1st pic attempts on my 5100 - THE MOON

Ok, I'm almost afraid to do this but I want to learn and I've got thick skin to take the criticism (constructive, right?) so here goes. First pics with my d5100 that I bought Wed night, and first attempt ever using Lightroom. I was inspired by N_Addy's post, and used some of his tips for the shot. As for Lightroom, I just moved the sliders to what I thought looked good - but I'm not sure about the final result or not. I like this one the best. Ok, let me have it!

Crop in more, lighten it up a bit maybe a bit more contrast. Move it out of being directly in the center of the frame. (read about the rule of thirds)

Great shot!

I agree. I would move it slightly left of center but not all the way to the third the idea being to "balance" the moon in the frame and put it on a diagonal. Nice shot for true!

Yes I agree with both the above.

I would like to see a full resolution version.

I see motion blur. Moon shots are not that easy to do without a tripod. Were you using one?

Thanks guys. Yep Rule of thirds, shot composition. It was all in my head. Until I got into lightroom, and the excitement/worry/fear of actually processing my RAW file took over. Wanted the moon to look right so bad that all the other stuff went out the window. Guess that's not how a real photographer thinks, is it? Lesson learned.

I was using a tripod, 200mm, 1/60 sec at f8, ISO 100. I DIDN'T use a remote release (don't have one yet) but thought I got around this by setting the self timer on the camera so I wouldn't interfere with my shutter press. Would this still introduce blur?

Full resolution, here you go:

The D5100 like fast shutter speeds and can handle higher ISO. Try shooting at ISO 400 next time, this will allow you more shutter speed. Nice shot!

I think using the exposure delay may be more important that a remote. This give the camera time to settle from the mirror slap before it opens the shutter. Assuming the 5100 has an exposure delay function, that is.

I agree with a bit higher ISO. Your D5100 can handle it. My D80 is notorious for noise at even mildly high ISOs (basically anything over 160).

It looks pretty good to me. I agree with what others have said regarding composition but that's secondary to getting the exposure down pat. My only other thought is that it looks over-sharpened to my eye.

Here are the LR3 settings I used on the shot in my other thread. I'm not suggesting the exact same settings will work for your shot but maybe they'll give you some rough guidelines. Sorry I can't give you the equivalents in LR4. I can't use it yet since I'm still running XP.

Temp: 4550
Tint -2
Exposure -1.15
Recovery 62
Fill 0
Blacks 21
Contrast +45
Clarity +30
Vibrance +20
Saturation +10 (probably not necessary)

Sharpening:
Amount 98
Radius .8
Detail 66
Masking 0

i would be happy with the moon shot lol i am an amateur just learning night photography myself. but it looks pretty crisp to me