waning half
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"...and he shall be taken to the corner of luna."
Okay...
There's a gorgeous moon in the sky, and you want to preserve a digital image of it forever. You always carry a camera in your pocket, just for such memorable occasions, you point, shoot, and...
The resulting image is an amorphous white blob that doesn't resemble much of anything.
What happened? What went wrong?
The moon is a highly reflective object. What your eyes perceive, and can adjust to, is light from the sun from the other side of the Earth, reflecting off the lunar surface. As I said, your eyes can easily adjust to the light, and even make out some details. Your camera needs a little help.
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Lunar photography is something I really enjoy. One great thing about it is, you don't need expensive equipment to achieve wonderful results. Any digital camera capable of being set manually can do the job adequately.
Here're a couple of tips and tricks to make for some interesting lunar photography...
As a basis, the equipment I use is either a Kodak P712 or a Kodak P850 with a Kodak Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 1.4x 55mm telephoto lens attached. I don't use any filters when photopgraphing the moon.
I occasionally use my workhorse, a Kodak P880, but its zoom usually isn't enough to bring out the detail I like to capture. Some lunar photos I've done have also been taken using a Kodak Z650 as well.
While it's not essential to use a tripod, it's very helpful to have your camera mounted to one. Mine is an inexpensive Kodak Gear tripod.
Yeah...
I like Kodak stuff...
Let's get down to the meat and bones. The main reason why your lunar photographs won't show any details is because your shutter speed is set too slowly, allowing too much light to reach the lens. In full manual mode, set your exposure time (shutter speed) to anywhere between 1/100 - 1/125.
Aperature? You'll find most of your best work will happen in lunar phases of both waxing and waning. Shooting a full moon can get tricky - at least with bringing out desirable details. It's just too bright. This is where bringing down your aperature will help - the brighter the moon, the lower your aperature should be. You can also increase your shutter speed slightly to compensate. I normally begin by stopping down my aperature to f/8, and working my way back up if the results are too dim.
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waxing
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I keep the ISO setting at 100 (Kodak cameras are somewhat notorious for noise at higher ISO), and for most of these shots, I had auto-focus on.
Does your camera have a timer function? If it does, use it in conjunction with having it mounted on a tripod. Ten seconds can mean a world of difference when it comes to shakes. Just line up your shot, press the shutter release - with the timer set for ten seconds, and any vibrations from depressing the shutter button will disappate by the time the shutter is released.
02/2008 lunar eclipse
I get my best results using a Kodak P712 at nearly full zoom, with a Kodak Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 1.4x 55mm Telephoto Lens attached, mounted to a Kodak Gear tripod. It's a set up that's both simple and efficient.
If you're using a telephoto lens, be sure to have your camera set up for FTL (Focus Through Lens) in your firmware - You'll notice improved results if you do.
my kodak gadget bag
Then there's Photoshop. Yes, wonderful Photoshop. To further enhance what your camera's done with the lunar surface, I recommend that you first convert your picture to black and white. Let's face it, the moon is colorless - you won't be losing anything except some unwanted noise and distortion. Then you can play around with brightness and contrast to bring out details you weren't aware of before. I don't always mess around with brightness/contrast, sometimes the results are fine as they are, but I
always reduce the image to black and white.
the full moon
There you have it. These are the techniques I use. You may want to experiment and try other things - which is great! That's what it's all about. If you'd care to
add anything, or
share your own methods, please feel free to do so
here!
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