How do you take a picture of the moon?

[bandXtrb]

There was a beautiful full moon last night, and i tried to take a picture of it. The moon showed up as a white blur in all the pictures that i took, trying different camera settings in each photo. I don't have a stand for my camera, but I had it propped up on some books on my window sill, so it wasn't moving (i don't think it was, anyway). Any settings I should try or tips that you can give me? I've had this camera for a while, and it's been great, but I am still a newbie since I mainly use the "auto" setting. It's a Canon G1, btw.

 

[Electric Amish]

You need to use a filter.

amish

 

[MajesticMoose]

You need a very dark sky, an esposure of a couple seconds and some large aperture IIRC. Haven't done it in a while.

 

[kami]

Well, you need some kind of magnification before you worry about proper exposures, or else you'll get no detail at all.

I took this photo of the moon through my telescop with a HP 618 digicam. The magnification is approximately 85x and to the best of my recollection the exposure was 1/30sec, f/5.6. you also have to take into account my telescope which is f/11 though. Moon shots need very fast exposures to get any detail because its very damn bright!!

 

[bandXtrb]

Very nice picture Kami. I think I can see the American flag planted in one of those craters.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Think of the moon as a gray object illuminated by direct sunlight. Try 1/125 sec at f8 and bracket around that.(That means shooting at the same speed, but at f11 and f5.6 also.

 

[Jzero]

Also, for long exposure times, you need a remote shutter release. Simply the act of pressing the button will blur the camera. For long astronomy exposures, the rotation of the earth will also blur features, you need a device to move the camera...

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

<< Also, for long exposure times, you need a remote shutter release. Simply the act of pressing the button will blur the camera. For long astronomy exposures, the rotation of the earth will also blur features, you need a device to move the camera... >>



that is what i was thinking. though, with a tripod, and a gentle touch, he could probably use the camera shutter button. I don't think he will need any thing longer than a few seconds at the most. so rotation of the earth shouldn't be a problema

 

[kami]

<< Also, for long exposure times, you need a remote shutter release. Simply the act of pressing the button will blur the camera. For long astronomy exposures, the rotation of the earth will also blur features, you need a device to move the camera... >>



Not gonna matter much for moon shots since exposures are always fast. now if we're talking about deep space photography...

 

[XZeroII]

Anyone else ever wonder why the moon is dark in some spots and light in others? Not the full moon, half moon, or anything, but different colorations on the light side. Kinda neat when you really look at it.