lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Autofocus on the sharp edge.
Spot meter, underexpose by 2 stops, adjust from there.

amehta Loc: Boston

:thumbup: :thumbup:

mikeg492 Loc: WIlmington, NC

Set the camera to manual for, crank the lens out as far as it will go. You don't need the tripod because that lens has vibration reduction build it. Turn the dial on top to p snap away.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

Agree

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

Focus on a light post or shine your flash light against a tree, auto focus and then switch to manual. You're done.

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

check out some of Ervs images hes great at moon shots and gives good advise

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

DavidRB, Rongnongno - infinity focus on a zoom lens is not a precise "setting." Telling someone to "set the lens to infinity" shows a lack of understanding of how zoom lenses work. The infinity "point" varies with the focal length. There is no "infinity stop" to set the lens to.

Rongnongno - while Gdbrede may need some help with camera technical skills, you most certainly could benefit from learning some basic fundamental people skills.

Gdbrede, ptcanon3ti was mostly right. F8 is a good aperture to use, your lens is likely to be sharpest. The moon will move if your exposure is too long, so if you set your ISO to 200, you should use a shutter speed of 1/500 or so- I would bracket from 1/200 to 1/640 just to be sure.

The bigger issue is that even with a 300mm lens, it may not have the resolution to show all the craters and details - if that is what you are after. And this lens is not at its sharpest at maximum zoom.

The suggestion to use a tripod and cable/wireless shutter release is good advice.

You will need to carefully focus, either in the viewfinder, but it would be better to turn on live view and focus manually using the rear preview screen.

The D5200 has several focusing modes accessible through thec camera's menu system. What you are looking to do is access the focus modes - and pick auto or continuous from between the choices (Automatic, Single, Continuous or Manual), then select the number of focus points - single is what you are looking for. When you look in the viewfinder, you will see a little box which indicates your focus point. You can use the multi-function button on the back of the camera to move that point around, by pressing the shutter halfway, which will let you access the function on the big button on the back.

Here is a video that might help

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03soV1LxwYQ

Rongnongno - if you can't respond to a newbie's question without being disrespectful and condescending, and at least provide a useful (and accurate) answer, then don't bother and let others who have manners and knowledge respond. You are certainly not beyond learning the fundamentals of photography yourself, it seems. Have a nice day, all!

Donkas1946 Loc: Southern NH

Why is there always one that has to do their best to ruin a good thing. I have posted on here twice and have gotten some good information and assistance and it has worked out very well. Then you run across someone like this and it takes most of the enjoyment out of it. Very distracting to say the least. If you don't want to help then don't but why waste everyone else's time. Just my two cents. Now moving on to learn something.

karlw Loc: Enfield Connecticut

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

kschwegl Loc: Orangeburg, NY

I've had the same problem. Are you trying to use auto focus at 300mm? Try auto focusing at about 150mm, then go to 300mm and auto focus. Solved the problem. As stated before, remote ("cable" release is a must.)

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I can sympathize. I don't even try, but here are some articles - too many articles - about how to get good shots.

http://www.google.com/search?q=photographing+the+moon+dslr&oq=photographing+the+moon&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.8715j0j4&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

Beemerboy

OH! That moon? Now I understand why you need a telephoto.

RAK Loc: Concord Ca

I usually don't butt in on stuff like this however, you sir are begining to tire me. Is it your job to berate, and trivialize others? If I had your manners someone would have shot me by now. I can tell by your whole set up that you are one of the more important people. Please excuse those others that post in your forum for being less than your self. If however you would like to meet face to face and discuss life I would more than relish the opportunity to be enlightend by your elevated stature in life.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

And welcome here, gd!
As with any forum, I'm afraid you'll have to take the good with the bad, and sometimes (often) it may look bad when it's all good, because we don't have the benefit of body language, facial expression or tone of voice in the written/printed word.
If/when I perceive that a remark is snide, rude, unhelpful, I tend to ignore it, or if I'm in a good mood, I will say in my sweetest computer keyboard voice, "Thank you very much" and leave it at that. :evil:

OK, now to your being a rookie. Even those on this forum with the most knowledge about many different cameras and even more different shooting situations, once were a rookie.
Some may not even remember, there are in fact photographers here who took their first photos when they were children, and learning is more like a game then. Oh, if only our brains could remain as agile as they were when we were only 5 years old... No such luck!

I don't know either your camera or the lens you have on it, but some things are the same for all cameras, and also for all lenses, right across the board and right across the brandnames.
One of these things is the indicator for focusing at infinity: it there are distance markings on your camera, the distance will be noted in feet or metres (or both) with the last mark looking like a number 8 on its side. That's infinity. Many lenses will give the best performance, if you go all the way to inifinity, then take it back just a tiny bit.
This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAp22s0qsv8 is a video about unboxing the 55-300mm lens, but if you go to that page, on the right hand side are several other videos listed about this lens. Have a snoop and see what you can learn. YouTube is great, if you don't understand the video the first time, you can play it again. If you don't understand it at all, go to another one.

What I did spot in that video, is that there is a switch on the side of the lens, I expect it could be for manual or auto-focus, as one of my Olympus lenses has such a switch, but that switch could also be the reason you can't get the moonshot you'd like to have.

gd, keep learning, getting to know your camera, your lens and the art of photography. Don't try to do it all at once, especially in the beginning, take baby-steps.
Take notes, so you can find information back.
Above all: Have fun!! Laugh at your mistakes, be awed by the good photos that come out of your camera, after all, YOU took them!

coondog Loc: Lost in Vermont

Try this:
1) Compose the shot..that is, frame the moon in the viewfinder, and zoom in or out until you like what you see.
2) Set the camera to manual.
3) Set your ISO to 100
4) Set your aperture to f/8
5) Set your exposure (shutter speed) to 1/40 (of a second)
6) If your lens has VR..turn it off. The switch is located on the lens itself.
Use a tripod with remote shutter release (to prevent camera shake)
If you don't have a remote shutter release,,use the cameras shutter timer control..don't manually release the shutter.

Good luck