It's not that hard. Here's one using the old f8, 1/ISO shutter speed rule I learned decades ago which always works. I used a 24mp APSC camera with a Tamron 150-600mm lens. I cropped it from the original. To get closer requires a telescope. Using the terminator always gives far better results than the full moon which for some reason people love to do. Click on "original size" for best view.
nice
You're talking about the position of the terminator (shadow), which actually changes continuously - just very slowly.
As expected. The left side has the most distinct shadows from the low sun position there. The right side has no shadows, due to the high sun position there.
I assume that's because yours was shot during the opposite moon phase - or upside-down.
Take two shots separated by a few hours. The terminator will have moved a bit.
The detail occurs within the terminator where shadows occur. That is usually a rather narrow area. The right side of my photo is not soft. It looks that way because there are no shadows so the sunlight obscures the detail. The best shots are taken when the moon is high in the sky on a clear cool night. While there is some change in the position of the Terminator that occurs over a few hours waiting until the next night will show a greater change. The article describes how to get as much detail over a wider area in a single night. I simply don't have the dedication to do that!
No it is not hard. But you need to use manual mode otherwise the camera will try to expose the sky as well. Remember that the moon is really very bright, so you can shoot handheld with shutter speed of 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 400-800. Don't let the camera set up any of the three exposure parameters. I usually also bracket my shots just in case.
Yes, full manual. I found that 1/400, ISO 400 at f8 works well at any phase of the moon.
There is a detail also on the part of the Moon that is lit with a flat light but it has lower contrast so it's quite easy to lose it in noise. The answer is to use to optics with larger diameter and that usually means a telescope.The detail occurs within the terminator where shadows occur. That is usually a rather narrow area. The right side of my photo is not soft. It looks that way because there are no shadows so the sunlight obscures the detail. The best shots are taken when the moon is high in the sky on a clear cool night. While there is some change in the position of the Terminator that occurs over a few hours waiting until the next night will show a greater change. The article describes how to get as much detail over a wider area in a single night. I simply don't have the dedication to do that!
Even in your excellent shot, the lack of contrast in the full moon shot obscures the detail.There is a detail also on the part of the Moon that is lit with a flat light but it has lower contrast so it's quite easy to lose it in noise. The answer is to use to optics with larger diameter and that usually means a telescope.
Here is an example of a single shot where I used Nikon D7000 attached to 6" f/5 Newtonian telescope with 1.15x coma corrector. The resulting focal length is 863 mm and 1294 mm in FF equivalent.
It's like with any other subject, the look depends on the light. Near terminator, it's about relief of the surface. In the flat lit part, differences in color get more important.Even in your excellent shot, the lack of contrast in the full moon shot obscures the detail.There is a detail also on the part of the Moon that is lit with a flat light but it has lower contrast so it's quite easy to lose it in noise. The answer is to use to optics with larger diameter and that usually means a telescope.
Here is an example of a single shot where I used Nikon D7000 attached to 6" f/5 Newtonian telescope with 1.15x coma corrector. The resulting focal length is 863 mm and 1294 mm in FF equivalent.
I agree that it's not that hard to get some Moon shot. However, to get a really excellent one is not easy at all.
Let's consider following calculation:
The detail on the left side indicates that the moon was just shy of full. You also adjusted the contrast to an unrealistic level but I like it.Full moon photos are a little trickier because the harsh, flat, straight on light casts very few shadows and so contrast and detail at the craters is usually poor.
This is about the best I can get of a full moon.
Yes. The moon is in lit by full sunlight. It's about as bright as the sidewalk at noon on a sunny summer day.
