal Length: 200mm


Cropped and applied grey scale to the image. I'm obviously out this 'threads' league!


[:D]

Thanks Jon. Nothing chosen about the phase, just dumb luck at 0430 CST. I usually walk the dogs about 0500 so it's not that early to me. It's interesting in that I tried some on the back suspended wood deck and just my heartbeat while looking through the viewfinder (not touching the camera or tripod) would shake the lens. Yeah, I've got to get my hypertension under control. Anyways, I went to the front concrete step and shot with mirror locked up and IR remote. I've never used the live view you suggestedso that's another step for me to take. I did shoot with the 500/f4 without the extender but may try adding the 1.4x next time. What you see is pretty heavily cropped so I think that if my goal is to print out at 13x19 I'd need a few more pixels to look sharp. Here's what this one was shot at:


5d MkII


500/f4 with IS


AV mode, f/4


1/3200 shutter speed


0 EV


800 ISO


IS activated

Did you try a lower shutter speed (with lower iso and/or stopped down a bit)? Seems like on a tripod, 1/100 or so should be no problem.


Proof is in the pudding though. :)

this was my attempt yesterday while there was a RING around it pretty cool. Used a rebel t1i and a canon 70-200 2.8, no IS, MF, I dont have a remote so i put a timer shot, lol. On tripod, doing about F8 and like 1/60, iso200, at 200mm but dont take my word for it, i dont remember the settings correctly. I only cropped it photoshop, nothing extra. and this is a pic uploaded to facebook, which is the #1 destroyer of pictures, lol.


So elmo, im out of this league also. lol





http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs058...._4980895_n.jpg

One problem with shooting with a long lens is that your movement, ANDD that of the moon in motion mean that you need a fast enough shutter speed. I use various techniques but always shoot in Manual mode and change shutter speeds to get the best exposure. f/8 or lower, ISO 400 are my usual start points.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/...0a47cc1e_o.jpg

Here's my 1st attempt at a moon shot. It was much more difficult than I imagined to achieve critical focus! This crop makes up about 10% of the entire frame. Comments appreciated :-)


Here's the goods:


Focus was done manually using 10X Live View


Canon EOS 50D, Manual Exposure, 1/1600, f/8, ISO 400, Tripod Mounted EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM


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Very nice, Mark.


If you think getting focus right was tough with live view, imagine how tough it was before live view (not to mention shooting dim non-moon night sky objects).

The original question mentioned shooting the full moon. As you can see in photos posted in this thread, partial moon photos tend to be more interesting. The most visually striking part is along the terminator, the edge between the moon's night and day. This is where craters have dramatic light and shadow. Full moon photos tend to look flat and featureless.