[re_guderian]

It seems the full moon is pretty hard (for me anyway) to shoot well. I'm using a Canon S2 IS and this was the best I could do, at F4.0, 1/640, ISO 50. I removed the color from it, and used auto focus. For some reason manual focus set at infinity came out fuzzy. Weird... I had this at full zoom (72mm -> 35mm equiv of 432mm), plus used digital zoom (in camera cropping, really, right?), and still cropped it down a bit. Any suggestions on better focus? Is it the wrong exposure settings?

[gladly]

here are some articles on photographing the northern lights, which probably would use similar techniques
http://explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa103098.htm
http://www.royhooper.ca/articles/aurora.html

[Brian in Oregon]

Actually, for what you're doing, that's pretty dang good.

Some cameras focus best for long range just a tiny bit under their infinity setting.

Also, I'd trade some of the shutter speed for a higher f-stop. If you're shooting at 1/640 @ f4, I'd try 1/320 @ f8, and 1/160 @ f16. You may get sharper results with the apeture closed down a bit. Most lenses do their best around f8 to f16.

If you go too slow, the moon will move in the photo. It's surprising how fast it moves when viewed through long focal length lenses.

Also, unless you are using a cable release, try using a count down timer, if your camera has one. Especially if it can be set for between 2 and 5 seconds. If you go much beyond 10, the moon is going to move, so take that into consideration when composing the frame.

And, I assume you are using a tripod. Unless it's something really sturdy, find a way to hang a basket, bucket or something underneath with some ballast. This helps steady all but the flimsiest tripods. (I have a cloth sling I carry when doing scenic photography, and would set big rocks in it.)

[CameraCruiser]

Originally Posted by re_guderian

It seems the full moon is pretty hard (for me anyway) to shoot well. I'm using a Canon S2 IS and this was the best I could do, at F4.0, 1/640, ISO 50. I removed the color from it, and used auto focus. For some reason manual focus set at infinity came out fuzzy. Weird... I had this at full zoom (72mm -> 35mm equiv of 432mm), plus used digital zoom (in camera cropping, really, right?), and still cropped it down a bit. Any suggestions on better focus? Is it the wrong exposure settings?

Rob,

Shooting the full moon is pretty much like shooting any midday high contrast subject on earth. You can either change the shutter speed, aperture, or ISO to control the amount of light hitting your lens, and ultimatly your imaging sensor.

That being said, you are approaching the limits of your wonderful Canon S2. To get captivating images of the moon you are going to need a much longer lens, no digital zoom, remote relase, mirror lock, and a really good tripod. All of these things really put you into the Digital Rebel series or used D20 to start. This way you can rent the 300mm to 500mm lens and get some nice shots. It's amazingf, but you can generally rent a $2K to 3K lens for $25 to $40 for weekend. Pick it up after noon on Friday and return by noon on a Monday. Renting high end gear is a good way to go.

In terms of your camera, I'd switch to ISO 100, change the aperture to 5.6 - 11 somewhere (to get to the sweet spot of the lens) and change your speed to anywhere 200 and above. Turn off digital zoom and mount this thing on the best tripod that you can get. Check your owners guide to see if you can lock the mirror on your model. If yes, learn to use that and the timer to eliminate all image shake from your shots. Use your histogram to make sure that you are caputing all the lumenence of the moon without clipping the whites. You can tone it down in Photoshop or another image editing application later.

These are all great places to start, and start saving for new camera body.

Good luck

[NaterGator]

Regrettably this is the only shot of the moon I have:

For something so common, I never seem to photograph it... anyways that was just handheld, no tricky shutter releases, etc... and just one good old fashioned try. You can get much better moon crops than that, I'm just too lazy

Anyways, here are some tips:
Don't photograph the full moon (oops) because it has no texture. You will see much more detail and have more contrast on a partial moon. Shoot with conservative contrast and sharpening settings on your camera (turn it down) and use Photoshop to convert your image to greyscale. Summing the 3 color channels will allow you to push the levels and contrast more, and allow you to sharpen more aggressively without false halos. Finally, shoot at ~ ISO400 and use as high of F number as possible... the moon is pretty darn bright and you will want the extra sharpness at infinity focus. It also goes without saying that focal length is king for moon detail. The effective 35mm equiv of the lense I used was 640mm (a 400mm Canon L lens on an APS-C crop body)

-----Nate

[swank60]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet - shoot on a tripod. Also, don't use the digital zoom. I'd also use the timed shutter release or, if you can trip the shutter over and over just by holding down the release, that would work, too (eventually you'll get a shot that is free from any vibration caused by the shutter release).

As far as shooting speeds go, I would use a smaller aperture opening - f5.6 at the minimum - f9 if I felt like I could pull it of - ISO of 200 to 400.

That would be my starting point, then I'd make adjustments and shoot a whole lot, making changes as I went along. All things considered, I would expect to shoot 40-60 photos and get 1-2 good shots out of that. Out of all I've said, the most critical is to use a stable tripod and not use the digital zoom.

[re_guderian]

Thanks all for the good input. I forgot to mention that I did use a tripod, with either a 2 second or 10 second delay to avoid the shake from me hitting the release. Good tip on weighting down the tripod too, it's a flimsy one but the camera isn't that heavy either. My S2 can't lock the mirror, and my max f-stop is 8. Also, my max ISO is 400, but the noise blows at 200 and 400, so I try to stick with 50 and 100 and adjust exposure accordingly. I'll try some more of the tips tonight and see if I can do better. And this was the best one out of about 50 shots taken. More ammo for moving up to the DSLR realm...

[swank60]

Originally Posted by re_guderian

…More ammo for moving up to the DSLR realm...

Heck yeah it is!

I don't have the links on this computer, but when I get to my laptop later in the day I have some links that might further inspire you toward the DSLR. I'm not sure what setup this person was using, but what I have bookmarked are really nice shots of the moon with planes flying right in front of it. Pretty amazing what the photographer was able to get...

Similar to this, only much better:

[nat]

Definitely up your iso...........not sure how noisy your sensor can be, but 200-400 iso. Shoot in aperture priority mode 5.6-8, try and have the camera meter only the moon, and hopefully you have a really fast shutter speed. Swank's suggestion of no digital zoom is a good one, try and use only optical zoom. Enjoy!!

[nat]

Here is mine:

[SINCITY100]

Originally Posted by NaterGator

Regrettably this is the only shot of the moon I have:

For something so common, I never seem to photograph it... anyways that was just handheld, no tricky shutter releases, etc... and just one good old fashioned try. You can get much better moon crops than that, I'm just too lazy

-----Nate

You shot that handheld with (eqiv) 640mm of glass Nater ? Quite impressive indeed !

Come to think of it, personally I dont have any close-up shots of the moon...

Maybe I will try tonight , but I wont be trying it handheld

[SINCITY100]

Originally Posted by nat

Here is mine:

How about some image info nat ... Was that taken with your 5d ?

[nat]

Originally Posted by SINCITY100

How about some image info nat ... Was that taken with your 5d ?

Taken with the 5D, 300mm f4 with a 1.4 teleconverter. It was taken from our hotel room on a trip to San Francisco, we stay at a place that has balconies. I spot metered the moon and as I recall it was:

1600 iso
f5.6
1/3000 sec

I used photoshop to adjust the layers and then created a new layer and blended the two for improved contrast.

[SINCITY100]

Ahh yes, ISO 1600 ... Thats where the 5D really shines

I love the (lack of) noise at high ISOs on the 5D . With the 1DII NoiseNinja is usually a neccessity over 400

[NaterGator]

Originally Posted by SINCITY100

Ahh yes, ISO 1600 ... Thats where the 5D really shines

I love the (lack of) noise at high ISOs on the 5D . With the 1DII NoiseNinja is usually a neccessity over 400

You should peep the new 1D III, it's getting dangerously close to the 5D's noise levels.

I swear though, in another 2-3 years we're going to be using cameras we can only dream about today. Plenoptic cameras are on the horizon, and I can't wait for this sensor tech to come into play:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0512/05121201new_chips.asp

Factor in quantum computing in a few years and cameras are going to be getting ridiculously good.

[nat]

I really thought about the 1DmkII, but having that big sensor with its realatively noise free images was too much of a draw

[nat]

Originally Posted by NaterGator

You should peep the new 1D III, it's getting dangerously close to the 5D's noise levels.

I swear though, in another 2-3 years we're going to be using cameras we can only dream about today. Plenoptic cameras are on the horizon, and I can't wait for this sensor tech to come into play:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0512/05121201new_chips.asp

Factor in quantum computing in a few years and cameras are going to be getting ridiculously good.

amazing stuff...............I will just be happy to use the 5D somewhere near its potential over the next few years.

[ducktapeguy]

Have you also tried turning off your image stabilization? I know Canon's have optical IS which in theory it shouldn't really make a difference, but if you're shooting on a tripod you don't need it anyway. It's just that sometimes it's best to go all manual and turn off all the electronic gadgetry so you know exactly what's happening. Also, I don't think the S2 has a mirror, so no need to worry about locking it up.

All these moon shots have inspired me to take more night photos again. I just picked up a Panasonic FZ8, equivilent to the Canon S3 (which my girlfried just bought). They're both amazing cameras. Just a huge step up compared to the Nikon F I used to lug around.

[nat]

actually that is a good point.............on my image stabilization lenses, you are supposed to turn the IS off or it will give you problems.

[SINCITY100]

Originally Posted by nat

actually that is a good point.............on my image stabilization lenses, you are supposed to turn the IS off or it will give you problems.

Do you have 2 I/S settings on your lens ? My 300 2.8 I/S supposedly has a "tripod detect" mode that will reduce mirror-slap vibration when mounted on a tripod.

Although 95% of my images are taken on a tripod, I must say though that my best handheld shots ( even with a 2X converter ) were taken with the I/S on. Its really amazing at how many keepers I produced particularly while shooting from a moving platform under low light (a small cruise ship)