Tonight I tried again... Better?

Panasonic DMW-LTZ10 1.5x Teleconverter

04/14/2006 03:14:58 AM · #1

I worked on camera settings. I think these are better. Comments, suggestions?
just croped nothing else
played with a little
another try at brighting...

kari1

Panasonic DMC-FZ20

04/14/2006 03:23:29 AM · #2

Good solid moon shots.

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

04/14/2006 03:39:37 AM · #3

Wow... What did the ones the other night look like? What kind of setting, lens, etc did you use?

Message edited by author 2006-04-14 03:40:01.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

04/14/2006 03:48:27 AM · #4

The ones from the other night (last night) are in the posting "i tried" it was the auto setting on my camera.. Honeslty, until last night and input from folks here I did not know the settings changed. Tonight I just kept setting and resetting in the M and I found the shutter speed. I went from near black images to orange, to you name it. Finally I got images that were like the first one in the list and played with them in photoshop and paint shop pro. I am VERY new to photography so im trying to teach myself the hardware and software. Hopefully I am a quick learner :)

ShorterThanJesus

Nikon D300

04/14/2006 03:56:23 AM · #5

That's a nice looking moon. You'll probably find the same thing as me though, even with a 300mm lense, that moon still only fills up a small portion of the shot. This is where 500mm lenses with 2x multiplier rings are handy (I dream of the day that I own something like that).

I notice that the natural shot seemed a bit underexposed. Consider adding an extra stop of light (bring it up from 1/8000 to 1/4000s).

Also, you are shooting at ISO 1600. This is just asking for a noisy photo. Bring that down to ISO 200 to ensure that you're getting the purest shot possible.

The jump from ISO1600 to ISO200 is equal to 3 stops less light so you'll have to lengthen your shutter speed as well. Move from 1/4000 (see suggestion ^) to 1/500s.

Hope that helps.

kari1

Panasonic DMC-FZ20

Panasonic DMW-LTZ10 1.5x Teleconverter

04/14/2006 04:31:24 AM · #6

I took your lead liltritter and tried a moon shot ....

I think it worked ok ... especially since it was taken on my panasonic :)

Panasonic DMW-LTZ10 1.5x Teleconverter

04/14/2006 04:32:16 AM · #7

I just discovered the iso setting. I had it set at 200, but the auto iso got me. I have not figured out how to set the iso, shutter speed and light meter(?) on this (thinking nice words, thinking nice words) camera. I started playing with the settings hours ago. I put it down for a break as the moon is now hidden behind clouds. ( I missed beautiful shots). I need a nikon d70s for idiots book.

kari1

Panasonic DMC-FZ20

04/14/2006 04:34:26 AM · #8

Littritter where abouts are you ... here in NZ .. or close by?

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

04/14/2006 04:37:03 AM · #9

High Desert of California

ShorterThanJesus

Nikon D300

04/14/2006 04:58:17 AM · #10

Originally posted by liltritter:

...I need a nikon d70s for idiots book.

I am a technical writer, I am trained to write manuals for a living (don't let my spaztic style on here convince you otherwise). My simple message is "Read the Manual"

When it discusses something you're not familiar with, see if you can find that term in the manual. If not, google or wikipedia it.

I shoot 90% of the time in full manual mode (should be the M setting on your dial). The front wheel (index finger) will control your shutter speed (clockwise = faster shutter speed, counter-clockwise = longer), the rear wheel (thumb) will control the aperature size (best to leave it at f5.6 or larger (smaller number) for now.

The light meter (this is where you need to have your manual out beside you) will be visible through your viewfinder. Mine looks something like:
+ . . 0 . . -
There will be a series of bars underneath. If they are pushing towards the - then the camera is looking at the scene and saying that your settings would underexpose the image. Flip those meanings for the + sign.

Your goal, generally, is to have those little bars centered under the 0. as this means the camera is set exactly to what the light meter views as 'correct'. The only issue is in situations like moon shots where there is a lot of black, the camera will think it needs more light so the meter says that it's an underexposed image even though it might be perfect. In those cases, I adjust the light meter until the camera is happy, and then underexpose the image a stop or two (3-6 clicks on the wheel) to make sure that it's actually going to expose properly.

Also look in to 'spot metering' in your manual. Describes an easier way to get an accurate meter result from situations like this.