billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

NO AUTO SETTINGS. You must go manual, I would try a starting exposure of ISO 100, 125 sec. at f16. The old rule of thumb for a moon exposure is 1/iso at F16. Try that as a starting point. Also, manual focusing might also help, and a tripod at 3000 mm.

Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK

Thanks Bill, (and all).

I'll try those suggestions.

I'm just waiting for the cameras battery to fully charge, then I'm out there.

A beautiful clear night, full moon. Perfect conditions.

Cheers

Paul :)

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Here's what I do: Tripod and timed shutter release. D500, 200-500 f/5.6 @ f/11. ISO 100 at 1/250 ss.

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Paul60 Loc: Lowestoft, UK

Thanks David !

Cheers mate.

Marlz

Got these shots of the moon two nights before full on my P1000 using the "Moon" setting and tripod.

agillot

full moon makes lousy pictures , washed out , try it on half or less size moon . on full moon , no shadows from mountains or craters .

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Pictures of the moon all by themselves is boring. I have taken a few of the supermoon and even took one of the supermoon next to the Queen Mary ship in Long Beach. That one is about the most interesting one I've got of the moon because it's got a ship in the foreground. I'm still not all that happy with it but one of these day's I'll get a shot of the moon with a much better foreground. It's difficult to position yourself in such a way where the moon is framed just right with the foreground and moon in the right way.

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old poet

Remember, no moon photo will be 100% sharp unless you are on the space station. Atmospheric interference will not allow tack sharp photos from Earth. This is from a Nikon D7200, 500mm, cropped and PP in Photoshop.

saidel42 Loc: NJ

I recently photoed 4 moons of Jupiter with a Nikon D7100 and a Tamron 150-600. This is what I learned.
1) Tripod as others said...absolutely.
2) Manual, not automatic...digital remember so you can keep trying exposures until one is in the ballpark.
3) Use the fastest shutter that makes sense. I set ISO at 6400, f11, 1/20th sec. ,effective fl was 900 mm.
4) I used an external trigger in which I first lifted the mirror and then waited 10-20 seconds for vibration to stop.
Even at 10 seconds, sometimes the vibration was still present.

5) My best supermoon image was 1/60th sec at ISO 1000, f6.7, and rather than extend the zoom all the way, I set the lens at 500-550ml.
Same issue of vibration from the mirror so I would use the external clicker, lift the mirror, wait and shoot.

In any case, after cropping some, I still used photoshop to sharpen the image a tad before I was happy.
Now it looks like the Wikipedia picture with all its meteor sites and seas, etc.

If you are interested, I can send you a moon image.
Bill Saidel

Daddeo Loc: Ronkonkoma NY

Having owned the P900, I recently opted for the P1000 while on vacation in Florida. It is a heavier camera for sure, but has some great new features and a bigger reach. I went out the other night and saw the 3/4 Moon in a clear sky and decided to try the 'Moon' setting. I braced myself against a porch post, zoomed in to the max (not digital), focused and pressed the shutter. Within three seconds, it took the shot even though I was slightly moving and could see the subject "wobbling" slightly.
When I saw the result, I was amazed at the different color and was thinking it must be setting the white balance off the norm. I usually shoot the moon in 'S' mode with about a 1/1000 shutter speed and do get some really nice detailed pics! The first (Grey Moon) is with using shutter mode. The second (blue) is with the P1000's 'Moon' setting.
Having used the P900 and this P1000, overall, I'm very happy with what I've been able to get. I used it while fishing in the Lagoon off Ponce Inlet and got some amazingly clear shots of birds flying in the area, most from a moving 18 foot boat.

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

3000 zoom or 300 zoomI gave a telescope 2000. F10 mirror lens (celestron C8) and that fills frame. Moon moves 15 degrees an hour. 24 hours day x 15 degrees is 360 degrees one day

capmike Loc: New Bern, NC

Our full moon from last night was behind a wall of thunderstorms. The night before's 98.6% full moon was playing behind some fast moving clouds. But I did get a couple.

The first two with my D 850 and my Swarovski scope. The last with my D 850 and a 300mm PF lens with a 1.4 tele. Using my 420 it was impossible to focus manually, just too bright to see the contrasts of the the craters, so had to rely on auto focus. All of course on a rock solid tripod, live view with a remote shutter release.

I don't know for sure, but you may be expecting too much from your gear.

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Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Paul, welcome to UHH!

I too am a relative beginner. In the big scheme of things we all are beginners when put in new situations where we have never composed a similar shot.

First off, the moon is not that easy to capture with its bright light, movement and a black background. Plus being a zillion miles away, getting a focus on it can be hard.

I took dozens of photos one night during a "supermoon". I used a tripod and also shot photos using the VR function, hand held, leaning against my house.

Surprisingly my best shot was handheld. I cannot explain it other than pure beginner's luck.

The data for the shot: Nikon D810 Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED AF-S VR Zoom @500mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec., ISO-250, -1 light compensation. No filters.

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bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Tripod mounted, manual settings for best Moon surface features, best focus (probably autofocus)...

Shoot at least 50 subs (100 is better) and manually select the best 10% and focus stack them. Or use software to select and process the best 10%. I use RegiStax 6, AutoStakkert 2 or AviStack 2, all freeware and reasonable.

Regardless of how 'crystal clear' the sky appears to be, there is always atmospheric motion and the atmosphere IS the last lens in any imaging configuration. Multiple subs will improve the odds of catching the atmosphere at points where it might just be a bit more stable.

Good luck and have fun!

bwa

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Was this sharpened? Looks like it was over done.