Moon over Tucson: Canon Sx30 IS. At full zoom, the moon is larger than the view finder. Played around with manual settings, but I need some software to sharpen the images. I use manual...

Blue Rider 66

Canon Sx30 IS. At full zoom, the moon is larger than the view finder. Played around with manual settings, but I need some software to sharpen the images. I use manual focus because the auto focus isn't sharp on moon shots. You can see a good image come and go with really sharp craters but have not been able to duplicate that yet. All in all, not to bad for point an shoot. Any ideas on how to get a better focus?

One first shots, windy. Tripod and 2 second delay to stop camera shake.

Aif Force A-10 Warthog returning from night exercises. Got 'im!

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Sorry, no advice to offer, but I love the shot with the airplane!

Wanda Krack Loc: Tennessee, USA

What were your camera settings? The moon is traveling so fast that you need to shoot at least 1/250th of a sec. and for depth, at least f-16..........this was advised by a pro. photographer to me several years ago. I sharpen mine in post-processing to bring out the crater's more, as well as add some contrast. However, I have attempted to shoot this current moon full from Tennessee, and I am not able to get a sharp image. I'm suspecting either the atmosphere is not as clear as it seems, or something's going on with my lens. You did well for using a point and shoot!! Try converting the image to a black and white, add just a tad of contrast, and then use the unsharp mask, or whatever sharpening tool is in your software. See if that helps. I really like the image with the plane!! If you live near an airport, you could (with much patience) get some interesting moon shots with planes!!

joelhaynes Loc: Bozeman, MT

Blue Rider 66 wrote:

Canon Sx30 IS. At full zoom, the moon is larger than the view finder. Played around with manual settings, but I need some software to sharpen the images. I use manual focus because the auto focus isn't sharp on moon shots. You can see a good image come and go with really sharp craters but have not been able to duplicate that yet. All in all, not to bad for point an shoot. Any ideas on how to get a better focus?

This shot was taken with the same camera (SX30 IS). Tripod, f/5.8, 1/250 sec, ISO 80. Auto exposure using spot metering, and autofocus centered right dead center on the moon. 2 sec delay to minimize vibrations. No wind. Image was cropped and adjusted using Aperture 3 (mainly levels, highlights, and shadows). No additional sharpening was applied because the image was already sharpened in the camera in the JPEG conversion. Additional sharpening just resulted in noise so I didn't use it.

Please note that craters are only prominent near the terminator (boundary of sunlight and darkness on the face of the moon). A full moon will show few craters. Anything less than full moon will show nice craters along the terminator.

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

I shot the moon with a Sony A77 through a Tamron 70-300MM lens at 300mm with a 2X telextender. Post process work was done in Photoshop CS5 basicaly croping.

Moon shot f11 ISO100 SS125

Picdude Loc: Ohio

That airplane shot is a keeper no matter what. Never saw a Warthog look so good ;)

CamObs Loc: South America (Texas)

Didn't know Warthogs were stationed at Davis Monthan. Nice.

joelhaynes Loc: Bozeman, MT

Blue Rider 66 wrote:

Canon Sx30 IS. At full zoom, the moon is larger than the view finder. Played around with manual settings, but I need some software to sharpen the images. I use manual focus because the auto focus isn't sharp on moon shots. You can see a good image come and go with really sharp craters but have not been able to duplicate that yet. All in all, not to bad for point an shoot. Any ideas on how to get a better focus?

I just realized when you said full zoom that you really meant full optical plus digital zoom. The SX30 IS has a great optical zoom but, in my opinion, you should disable the digital zoom. Digital zoom kicks in at the end of the optical zoom and works by cropping the image and magnifying the central portion of the image on the sensor. It has to interpolate (make up) pixels and there is no resolution gain. It just gives you a bigger, fuzzier image. I prefer to use optical zoom only on a P&S and do any cropping on the computer.

joelhaynes Loc: Bozeman, MT

Brucej67 wrote:

I shot the moon with a Sony A77 through a Tamron 70-300MM lens at 300mm with a 2X telextender. Post process work was done in Photoshop CS5 basicaly croping.

Nice shot. Good resolution and contrast. Shows what a larger sensor and good telephoto glass can do versus a small sensor P&S.

ScubaDude Loc: Chandler, AZ

steve_stoneblossom wrote:

Sorry, no advice to offer, but I love the shot with the airplane!

For some reason the old song 'Fly Me To The Moon" seems an appropriate title for the photo . . .

Blue Rider 66

Settings: f/7.1, 1/30th sec, ISO 100, digital zoom 3.375, 150mm.

Wanda Krack Loc: Tennessee, USA

Thanks Blue Rider66. Lots of differences in camera settings I can tell. you might try going up on your speed. The moon is really moving fast, and you want to get the best depth of field you can, which means going up on your f-stop as well. You might have to increase the iso in order to do both tho.

Blue Rider 66

Thanks Wanda,
I took several pictures last night at moon rise.
The moon breaks over the mountains east of the city, really neat. I will post as soon as I can. I tried several settings but have a hard time keeping all the selections straight. I will keep at it.