rv8striker Loc: St. Louis, MO area

I’ve been trying to photograph the noon for the last five or six months with very poor results. I have been using the so called “Loony 11” formula but exposer is not the issue, focus is the problem. The lens is a Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6G mounted to my D750.

Here’s how my attempts have been made:
1. VR turned off
2. Auto focus turned off
3. 10 second delay to allow any vibration in tripod to subside
4. Focused both thru view finder and zoomed in using Live View
5. I’ve tried various local lengths
6. Tried pre-focusing on a distant object and taping focus ring

All these techniques have failed. Last night I noticed that every time I manually focused, after the shot the lens would no longer be in what I thought was well focused, in fact it would be way out of focus and I had to focus again for each shot. Is that normal? Seems to me if the lens is focused manually it should stay there. Seems no matter what I do the images are a blur. The lens works fine in daylight situations with auto focus and VR in use.
Any thoughts from the group as to why none of these techniques have worked or, what else to try would be appreciated.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

You can bet infinity will come close

Winslowe

Zoom creep?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rv8striker Loc: St. Louis, MO area

That’s a thought. I’ll try taping the zoom ring next time. Thanks for your input.

kcooke Loc: Alabama

With that camera lens combination I’m curious why it won’t auto focus. Have you tried autofocus? Also auto focusing on a distant object during the day then turn off auto focus and tape lens should work great

rv8striker Loc: St. Louis, MO area

Thank you but one of the first things I tried with terrible results.

Nicholas J DeSciose

Use auto focus. It always works. Also wait a lot longer than 10 seconds for the camera to settle down. Are you using mirror up? Then wait 20 seconds before tripping the shutter with either a Cable release or an electric release

rv8striker Loc: St. Louis, MO area

Good ideas. I had not considered mirror slap as the cause. Thanks for you input.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Attach the best original result to show an example of what you consider out of focus as well as the actual camera settings from the EXIF. What you've described should be working. Let's see an example that corresponds to the description. Also, are you taking enough? The last time I did the moon, I took about 60 images in 3x bursts, over 20-minutes of shooting, with only one really being the best.

bleirer

I think your camera has exposure delay, might be worth a try.

https://photographylife.com/exposure-delay-mode

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Are you sure it's focus and not camera shake? Do not extend the legs of your tripod or the center column, sit on the ground and make sure the legs are wide open and solidly planted. Good you used live view to eliminate AF errors (which uses contrast detection AF), AF-S, do not use spot focus and focus on the edge of the moon, I use matrix metering, mirror up, base ISO, and take a shot. Look at the histograms and look for blinkies (you expect the peak on the left from the black surround, but you don't want blinkies on the right), make the necessary exposure adjustments and take your final shot. The moon moves slowly, but does move so minimum 1/125 sec, but more like 1/250 or 1/500. Better to use a remote release as opposed to the timer. You can get a wired remote for like $20 on Amazon. Just make sure it works with your camera. I highly recommend taking about a dozen shots and stack them.

Had the same problem with my D500 and 600mm f/4 with a 1.4x teleconverter. Found it was shake even though I had a sturdy carbon fiber tripod and followed all the right steps. Suspected camera shake so sat on the ground so I didn't have to extend the legs or column and went to 1/500 sec shutter speed and bingo, tack sharp.

Hip Coyote

I agree with Chg_Canon. Post some originals so folks can take a look at what is happening. My (limited) experience is that the moon is very very bright...so the flexibility in shooting is more than what one might think. But with a 300 mm, even with a tripod, take care to have a shutter speed that will prevent what some might call camera shake. Looking into the moon, it should be easy to shoot at 1/300 or faster with iso 200.

Maybe set the tripod up, put some weight on it and see if there is tripod creep. (Usually a tripod creep is some guy that tries to steal your tripod, but in this case, maybe a leg is not tight?) Let it set there for a while and see if there is movement.

Tripod head creep? I've experienced that with heavier lenses. Was shooting some mountains and got shots of an ant hill a few feet in front of me. Do the above over a period of time (like 20 or so minutes) to visually verify that the thing is stable.

Could be zoom creep, a bad lens, who knows. Maybe try taking some other shots with the lens to make sure it is fully functional?

FWIIW, consider getting rid of the tripod and do the shot hand held so you can see through the view finder to see changes / verify focus. Before people yell at me, I shot the attached hand held. I had a few others that I used a post to "brace" myself to keep the camera steady. (Think in terms of shooting a rifle. Can we say that?) With the moon as bright as it was, shot it at something like 1/500, ISO 200 and f 6.7. It can work.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Long ago I had an 18-200 lens that had creep when you pointed it up or down. I used a wide rubber band to hold the setting in place. No worries about tape gunking up the works.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I think you are working way too hard at this and maybe introducing the problem yourself. Remember, it is daytime on the moon. You don't need a tripod. VR should be left on-this is just what it's for. Auto focus too. ISO 400, 500 sec. f4 to f8 depending and you should have it. It's just like shooting a distant mountain with sunlight on it. If there is a lot of black sky around the moon you will need to shoot manual to keep the shutter speed up. Don't over think it. Aim and shoot. Too dark, adjust and shoot again. Too bright, same thing.
...Cam