A question for you digital photographes…having just gotten a digital camera (KODAK 4 Megapixels), I want to try photographing the full moon. I’d like to catch it as it rises over a ridge, silhouetted by a lone pine tree.
This camera has a 10X zoom…how should I go about this?
10x zoom may not be enough, but even if it is you’re going to need a tripod and to set the camera with manual settings, the auto ones are almost never going to work for this sort of thing.
Check on the threads of DCResource, there was a thread on this recently. Here’s the direct link.
You don’t really need to use a tripod for a picture of the moon itself. The moon is much, much brighter than you think. You either have to manual meter for it, or use the “sunny-16 rule” for exposure.
The sunny-16 rule states that for any object illuminated by the full sun (i.e. a tree or person on a sunny day), the correct exposure at f/16 is approximately 1/ISO. So, if you’re shooting at 100 ISO, the correct daytime exposure is about 1/100 (or 1/125) at f/16.
Since the moon is illuminated by the full sun, the Sunny 16 rule applies. So, shoot at the lowest ISO you can (100 is fine), and use this exposure table:
f/16 at 1/125
f/11 at 1/250
f/8 at 1/500
f/5.6 at 1/1000
f/4 at 1/2000
If you’re using a very long zoom (10x doesn’t really tell me much…what’s the focal length equivalent?) I would use something like f/8 @ 1/500 if I’m handholding it.
Given that this exposure rule is just a rule of thumb, it would also help to bracket around to make sure you get a satisfying result.
You should be able to get a decent silhoutte if you frame the shot correctly. But be aware that because of the great contrast difference between foreground and background (moon), you will only get detail in the moon, and any surrounding landscape that’s lit by it will go completely to black.
If you’re wondering, pretty much all those moon cityscape-type shots you see are composites. If you were to expose for the city, the moon would be horrendously overexposed. If you were to expose for the moon, all you would see is a few points of light on the city.