Moon Photos

[AffectionateArtistPhotos]

I'm having trouble shooting the moon lately. I know the aperture and shutter speed setting, it's the focus button that I'm having issues with. Unfortunately I only have automatic focus (will make sure I get a manual focus option next camera) and the moon will come into focus for a second and I try to hold down the shutter button and it'll keep trying to focus and by the time it does allow me to press completely it'll be out of focus. Is it trying to focus on something else? Is that way it's not letting me press all the way down? Or is it because of the distance of how far away I am? Still trying to learn. My photography teacher told me to try and move the camera and then try the focus again, but that didn't work last night. Sometimes I'll also experience this with people as well. I'm primarily an outdoor photographer.

[ElCapitan]

It would help to know what gear you are using. Are you using a point and shoot or a DSLR?

[AffectionateArtistPhotos]

Originally Posted by ElCapitan

It would help to know what gear you are using. Are you using a point and shoot or a DSLR?

I'm using a Nikon P-100 26x zoom, 10.3 Mega Pixels - It's a point and shoot camera.

[sueheckman]

I am so glad to see this post.I just found this site today as I am frustrated with my zoom shots I am getting.I recently purchased a canon sx30is..Not ready for DSLR .Anyway i wanted this one for the zoom.Have seen several photos taken with this camera with some very nice long range zoom .I tried to get a Moon shot today,Tried all different settings and all are not clear.I wait for it to adjust but it seems like it goes in an out of focus.i would really like to get some nice shots of the lunar eclipse coming up.Please what am I doing wrong.I did not have it on tripod so i dont expect it perfect,but I thought the image stabelizer would do better.

[AffectionateArtistPhotos]

Me too!!! I wasn't ready for a SLR either and I wanted it because it has 26x zoom. I chose that over larger megapixels, etc. That's exactly what's happening to me. Hope we get our answer.

[sv_goon]

I have to admit I haven't tried taking pictures of the moon with a P&S, but my experience is even with a DSLR and a tripod, focusing can be tricky. I use Live View and manually focus (Canon T1i) but even then a tiny bit of camera shake is, quite literally, magnified.

I would also hazard a very uneducated guess that your camera might be metering too much of the night sky and not enough of the moon, so it thinks it needs more exposure than it's capable of and gives up. The moon is actually pretty bright but it's small in the field of the sky.

I have a couple nice moon pictures on my Flickr page here, but they are the good ones out of maybe hundreds of frames taken.

If you post some of your attempts, I'm sure some of the more experienced members here could offer some advice.

Will

[SwissJon]

The problem you have is that the autofocus is hunting.. Basically your focus works by finding an edge and makes that as sharp as possible, it goes in and out until what it thinks is a line is as close to 1 pixel wide as it can manage.. If there are no distinct lines in the focus area, the focus will go in then out and hunt for a line on its autofocus area. If it can't find a line or an edge in the autofocus area in the full focus range, it gives up.

What you should do is point the focus area that you see in the view finder or live view, at the edge of the moon.. This will give the autofocus a line to work with. Press the button half down then move the position of the camera to get the moon central and fully press the button.

If you can, I'd suggest you get a remote shutter release, you'll most likely nudge the camera when you are doing this.. I don't know if they're available for your camera, but if they are, they aren't too expensive on fleabay.

Quick tip to avoid over eposure when you take that photo.. Take the photo when the moon is close to the horizon.. The size of the moon when it's overhead is deceptive.. It's white and very bright because it reflects the sun.. The dust in the admosphere has the same effect as it does on the sun.. Close to the horizon it will be dimmer and appear larger.. Much easier to photograph.

Also, as an added bonus, you could get a tree or a building in your photograph for forground interest. The moon points at the earth with the same side everywhere.. There are millions of photos of the moon out there, without a large telescope you're unlikely to get anywhere near as good a photo as the ones you'll find widely available.. But NOBODY has a picture of the moon sillouetting that particular tree at that particular night with that many leaves on it.. Now THAT picture is unique.

Good luck.