Focussing on the moon?

I've made several attempts at moon shots, all have been blurred and out of focus, how do you guys manage to get a crisp / sharp focus on the moon? I'm using a nikon 70-300.


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Tripod, LiveView focusing using the magnifier, mirror up, delay, etc.

I've always used a tripod and remote shutter release, I assume its manual focus in live view with the magnifier you're referring to right? What do you mean by mirror up?


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It should be at infinity? What exposure times are you using and are you shooting wide open? Depending on how much of the moon is occupying the field of view, your camera might be overexposing, hence the camera-shake induced blur. Mirror up means you lock up the mirror that normally flips up during an exposure but if you lock it up ahead of time, then that eliminates any vibration caused by the mirror alone. That lens isn't very big and heavy so that wouldn't be the issue. It could be that your tripod is simply not stable enough. What kind are you using?

crycocyon said:

It should be at infinity?

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The problem with the auto focus lenses is that you can't just turn them all the way and set at infinity. They go past that point. It is one thing I hate about the new lenses. I also wish they had the depth of field markings like the old lenses had.

The key is to set your camera on "spot" meter, not matrix and the auto-focus shouldn't have a problem obtaining focus. But I suspect your problem is that you're blowing the moon out by over exposing.

If auto focus doesn't do it and you don't want to mess with live view, you can make note of where your lens focuses at infinity during a daytime shot and preset to that focus for the moon.

Keep in mind the moon as the main subject is not a 'night scene', it is a big rock sitting out in the sun, so it needs to be exposed as such. Like Dave says, spot meter. Or a manual exposure guess for a daytime scene. If you can get your shutter speed high enough, you can get a decent shot hand held. But better to keep your iso low, shoot at your sharpest aperture and use a tripod.

I have never been able to get a good shot of the moon. I am going to try it again when the clouds clear and see if I can get it following all the tips here.

If you set your focus point to spread across the edge of the moon so that one half of the focus point is on the moon and the other half in the black of the sky it will give you the contrast needed to obtain a good focus. At least it seems to work for my camera/lens.

would this help?

http://nikonites.com/low-light-night/7733-star-photography-one-one-4.html#post131416

I like using LiveView, using the +/- buttons to zoom, when I can't get the lens to lock on its own. Dave's suggestions are spot on, and generally work for me.

Samsonite said:

I've always used a tripod and remote shutter release, I assume its manual focus in live view with the magnifier you're referring to right? What do you mean by mirror up?


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Click to expand...

What I meant by "mirror up" is to select the setting where the mirror goes up and there is a delay before the shutter opens. This prevents the vibration of the mirror from ruining the sharpness of the shot, or, from another point of view helps to get a sharper shot.

Marcel said:

What I meant by "mirror up" is to select the setting where the mirror goes up and there is a delay before the shutter opens. This prevents the vibration of the mirror from ruining the sharpness of the shot, or, from another point of view helps to get a sharper shot.

Click to expand...

Oh, I forgot to add, don't forget to turn VR "OFF".

So is mirror up similar to exposure delay?


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Yes, similar. I don't know what camera you have, but on the d7000, there is both. On plain old mirror up, you push shutter release, mirror goes up, press again and photo is taken. Exposure delay removes need for a second press. Press shutter release and mirror goes up, slight delay and picture is taken. Good for tripod use without a remote.

while Moon shots are done over and over, they are a good exercise in technique. The best time for full moon is when there is still some light left in the sky, and you want to adust your ISO to keep your exposure time down.

Number one issue is camera shake, so the remote release is CRITICAL and make sure the camera has time to settle down due to your focusing, prior to snapping.

Manual focus is required, dial it in.

Lovely pics! Well done!


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Just a "small" tip I learned a while back is to find an object at infinity during the daytime. Focus on it and mark the lens with tape (I use painters tape). One piece of tape on the focus ring and one on the body.
Make a mark across the two pieces of tape at infinity. At night, when in manual focus, break out the flashlight and align the marks on the tape. Voila... You're in focus. (for the moon that is). Note... Painters tape does not leave any sticky residue if you remove it after your shoot.

I just love shooting the moon like a lot of us...
The technique I use is very simple, in fact I don't use a tripod most of the time cos the vr is quite sufficient.

Here is an example



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Wow that's a brilliant shot!


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