The Moon

[Andrew76]

Everyone photographer has a "The Moon" photo right? Well, here's my first attempt. Any suggestions for improving a shot like this? EFIX indicates:

ISO - 100
360mm
f - 8.0
1/80 sec

Thanks for looking again!

[Dizzy]

Hi Andrew,

Good effort for a first attempt..

FWIW, a full Moon makes it very difficult to get much in the way of contrast
on any of the Lunar features. Try again at 1/2 Moon when there is a
"terminator" line where the light/dark meet up, as there is where you'll
find the best definition on any craters, mares, ridges, etc.

With my D90 + 300mm and a full Moon, I would start off with the aperture
wide open (in this case it would be f/5.6), ISO 100 and 1/500s exposure.
Always best to use a tripod, and also use the cameras timer or a remote
shutter release to reduce vibrations at the lens. I always use manual focus
when shooting the Moon, checking each image over for sharpness and adjusting
when necessary.

Wait for good skies and then keep shooting till you get one your happy with

[Jack R Mann]

Nicely done Andrew, its much better than my first attempt.

[JohnnyG]

I generally shoot somewhere around f:/5.6 or 8 @ 1/200 with a Nikkor 55-300 at 280mm ISO 100 or 200, depending on the time of night. I also generally shoot as early as I can to get as much reflection from the sunlight as can be obtained. I like a faster shutter speed to ensure less of a "blurred" effect.

When I opened your image in Photoshop, I could see immediate evidence of motion blur which is caused by too slow a shutter speed. I did a color correction and slight sharpening which I think will allow you to see this effect.

[Dizzy]

Looking through some of my old Moon pics I see that it wasn't always a
wide-open aperture...

1/320s f/11.0 at 300.0mm iso200

[PBelarge]

Andrew
Something you may want to try experimenting with your image is the WB. If you shot in Raw, try the flourescent or tungsten WB and see how it will affect your image.
Also, if you do not have a remote shutter release, you can set your shutter on timer, it will help reduce the vibration of your finger on the shutter button.

[Bobobird]

Nice first attempt but it is overexposed somewhat and lacks detail.

There have been a few recent threads that discuss the optimal settings to use. Perhaps read through some of those?

Just a point to note - you will need at least 1/125 to prevent motion blur.

[Andrew76]

Thanks everyone for the great advice!! I'll try again tonight and see what I can come up with. Here's what I've learned....
1) Up the shutter speed, probably at least 1/125 if not more
2) Use my remote release
3) Adjust white balance to reflect a more natural colour

Thanks again for the help!