TP: How to photograph the moon

There were a lot of posts following the last lunar eclipse, some featuring excellent shots and others that were not great. So in this TALKING POINT let’s take a look at techniques and why some moon shots are good and others are bad.

When I first started using my 7D I started to wonder about taking shots of the moon. I think it is something that everyone does. And like many others before and after me my first attempts were going very badly wrong with a white circular glare in the middle of the frame the only indication of what I was shooting.

So it was time to seek advice. I was posting to DPR at the time and started search for posts to do with the moon. And I consulted a mentor who put it quite simply – “The sunny f16 rule applies”.

What he meant was that for a full moon, one should use of a setting of 1/ISO @ f16, and the reason is simple – the moon is light by sunlight, just as a landscape is on a sunny day. If the moon size shrinks, compensate accordingly by opening up the aperture or slowing the shutter. Forget about AE and use manual – there is no other way to get accurate exposures, and bracket, bracket, bracket (this allows for variations in the atmospherics such as haze and cloud).

The rules for discussion in this thread are simple. Keep to the topic. No repetitive posting, just one contribution per person (which of course you can edit after you have read some of the other posts). The thread will be actively moderated to keep it “clean” and make sure the posts remain on topic. Some posts may be edited if the moderators believe they could be made easier to understand, or are too long.

Let’s hear from you and happy shooting as well as learning.

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NB one "reference point" is this thread about the last lunar eclipse.

Another reference is Lunar Photography.

Edited by brettania - 17 February 2008 at 23:48

Difficult subject.

Meter so as to produce a somewhat dim image of the moon. In reality many of the features are pretty dark. Trying to make it look like it does to the eye causes is to be too bright. Try to bring out the details in PP. Without a tracking mount you are limited to 1 to 1.5 sec and maybe even less depending on your latitude.

You can try to take a number of exposures within those limits and try to combine them in software. REGISTAX is one program many astronomy buffs use to do that.

I AM NO EXPERT AT THIS (or much else where photography is concerned). You might try CloudyNights.com for real expertise.

Edited by bharnois - 10 April 2007 at 18:47

Let me join this interesting topic. Was trying to shoot the moon several times. What I know till know, is the fact, that I need to underexposure the picture. I set my preferencies like ISO 100 + aperture close to 10. Playing with the time till the exposure is OK. Everytime goes to minus of the exposition. I have left complete exif here:

minolta 300/2,8 + 2xTC

When I used to own a (cheap) tele lens I followed the Sunny-16 rule for moon photos which I found to be pretty accurate. F16 & ISO = 1/Shutter (ex. f16 - s 1/100 - iso100). KM 5D in manual mode and adjusting shutter speed to get best results

Edited by gonzalez52 - 11 April 2007 at 17:16

Sanjuro wrote: gonzalez52 wrote: When I used to own a (cheap) tele lens I followed the Sunny-16 rule for moon photos which I found to be pretty accurate. F16 & ISO = 1/Shutter (ex. f16 - s 1/100 - iso100). KM 5D in manual mode and adjusting shutter speed to get best results So it is a sunny rule for the moon? I need one TC ot Tele, my max range is 210mm and I guess I will never get a nice moon with only the beercan :-(

:D I know what you mean! I am waiting on my newly bought beercan, and I am trying to convince myself not to spend any more cash on photography items this month to buy a couple of TCs just to take photos of the moon! :)

As for the Sunny-16 rule, remember that the moon is a sunlight object. I've read a couple of books and a number of articles over the internet that suggest using this guideline in order to capture the moon. Of course you might need adjustments depending on whether it is full or not etc but it's a good place to start.

I use the Minolta 500mm AF Reflex to photograph the moon.

I find the Moon fills the spot metering circle, so I spot meter on it which normally gives a good exposure, though I bracket at faster shutter speeds. (Around 1/800 - 1/1000 @ISO 100)

During the lunar eclipse being stuck at f8 was a pain - you don't really want to expose the moon longer than 1s - it moves so fast so I had to increase ISO to 400, a normal lens with adjustable aperture would be better to increase shutter speeds and thus sharpness.

On focusing, the AF RF can be tricky to focus in the best of conditions so I use AF - the Moon is a bright object against a dark background so provides an excellent contrast boundary for the AF to lock onto. I use the centre point and aim it at the edge of the Moon then switch back to manual.

jimbo wrote: On focusing, the AF RF can be tricky to focus in the best of conditions so I use AF - the Moon is a bright object against a dark background so provides an excellent contrast boundary for the AF to lock onto. I use the centre point and aim it at the edge of the Moon then switch back to manual.

AF? i think you can consider the moon to be at infinity....
If this is not far enough then i think you need your lens checked for back focus :)

Edited by polossatik - 02 May 2007 at 01:55