Full moon tonight and so I wanted to get a good picture of it. Grabbed my Powershot and first tried the auto mode and then tried the scene mode. The auto mode captured the better shot and I deleted the scene mode shot. The shot is okay but is there a way to make it better? How would one capture a good photo of the moon? Please give this advice to someone that is using a $500 and under camera or better known as a P&S. Or maybe I needed to use the P mode I dont know.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Taking photos of Celestial objects
- Thread starter jwolf6589
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What is the longest focal length on your camera? Use that.
You'll need to use a tripod, do you have one of those? Your camera isn't very heavy, so you won't need an expensive tripod, a $30 Amazon brand one will do.
You will probably want to use P mode and set your aperture to f/8 or f/11. This will allow you to get more details of the moon surface. Since you will use a tripod, you can use a slower shutter speed, maybe 1/80. Then the camera will choose the ISO for you.
The tricky thing with shooting the moon is that your camera is going to see that really bright moon and want to underexpose it to make it middle gray....but if you "meter" for the sky, it's going to want to overexpose the image to make the sky gray.
If your camera has manual mode (M), which I think it does, honestly I'd set it there, use f/11 and 1/80, and then change the ISO speed until the needle for metering is around +1. You should have somewhere (typically in the viewfinder) that gives you a scale that looks like this: -2...-1...0...+1...+2. You want the little bar or needle that moves to be somewhere between +1 and +2 for the best image.
I am not sure the highest ISO settings your camera has. If you find you can't move the ISO high enough, you can drop the shutter speed (assuming you are on a tripod) but be aware you'll have to be very deliberate with your button pressing because you can still have camera shake.
I know you don't really want to learn manual, but shooting the moon is a difficult thing even with expensive gear. It's best to try to set the settings yourself with this as a guide even if you never use manual mode again.
You'll need to use a tripod, do you have one of those? Your camera isn't very heavy, so you won't need an expensive tripod, a $30 Amazon brand one will do.
You will probably want to use P mode and set your aperture to f/8 or f/11. This will allow you to get more details of the moon surface. Since you will use a tripod, you can use a slower shutter speed, maybe 1/80. Then the camera will choose the ISO for you.
The tricky thing with shooting the moon is that your camera is going to see that really bright moon and want to underexpose it to make it middle gray....but if you "meter" for the sky, it's going to want to overexpose the image to make the sky gray.
If your camera has manual mode (M), which I think it does, honestly I'd set it there, use f/11 and 1/80, and then change the ISO speed until the needle for metering is around +1. You should have somewhere (typically in the viewfinder) that gives you a scale that looks like this: -2...-1...0...+1...+2. You want the little bar or needle that moves to be somewhere between +1 and +2 for the best image.
I am not sure the highest ISO settings your camera has. If you find you can't move the ISO high enough, you can drop the shutter speed (assuming you are on a tripod) but be aware you'll have to be very deliberate with your button pressing because you can still have camera shake.
I know you don't really want to learn manual, but shooting the moon is a difficult thing even with expensive gear. It's best to try to set the settings yourself with this as a guide even if you never use manual mode again.
On the equipment you have, you will struggle to get lots of detail but:
1. Make sure you are at the lowest ISO setting on your camera
2. Choose an aperture that you know is sharp on your camera - usually 5.6 - 8 sort of range
3. Keep the camera steady ideally on a tripod and use a remote release if at all possible (cable or remote app)
4. The moon is bright, you will need to use a relatively fast shutter between 1/125 to 1/250 ish to start with. Faster is better because at greater magnification you will be surprised how quickly the moon traverses across your frame.
5. Take the image earlier on in the evening so that the moon is lower in the sky and so is "closer" to the earth on its rotation
6. Ideally shoot on a cold evening so there is less atmospheric distortion from heat rising
7. Choose a night when the moon is not full - you need contrast to get detail and when the moon is full. contrast is reduced. If you have a partial moon, you get better contrast and so more detail is visible.
8. Also consider recording a movie of it and then extract a single frame from the video is an option.
Now, to do it properly this list is different and mainly involves stacking frames.
1. Make sure you are at the lowest ISO setting on your camera
2. Choose an aperture that you know is sharp on your camera - usually 5.6 - 8 sort of range
3. Keep the camera steady ideally on a tripod and use a remote release if at all possible (cable or remote app)
4. The moon is bright, you will need to use a relatively fast shutter between 1/125 to 1/250 ish to start with. Faster is better because at greater magnification you will be surprised how quickly the moon traverses across your frame.
5. Take the image earlier on in the evening so that the moon is lower in the sky and so is "closer" to the earth on its rotation
6. Ideally shoot on a cold evening so there is less atmospheric distortion from heat rising
7. Choose a night when the moon is not full - you need contrast to get detail and when the moon is full. contrast is reduced. If you have a partial moon, you get better contrast and so more detail is visible.
8. Also consider recording a movie of it and then extract a single frame from the video is an option.
Now, to do it properly this list is different and mainly involves stacking frames.
you could probably google it to find out. my longest lens is 600mm on a 35mm camera and I still have to crop in. Hopefully you have at least 800mm equivalent from your camera.
For the full moon I think you'll actually want this closer to -1 or -2. You'll want to zoom in all the way, but most of the shot will still be black (and thus the camera will think it's "too dark" even though there's a really bright moon in the middle). If you leave it on auto you'll probably find that the moon is too bright.
Really the best way to do it is to take a photo at 0, -1, -2, etc until you see what looks best. You should be able to tell even from the little screen on the camera if the moon has detail or is just a bright white disc.
Edit: To add, if you want to be more zoomed out and see things that aren't just the moon, it's even more important to set it to -1 or -2 or even darker. Otherwise the moon will be so much brighter than everything else it won't look as good.
Edit 2: Oh and one last thought, since I assume you'll be doing this in the Denver area. It's still kinda smoky in the air from that fire in Arizona, so if you can get somewhere high to watch the moon rise it will look extra red!
The moon is illuminated by the sun even when it's night time for the photographer, so it's brighter than you might think. Best thing is to not try to get a photo of the moon alone in a dark sky, but to frame the rising moon with something in the foreground that's illuminated. Lights on buildings, illuminated windows, traffic lights, a city skyline, etc. If you have the moon AND something terrestrial both illuminated, it can create a more interesting picture.
If you're using the camera you've talked about before, you have a Canon Powershot sx740 HS. It has a 4.3-172mm lens, but a very small sensor, so that is equivalent to a 24–960mm lens on a full frame camera (but without the quality and resolution you get from a full frame sensor). So you have a long telephoto lens when you zoom to the maximum.
Use manual settings and a tripod as both @mollyc and @kenoh said. Try to shoot just as the moon is rising, and not later in the evening. That increases your odds of having better illumination on foreground objects and a little of what we call "blue hour" sky. Also the moon appears larger when it's just above the horizon than later at night when it's above you in the sky.
If you're using the camera you've talked about before, you have a Canon Powershot sx740 HS. It has a 4.3-172mm lens, but a very small sensor, so that is equivalent to a 24–960mm lens on a full frame camera (but without the quality and resolution you get from a full frame sensor). So you have a long telephoto lens when you zoom to the maximum.
Use manual settings and a tripod as both @mollyc and @kenoh said. Try to shoot just as the moon is rising, and not later in the evening. That increases your odds of having better illumination on foreground objects and a little of what we call "blue hour" sky. Also the moon appears larger when it's just above the horizon than later at night when it's above you in the sky.
I will try the on camera settings but is a tripod 100% necessary? I don’t exactly want to fork out $30 since it recently cost me almost $900 for a 256GB iPad Mini 6 with warranty, case, screen protector, taxes, and headphone adaptor. So I am kinda broke.
Don't expect much sharpness without one. The longer your lens, the more the very tiniest camera movement is magnified on the sensor. So of course you can shoot the moon without a tripod, but there will be noticeable blur from movement.
Maybe you have a friend who can loan you a small tripod. Or maybe there's a thrift store nearby that has one.
Especially if you have to drop your shutter speed much below 1/100, you'll get camera shake (your hands won't be steady enough to hold the camera still that long as you press the shutter button). I mean, you could just prop it on a table or something, but your lens won't be pointed up at the sky that way. You need to find some way of holding the camera still, which is why we suggested tripod. That's the purpose of a tripod. 🙂
You want something 300mm equivalent focal length or ideally more to fill the frame on the camera.
This is a good list.
The moon is rather bright. Its surface is the same distance from the sun as a beach in the tropics on earth and it gets more light since the moon has no atmosphere. The surface is a slightly darker grey than beach sand, but not a lot darker. Hence the proper exposure is not much different that what that beach scene needs near noon.
Also, the moon is moving fast (well, it appears to as it's the earth's spinning that causes it). Don't use a shutter speed slower than 1/125-1/250; the higher the better. If you can't shoot on manual then use the longest focal length available and use an EV compensation of -2 to -4 stops if possible. Bracketing is a good idea.
In addition, try to choose a night when air is quite clear, with haze or clouds. The best images will be produce if you get far far away from any city lights and polution.
No, don't spend $30 on a tripod, that is wasted money. Not being snobbish here but do not buy a tripod unless 1. you will use it often or 2. you are going to buy a decent quality one - $200 ish, manfrotto elements, be free etc which are good enough for the powershot.
For cheap use maybe consider a Manfrotto Pixi and get the smartphone attachment - small portable and will improve your shots
Good catch forgot that last one. For the OP benefit, by far far away from city lights you mean 20+ miles right?
My list doesn't include bracketing as the OP doesnt edit his images so a bit hand tied there.
It's all up to the weather, as the moon is 99.7% full tonight, with moonrise in Denver at 9:21PM
Practice now for bonus super-moons in July and August.
www.npr.org
A strawberry supermoon will rise on Tuesday. Here's how to watch
June's full moon gets its nickname from the strawberry harvesting season in the Northeastern U.S. It also happens to be at its closest distance to Earth in its orbit, which makes it a supermoon.
www.npr.org