shoot the moon: Tonights moon had 3 bands around it; red green red.... I was unable to capture the bands... Getting the moon clear, no problem, but once I start trying to catch the...

TeT Loc: Houston

Tonights moon had 3 bands around it; red green red....

I was unable to capture the bands... Getting the moon clear, no problem, but once I start trying to catch the bands I blow out the moon and the bands come in as a large halo of white...

my best effort is attached ... 1/100 f5.6 1600 ISO

was originally using a big zoom on tripod but switched to a smaller lens so I could hand hold and flick settings easier (wasn't worried too much about moon being super sharp at that time)

some setting advice would be appreciated... looking to capture color of bands without blowing out moon detail

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The moon is lit directly by the sun. Would you use the same exposure settig in broad daylight?
You are way overexposed.
Check out the FAQ section on shooting the moon.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-26498-1.html

TeT Loc: Houston

I get that, was having no problems picking up sharp crisp moon. BUT...
I was trying to get the rings...
The rings would not come up on those settings in the link...

Never could get them to show up until I started dialing up the ISO, and never could bet both rings and any moon detail to come together...

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Lunar Coronal Diffraction:
http://www.amazingsky.ca/Nightscapes/Atmospheric-Phenomena/17531281_QVTD2p/1334595334_Pg8RZrs#!i=1334595334&k=Pg8RZrs

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

TeT wrote:

I get that, was having no problems picking up sharp crisp moon. BUT...
I was trying to get the rings...
The rings would not come up on those settings in the link...

Never could get them to show up until I started dialing up the ISO, and never could bet both rings and any moon detail to come together...

Sorry. Mis-read your post. I had surgery today and on some good really good drugs.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

GoofyNewfie wrote:

The moon is lit directly by the sun. Would you use the same exposure settig in broad daylight?

To a great extent, this is true. If you have ever read the story about how Ansel Adams shot "Moonrise" (over Hernandez), you will see that he used the same information as in GoofyNewfie's response. However, the Earth's atmosphere has a great deal of effect. The higher the altitude, as measured in degrees above the horizon, the brighter the moon. The following site gives some detail on that matter:

http://www.calphoto.com/moon.htm

And the following site tells how to use that information:

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

This is the hard way to calculate your exposure, however. All the data will lead you back to the fact that exposure for a full moon at anything more than 30° above the horizon follows the "Sunny 16" rule, i.e., f/16 with a shutter speed equal (or as close as settings permit) to 1/ISO. For low moons, estimate the altitude above the horizon and decrease exposure ½ stop for every 5° below 30°.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

TeT wrote:

I get that, was having no problems picking up sharp crisp moon. BUT...
I was trying to get the rings...
The rings would not come up on those settings in the link...

Never could get them to show up until I started dialing up the ISO, and never could bet both rings and any moon detail to come together...

It might have been better to stay with standard exposure, shoot in raw and work on the rings in PP.

TeT Loc: Houston

Raw and lightroom to pop the rings makes sense... will try that next time get a full moon low on hazy night...

Would rather catch it all with the click, but the more I dissect it, the more it looks untenable...

lbrandt79 Loc: League City, Tx.

I too always start with the Sunny f16 rule and adjust from there.

profpb Loc: Venice, Florida

Check the histograms for the colors (RGB) you think you see with your various settings.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

There are also Moondogs, rare, but real.
Yes, the day time setting work well. I have taken a few shots with my Panasonic ZS-20 hand held it blends several shots for lower noise. I always post to sharpen and improve the appearance... I have not use my DSLR with long lens for moon shots yet. I purchased a "sun filter" but the sun is a boring subject unless you are NASA.

Using an IR filter (750 nm) I was able to show the IR emissions of the dark part of the moon.

MOON USING ZS20 WITH 650nm IR FILTER

2/23/13 7AM ZS20 f6.4 1/125 iso 200 960mm (35mm base)

TeT Loc: Houston

profpb wrote:

Check the histograms for the colors (RGB) you think you see with your various settings.

Histograms shows the colors present; all stacked on left and across very bottom...

What tool / filter / ? would I use to pop those out a little. I can get one at a time and mask layers.... tedious though...

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Next time put your camera in Live View mode and dial in the exposure levels until you see it on your LCD. What you see is what you get.

TeT Loc: Houston

That too... thanks...

R.G. Loc: Scotland

If the rings are anything like cloud iridescence, the advice I got was to underexpose. I believe the same thing applies to the moon itself - underexpose.

It's possible the rings were so faint that nothing would have worked well. Our eyes can deal with the dynamic range, but sensors have a lot of catching up to do.