How to get better pics of the MOON??

[Viky]

Hi guys!

Its been a while since the photography bug bit me and i'm still doing the learning stages....:)

I'm trying my hands at different forms of photography, and i'm particularly interested in taking pics of the moon!

I've got a fairly decent tool with me for the purpose - the Panasonic FZ5 Ultrazoom with 12x Optical Zoom.

But, i'm not getting any good results:( :( :(

This is the kind of pics i WANT to take...
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/MOON1.jpg


And this is what i'm being able to take...:(
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/rx100/P1040865-1.jpg
Pic taken with a tripod.


Where am i going wrong? How to improve??

-Viky

[JLV]

I notice you have your camera set on pattern metering. Try spot metering.

[D Thompson]

The moon is reflected sunlight. Your shot was ISO100, 1/10 @ f4. Try ISO100, f16 and 1/80th to 1/125th.

[Prospero]

I think the problem is that you used the digital zoom. Digital zoom causes noise and makes a picture look much softer.

The exposure is not too bad, one stop lower and it would have worked just fine. That would mean the settings would be f/4, 1/20th, ISO100.

Perhaps its even better to use ISO 80 here, just to reduce the noise even more.

[debu_17]

i photo u "want" to take like, appears to have been shot with a 2X TC, and with a solid tripod.
the TC increases the focal length of the fZ to 862 mm(for 2X) with out affecting the quality of the image much.
for bttr telephotos ( for moon photo use 432 mm max focal length) keep hand steady with either a support or use a tripod , exposure not slower than 1/200 ,set white
balance to "sunligth" ( as moon is a sunlit object).
without a TC and tripod u cannot get the example pic which u have shown. do not use digi zoom, will only
add noise to ur pic.
use irfan view/adobe p_shop and sharpen/process the photo
u should get good results

[Viky]

The moon is reflected sunlight. Your shot was ISO100, 1/10 @ f4. Try ISO100, f16 and 1/80th to 1/125th.

Max F-point possible on my cam is F8:(

[Viky]

I think the problem is that you used the digital zoom. Digital zoom causes noise and makes a picture look much softer.

The exposure is not too bad, one stop lower and it would have worked just fine. That would mean the settings would be f/4, 1/20th, ISO100.

Perhaps its even better to use ISO 80 here, just to reduce the noise even more.

yes i did use digital zoom here... will try again today as per your suggestions.:) thanks so much for helping out...

[Viky]

i photo u "want" to take like, appears to have been shot with a 2X TC, and with a solid tripod.
the TC increases the focal length of the fZ to 862 mm(for 2X) with out affecting the quality of the image much.
for bttr telephotos ( for moon photo use 432 mm max focal length) keep hand steady with either a support or use a tripod , exposure not slower than 1/200 ,set white
balance to "sunligth" ( as moon is a sunlit object).
without a TC and tripod u cannot get the example pic which u have shown. do not use digi zoom, will only
add noise to ur pic.
use irfan view/adobe p_shop and sharpen/process the photo
u should get good results

Yes, infact my shot was also with a tripod along with 10sec self timer to further reduce camera shake.... i'll try again today with white balance set to "sunlight".... thanks for helping:)

[D Thompson]

Max F-point possible on my cam is F8:(

Oh well, then try ISO100, f8 @ 1/125th to 1/500th and as already suggested - forget the digital zoom.