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To: Vermont Lt

Time to catch the super moon is while there is daylight.


28 posted on 11/12/2016 7:57:02 PM PST by Psycho_Runner (I never voted for change, I prefer folding money.)
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To: BenLurkin

If possible, it works best to shoot moon pictures while still in full daylight or as it gets darker. I’ve gotten plenty nice shots during daytime while the moon is still visible.

At night, if you use auto exposure, meter on the moon itself, if you meter on a dark sky the moon will be just a bright white spot with no detail.

I usually do moon shots at ISO200 and either f8 or f11, adjust shutter speed to get good exposure. Often on a full moon I can still sometimes get shutter speeds of 1/350 or 1/500. that’s at f8, f11 would mean slower shutter speed. That said, depending on the lens, you can sometimes get good shots at wider apertures like f4, but most lenses tend to have a “sweet spot” around f8 to f16. The Vivitar 200mm I used to use did great at f8 or f11, but f4 sucked...I finally just wore it out...

Always use a tripod and timer. My Pentax has 2 second and 12 second timer options, I use 12 second or a remote trigger. I might try it depending on cloud cover, we’re supposed to be getting partly cloudy here, so I’ll have to look outside and see.

I try to get in a place with the least ambient light, same as looking through a telescope. Give yourself about 15 minutes in the dark to let your eyes adjust, no flashlights to kill your night vision. A flashlight with a red filter can be used and will not kill night vision.

Also, with a full moon it’s not always mandatory to use a tripod, I’ve shot plenty full moon pictures without one but I prefer to use it if I can. I usually still try to find something for a steady rest, car roof or whatever. Even a monopod helps a lot.

The main thing is to keep the shutter speed above the focal length of your lens. With my 135mm lens I always try to keep the shutter speed above 1/125. I can still get pictures without motion blur at 125, but I prefer to go 1/180 if possible, even if I have to bump the ISO a notch. with a 200 mm lens, 1/180 works well, I prefer 1/250 or higher. If you’re using a wide angle lens, like a 50mm or 28mm, anything above 1/60 will usually eliminate any blur from user motion. With current image stabilization, some cameras can do well at 1/45. Don’t depend on it though...

I use a Pentax K30, it can get nice shots with little noise as high as ISO1600, ISO400 does great, I use ISO 800 for a lot of early morning or fog situation low light shots with no trouble but try to avoid ISO 1600 if I can, it starts to get a little grainy especially in low light conditions. Many of the newer DSLR cameras will do a much better job at high ISO than those 10 years ago, but I always try to keep it as low as possible.

General photography - not just moon -

Always take a bunch of shots, not just one or two. I find almost every time one shot stands out, even if I get a chance to take 20 shots of one bird just sitting there...minor changes in light levels, focus, and background (leaves, shadows and such) can make a definite difference between two shots taken a couple of seconds apart. That sucked using film, I had a great tendency to try and make every shot count. With digital it’s more forgiving, I can just delete anything I don’t want to show off. A roll of 36 exposure film was about 2 bucks I think, then developing was around $5 or 6...plus the wait time...Now I can see it almost instantly, and delete whatever sucks. Never delete anything on the camera, wait till you get it on the computer to have a good close look at 100% resolution. Make sure you don’t have a finger in front of the lens and take the damn lens cap off...No filters are required with DSLR, most already have a UV filter built into the sensor so not even a UV filter is needed. The only reason to have one is to protect the lens from dust and scratches.

Oh, back to moon shots, you might also try a couple of monochrome (black & white) shots. It makes very little difference with the moon, but the subtle difference can make a nice shot. You can change it to B&W with software or with an on camera setting. I usually do the least digital manipulating as I can get by with, usually just crop it.


29 posted on 11/12/2016 10:38:52 PM PST by Paleo Pete (President Trump. I can live with that...)
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