Blue Moon tonight: Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do...

baygolf Loc: DMV

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

Raven5278 Loc: Rockland MA

baygolf wrote:

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

I shoot the full moon with my Nikon D7000 using a Sigma 150-500mm lens - 1/250, f8, ISO 100 on a tripod. I have good results with this set up.

Raven5278 Loc: Rockland MA

baygolf wrote:

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

I shoot the full moon with my Nikon D7000 using a Sigma 150-500mm lens - 1/250, f8, ISO 100 on a tripod. I have good results with this set up.

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

baygolf wrote:

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

Tripod, Yes! Bulb mode, NO!!!!
Keep in mind that it is bright daylight on the moon, and a fast shutter speed will be your friend.
If you have a good location to see the moon, take a number of photos at different settings.
Moonrise in my area will be just before nine o'clock tonight, will be a perfect time to get the moon together with some scenery in one photo. Again, try different settings. I know the moon rises fast, but even so, you should have enough time to quickly change at least f/stop and shutter speed.

It's too bad you didn't post this question a few days ago. There will be lots of other replies, I'm sure, but it would also have given you a chance to practice and see what settings work for you with your camera.

BTW, if you were to complete your profile, or at least put in the location where you are, we could also give you more exact info regarding time and direction of the moon.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

baygolf wrote:

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

Start with the Sunny 16 Rule (the moon is lit by the sun) f/16, Shutter Speed 1/ISO, (if you use ISO-100 set Shutter Speed to 1/100, if you use ISO 200, set Shutter Speed at 1/200, etc.)
Use the Sunny 16 Rule as a starting point, try other settings on either side.

hcmcdole

baygolf wrote:

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

Blue moon is not actually blue - just means that there are two full moons in the same month.

Use the sunny 16 rule and go from there if you cannot spot meter the moon. Here is a collage I put together with my first DSLR and a cheap zoom lens to give you an idea what is possible. Do use a tripod though.

The cool thing is to make composites when you get some fairly good moon shots.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

Raven5278 wrote:

I shoot the full moon with my Nikon D7000 using a Sigma 150-500mm lens - 1/250, f8, ISO 100 on a tripod. I have good results with this set up.

A bit soft on focus?

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

hcmcdole wrote:

Blue moon is not actually blue - just means that there are two full moons in the same month.

Use the sunny 16 rule and go from there if you cannot spot meter the moon. Here is a collage I put together with my first DSLR and a cheap zoom lens to give you an idea what is possible. Do use a tripod though.

The cool thing is to make composites when you get some fairly good moon shots.

Nice like the two photo's

baygolf Loc: DMV

Thanks all for your comments and advice>

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

The moon reflects sunlight and moves in orbit so a slow exposure will capture only a blur.

The aperture you choose is irrelevant - the moon is a long way away so depth of field is not a problem. Choose the aperture for the sharpness of the lens that you use; its so called 'sweet spot'. Most lenses generally have a best sharpness point a stop or two off wide open.

Use a tripod, meter off the moon and come back two stops, aim for a speed of about 1/250th and adjust ISO to get it.

Fergus Loc: Westfield,IN

Wow! Your last shot posted is a real framer.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

hcmcdole wrote:

Blue moon is not actually blue - just means that there are two full moons in the same month.

Use the sunny 16 rule and go from there if you cannot spot meter the moon. Here is a collage I put together with my first DSLR and a cheap zoom lens to give you an idea what is possible. Do use a tripod though.

The cool thing is to make composites when you get some fairly good moon shots.

The last two are awesome. :thumbup:

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

baygolf wrote:

Hi, we will have a blue moon tonight and I would like to capture it but I don't know how. I think I should use bulb mode, tripod -- ????. What else do I need to do to the camera to get this picture? Help, I'm from Mars and I know nothing about how to do this.

There is a looney 11 rule that gets you a good start. The moon is very bright compared to the black sky surrounding it, and it is moving quite fast, so a faster shutter speed is needed to capture a sharp image.

Start off with the Looney 11 rule settings and adjust from there.

It will take you several shots to get at the right settings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looney_11_rule

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

The moon moves at about .004167 degrees per second, slower than most slugs. If you shot the moon at 1/60 of a second, the total angular movement as seen in the frame would be .00006944 degrees, which should give the appearance of being stationary. I routinely shoot the moon at about 1/60 second per frame with my Pocket Cinema Camera. Attached is a crop from a frame from one of these 24p sequences.

What's worse than angular displacement is atmospheric conditions, which can make the image distort as if shooting through a bad lens. This is why all the current, famous observatories are atop mountains, and why shooting a laser to determine the air disturbance removal algorithm allows ground based observing to essentially match the Hubble.

7 days after full

hcmcdole

PhotoArtsLA wrote:

The moon moves at about .004167 degrees per second, slower than most slugs. If you shot the moon at 1/60 of a second, the total angular movement as seen in the frame would be .00006944 degrees, which should give the appearance of being stationary. I routinely shoot the moon at about 1/60 second per frame with my Pocket Cinema Camera. Attached is a crop from a frame from one of these 24p sequences.

:thumbup: :thumbup: