Photographing the moon with an FZ20

[oceangoer]

I don't know if anyone else out there can help, but i recently tried to photograph the moon on a nice clear night with my FZ20. But whether I used manual or auto focus, or every other combination of exposure and shutter setting, I cannot get a focused picture of the moon!. Strangely enough, later in the week we had a terrific thunderstorm which kept me awake most of the night, so like a sad git I got up and tried to photograph the lightning. What a fantastic image I got with tripod, shutter release and 8 second opening !. Why then, if it can capture the brightness and intensity of a forked lightning, can I not get the moon!!!
Yours frustratingly

[jcon]

This topic has been discussed alot on this forum, here is one thread that will help you. You may also try the search feature at the top of the panasonic forum and search for "moon" and I am sure you will find some more threads there...

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5107&highlight=moon

[emalvick]

Why don't you post an example of each type of shot you took. I'd especially be interested in the lightning shots, but the moon shots could be helpful too.

Also, you have to say more about what settings you used, what is wrong with the shots, etc. There are so many things that can go wrong as I've found out on my own experiences in taking photos of the moon.

Erik

[oceangoer]

Unfortunately, here in plymouth the moon is not out, so i can't post any examples. Any previous ones I deleted in frustration.!! - they just all appeared as a very bright unfocused light, almost like looking into the sun.

I have saved the picure of the lightning to a suitable size for uploading - as I'm new to this forum I think its attached, but if it fails, any advice as to what I'm doing wrong would be welcome.

[behr655]

I haven't been able to get any "great" shots of the moon either. However, when I use manual focus I can get some ok shots. The FZ20 just cannot focus in low light. It's the only thing I really don't like about it.

Bear

[emalvick]

That lightning shot looks cool although you should post it a bit bigger or post it on an image site that you could link to...

Anyway, if the moon is appearing too bright it is because you are overexposing the shot. My solution for taking shots of the moon has always been to use the spot metering function. If you use the centerweighted average or just average light metering, the dark parts of the sky almost always make the camera expose a shot too long (or suggest that in manual mode).

With the spot metering, the camera will expose just right for the moon if you meter on the moon.

If you've read the forums, you'll find that people also often use EV -2/3 for exposure compensation. I still do this for the moon.

While your shot will depend on the brightness of the moon, the phase, etc, on average I get shots using ISO 100, f4.0 or 5.6, and shutter speeds from 1/125 to 1/400 of a second. I usually shoot in full automatic or shutter priority on a tripod. The zoom makes a difference, and I am sure many other factors will.

Just remember that the moon is reflecting sun light at you. It is bright, and you don't need long shutter speeds at all to get a good shot.

Now in shooting lightning. I've not had such good luck as you did. I find that in intense thunder storms, 8 s can be too much and I've had totally washed out shots. The lightening brightens the hole sky to some extent and too much lightening can lead to too much brightness. Long exposures only work well if the lightning is sparse and you need that long to catch a bolt or two. Of course, you have a good shot, so keep that up.

I hope your moon shots work out in the future too.

Erik

[emalvick]

I have a FZ15, and I've never had much trouble focusing on the moon in automatic. I just use the edge of the moon as the spot I focus on. The cameras like sharp lines and edges for focusing. I'm not sure if the FZ20 should be any different. I don't use any add on lens if that makes a difference too.

Erik

[dev]

I've had some luck with f2.8 and 1/640. Went a little crazy with the unsharp mask, though.

[Dingo]

great shot -

what is "unsharp mask" ?

[meillana]

here's my handheld moon shot cropped around 40-50% with unsharp mask as well (photoshop)
not sure if these are the same settings i used... f5.6 - ISO400 - 1/250
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/meillana/P1050168_r.jpg
you may want to check out the photo gallery discussion thread...
A Photo of the Moon (http://dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7132)
good luck on your shots and hope you share it :)

[dev]

great shot -

what is "unsharp mask" ?

A photoshop filter. It helps sharpen details, but I kinda overdid it there.

[oceangoer]

Thanks for all the advice - of course I can't put it in to practice until the moon is back out, but I'll certainly post some of my efforts when I do. - I think because I can't see the moon in focus through either the EVF or on the LCD, it has been confusing me - I think I've definitely been overexposing.
Can someone give me some advice about uploading pics to the forum. - I'm sure there's an old thread somewhere. It informs me that the max file size is 19.5K - which is about what the lightning picture is, but I can hardly see it - is there an ideal resolution/dimensions to convert to?

The lightning picture I took I am really proud of, and would like to make it bigger on screen for you to see. I took it on manual mode, F4 at 8 secs on a tripod with shutter release. The fork of lightning happened after about 3 seconds and then I immediately closed the shutter.

[emalvick]

I thought the maximum file size was 117k? I usually resize my photos to roughly 800 x 600 or even 640 x 480. I shoot for enough so that people can see it without having a huge file size or even a huge image.

I notice that some people post their images in dedicated sites for images. You can find many threads (perhaps outside the Panasonic forum) discussing advantages and disadvantages to this. You can then reference an image through a link or code and have it show up here in a larger size.

Some of these sites are fee based and others aren't. I don't personally use any... yet, so I won't make a recommendation, but others might if you are interested.

Erik

[Dave6833]

Use the "Sunny 16" rule when photographing the moon. Set the aperature and shutter speed manually to f/16 at 1/film speed, and you should be fine. Manually focus to infinity if you have to. You will probably have to use a wider aperature for less than a full moon.

Great shot BTW!

[oceangoer]

Thanks for the last tip!

I think my problem is, that coming from an old pentax manual SLR with a focusing guide on the lens telling you when you are at infinity, the Panasonic has no markings.! So I am trying to focus via my view through the EVF or the LCD display and cannot relate to the fact that the blurred image I see is not what I am going to end up with if I set my aperture and shutter speeds correctly.

The photos of the moon previously posted are superb, so I am obviously doing something wrong!!

ps. The shutter on the Panasonic will only close to F8!!!

[Richard Scott]

I've got great, sharp moon shots by doing these simple things. Tripod is a must, there is no way to handhold a 12X or greater moon shot and expect to get sharp focus. Manual focus on the edge of the moon, then recenter. Lens setting of around F4 - 5.6 and shutter 100-200. Of course these will have to be adjusted for the moon phases, but they are in the ballpark. Then the most important thing I think is to use the 10 second selftimer. It allows the camera vibrations, after shutter release, to settle down. the manual says to turn off IS if using a tripod, but I've tried it both on and off and could not tell the difference in the outcome of the photo.

Richard

[Dave6833]

ps. The shutter on the Panasonic will only close to F8!!!

Simple. Just use 1/(4X film speed) for the shutter speed to compensate (since f/8 lets in 4X the light that f/16 does).

BTW, in manual mode the LCD display does adjust it's brightness as you adjust the exposure. You should be able to get a decent display of the moon once you adjust the camera settings. I'm assuming that once you reduce the image glare you'd be able to auto-focus.

[oceangoer]

Thanks everyone for the advice - I've already discovered many things I was doing wrong - particularly not having the 'spot- meter' turned on.

I'm just waiting for the cloud to lift to try it out later tonight.

Andy

[mica]

Here's a moon picture I shot last month, DMC-FZ20 was spot metered, 100 iso, 1/500th of a second shutter priority, f 4.6, cropped and color removed. Believe me, I had to try dozens of combinations all with varying results. A tripod is a must mostly owing to the long focal length. Not that I know what I'm doing or anything but I think the spot metering helped the most. Still learning.

[oceangoer]

Having taken in all your hints and tips - I've had some success - here is my first effort. (at least I hope it displays)

[meillana]

lovely shot! cheers :cool: