tscali

I was just out trying to get the Pink Moon for April. I was disappointed in that the pictures were not sharp. I did shoot at high ISO, 12,800 and 1/4000 shutter speed, aperture was 6.3, minimum for lens, Tamron 150-600 at 600mm. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I suspect that the ISO is too high and caused some grain; but I also believe it is more than that, so any help is welcome. I was using a tripod with delayed shutter release. I did not turn off Vibration Reduction, which could cause some of this softness; but I don't think this much..

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PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

Knocked it down to about 125 ISO and f10 to f 12 and play around with the shutter speed to you get it exposed correctly. If I remember you should be some where in the range of 1/250. Be sure to shoot from a tripod.

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Several suggestions. Turn of VR. It's not needed when your camera is mounted on a tripod. Set your ISO to 200-400. Spot meter for the moon itself. If you can't spot meter, bracket your exposure. Check your exposures & adjust accordingly. Aperture isn't critical at that distance. Use as high a shutter speed as you can. Using the shutter delay is a very good idea as long as it locks the mirror up at the time you trip the release.

Dan Downie Loc: Rochester, NY

Why such a high shutter speed? That's what is driving your ISO up. If on a tripod, turn off VC, shoot wide open at 6.3 at 600mm, Start at your base ISO (100/200) with shutter speed between around 10-15 seconds. Hand held, 6.3 at 600mm, ISO 400-800 with shutter speed around 1/600 with VC on. Rest against something to steady yourself. Bump up ISO/reduce SS as needed. The moon is a very bright object so you don't need that high of ISO. The VC should allow you to stop down below 600 to help keep your ISO as low as possible. Also try burst mode to fire off multiple shots to minimize camera shake from pressing the shutter. Good luck! It was a beautiful moon tonight.

Dan Downie Loc: Rochester, NY

Check your focus also. The picture doesn't appear to be in focus either.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

My guess is the Moon was low on the horizon meaning ths shot was taken through a thicker atmosphere/haze.

The higher the moon is in the sky the less atmosphere/haze is obstructing the shot.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Shoot in manual.

For aperture, use your lens sweet spot, usually 5.6 or 8.0 on a shorter lens ... on yours I wold guess 8.0 to 11.0 ... to get maximum sharpness.

Use a tripod with VR off.

The Moon actually moves in excess of Mach 3, it’s speed masked by its distance, so a relatively high shutter speed works well. 1/250 on a tripod should work fine.

Spotmeter or center weighted on the Moon itself. You want the surronding sky BLACK for effect.

If you have a cable release and mirror lockup use them.

Use auto ISO.

If no tripod is available use the same process with VR on and 1/500 shutter speed.

If handheld use your steadiest handheld stance and take/hold a deep breath before/during shutter release.

If possible brace yourself against a wall.

And last, you have all night and digital shots are free. Bracket your shots in both directions by 1/3 stop for at least 1 full stops both directions.

Do a 3 shot burst, especially if handheld.

The moon can be harder to nail perfect than it seems as atmospheric conditions can wreak havoc on things.

That being said, you only want one keeper and those instructions should easily get that.

Jaackil Loc: Massachusetts

I actually think your Iso is so high because your camera is metering a very dark shot when in fact the moon is very bright. Google or search this site for moon shots and you will see it is recommended you shoot the moon like you are shooting on a sunny day. ISO between 100-400. Shutter at 250 and f 8 -11 as a starting point and go from there. Use live view to get a good focus. Tripod would be helpful but I have gotten good shots hand held also. Good luck

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

I shot this on the same night as you did with the same lens. ISO was 500, 250th@f10, VR off because I used a tripod. I used live view(to avoid mirror flip vibration) and enlarged the image 100% and manually focused the image. I still didn't get the sharpest image as I noticed the image dancing on the screen(I was on a fishing pier that ostensibly wasn't steady).

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DaveC1 Loc: South East US

I'll put up one more for comparison. Nikkor 300mm AI lens, tripod, 1/125 second, spot metering, mirror up, f8, Nikon D300.

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PaulR01 Loc: West Texas

1/250, F 13, 100 ISO, 420mm Shot in RAW

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alf85 Loc: Northumberland, UK.

ISO 100, f8, start speed at 1/200 and work from there, use a tripod with the centre locked down, and a cable or remote release, use centre spot metering.
Here are a couple i took last night, with the Nikon P900.
Regards, Alfie.

YUGO66

I agree. The moon is bright because the light coming off it is reflected sunlight. You could start with a sunny 16 exposure and then use f11, f8,and even f5.6 to see which one you like best. The camera meter is fooled by the dark black sky. You are exposing for a bright moon, not for the sky.

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

"The Moon actually moves in excess of Mach 3, it’s speed masked by its distance, so a relatively high shutter speed works well. 1/250 on a tripod should work fine."

Just to follow up on the motion of the moon in the sky: The combined motion of the moon and the earth means that the moon rises 24.21 hours apart for 3/29 to 3/30 at 33.5 degrees N. Lat. (Your mileage may vary) meaning that the moon moves a full 360 degrees in that time. This works out to the moon moving approximately 0.0041 degrees in the sky each second. I suspect this is not enough to worry with in terms of shutter speeds with digital cameras. Camera vibration is going to be a larger issue.

bigwolf40 Loc: Effort, Pa.

Put your camera on auto ISO and your shutter speed 600 all in manual mode . That way you can pick your F stop to get the least amount of noise....Rich