Ask PS

#AskPS: Why do my moon shots have no detail?

L asked:

I cannot make a good moon shot, every picture comes with no detail. I have a Nikon D7100 with a Sigma 18-250mm, using a tripod. For example, I use 200 ISO and F/11. Does vibration from the lens make any difference?


Hi L,

Without seeing an example image, it’s hard for me to tell exactly what the problem might be. But, it’s likely that either you are exposing for too long (due to using f/11 and ISO 200), or that there is some vibration in the image due to camera shake, as you asked. If you’re using a lens with stabilization, you should remember to disable lens stabilization when shooting on a tripod!
 
Try increasing the ISO a bit and/or lowering the aperture to something like f/5 or so. You should require a very short exposure for just about any moon shot.
 
All the best, and good luck!
-Cory
[the_ad id=”8143″]

About the author

Cory Schmitz

Co-founder of PhotographingSpace.com, co-owner of several telescopes and mounts, too many cameras, and not enough hard drives.

An avid astrophotographer for timelapse, deep-space imaging, lunar, planetary, and star trail imagery, he is an all-around jack-of-most-trades for night-sky photography.

He is also an internationally published and commissioned astrophotographer, where his photos have been used in multiple online and print publications.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

From PhotographingSpace.com:

Astrophotography Photoshop Actions!

Make your Milky Way POP and finish off your photos like a pro with our Photoshop Action Packs optimized specifically for astrophotography!
Privacy Overview

Just like every website has done since the dawn of any advanced functions like using Javascript, PhotographingSpace.com uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Thanks to the GDRP regulations and the EU, we have to tell you all this information in an annoying popup box. Unfortunately, we must enable this functionality to comply with the EU regulations.

Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful, when NOT to show you popups, and tracking our web traffic, etc.

You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.