lens for moon photography

rosebud · 09-06-2014, 07:23 AM

Can anyone please give me some info as to what lens length I would need to buy for taking pictures of the moon. I have a lens that goes to 300mm but it doesn't get close and its not sharp.

stillshot2 · 09-06-2014, 08:12 AM

300mm should be ok. Having lots of megapixels helps too, so you can crop afterwards to get "closer". I took this photo with a 16mp Sony a55 at only 200mm with a nice and sharp 80's Minolta lens: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/7007076640/in/photolist-bFc6Ld-bnNH9x so I'd say even 200mm can be enough.

As of now, I have a Pentax K30 with the same 16mp sensor, and I use a Pentax 80-200mm f4.7-5.6 from the 90's that only cost me around $30. This combo can also take sharp pictures when the lens' aperture is stopped down a little and cropped afterwards, such as this one: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/14888388706/

I'd suggest setting your lens around 280mm, stopping it down to f8 or f9, and put it on a tripod to eliminate any camera movement and see if your moon pictures sharpen up a bit. Just curious, but exactly what lens is it?

Adam · 09-06-2014, 08:24 AM

When shooting the moon it's important to have a stable setup and to use a fast enough shutter speed. You also need to nail the focus.

Thus, it's best to have a lens with a tripod mount as well a sturdy tripod. I'd say anything other than a consumer superzoom is optically good enough for decent moon shots, so you definitely don't need to go spending a lot of money. Just practice a bit and make sure your tripod is stable and you'll end up getting good results

**interested_observer** · 09-06-2014, 08:43 AM - **1 Like**

Good Morning - well at least here...

Shooting the Moon, I don't think is dependent on a single item - such as a lens. But, I can certainly understand what you are asking. 300mm is a pretty long lens (or a zoom out to 300mm), and should do the trick. As such, it is not going to fill the frame, so you are going to need to crop. All of that said, there are a whole host of other items to consider and address, that goes into getting a good shot.

The Moon is a bright spot usually in a dark sky (well at least at night). You camera has at least two main exposure approaches. One set averages the light over the entire frame (or a good part of it - such as center averaging). The problem here is that the Moon is a very bright spot and everything else is pretty black. So, these modes really do not help. There is also spot mode, which uses the point at the center of frame to meter off of. With the Moon being so bright, this is the mode that you want to use. [Note - after shooting the moon, reset the camera back to the mode it was previously in - or you will wind up with the camera acting different than before.]

With the Moon being so bright, you can use ISO 100 or 200. You can also stop down to f8, or so to get to the sweet spot in your lens. Also, you can go completely manual and use the "Sunny 16" rule - f16, what ever ISO speed, with the shutter speed the inverse of the ISO - which is f16, ISO 100 @ 1/100 sec; f16, ISO 200 @ 1/200 sec, etc.

The Sunny 16 Rule - Digital Photo Secrets

Now, the Moon moves - pretty rapidly through the sky at night. Also, it is bright enough that you really don't need a tripod - you can shoot hand held, since your exposure is going to be pretty fast. But that does leave one aspect that you need to address - focusing.

You are going to have either autofocus or manual focus lens. If its autofocus then point it and get it (the moon in the center of the frame) so that the camera will meter on the light and lock focus on it, then shoot. With a manual focus, you will be trying to manual focus on a moving target while you are bobbing around (handheld camera) in the dark. What you might want to do is to go out while its still light and pre-focus on something that is far far, far away, and then don't touch the focus again (perhaps putting a piece of tape across the focus ring).

Then you need to shoot - if your hand holding, get in to a stable position, breath in, breath out while aiming, and when you finish exhaling, push the shutter.

You can get a doubler for your lens, a 300 lens with a doubler goes to 600mm. You get a larger moon, fills more of the frame, but its harder to hold and aim, plus as you are holding it, you are bobbing around more.

Also, it takes some practice.

If you are using a tripod, since the moon moves, you are always trying to readjust the aiming on the tripod to keep the moon in the frame. With using a tripod it helps to have a remote shutter release, so you don't need to touch the camera (shaking it) to take the picture. Or you can use the 2 second delay.

The bottom line is you want to accurately focus, and then have the shutter speed fast enough to prevent camera shake (and you can turn on SR), but with an ISO low enough to limit the sensor noise in the image.

**Just1MoreDave** · 09-06-2014, 09:39 AM - **1 Like**

The moon by itself is disappointingly small at 300mm. Lenses above 300mm can be pretty expensive, and still not fill the frame. For that kind of shot, 800-1000mm is good.

Instead, try getting other elements in the frame. The moon is still not huge, but when the rest of the shot is not solid black, it's more interesting. This is at 400mm, about 10% cropped I think. I used a Tokina SD 400mm lens, manual focus, on a tripod. The focus is easy with this lens, because the infinity stop is perfect. I usually take a lot of shots at different exposures so I have choices when I process.

The challenge here is to find the elements to include and get them exposed close to the moon exposure. Moonset and sunrise calculators are available, even as apps.

JimmyDranox · 09-06-2014, 10:10 AM

A lens for moon? Better a small, but good refractor telescope, like this

Sky-Watcher SWED 80 Refractor

At 600mm is longer, much cheaper than any equivalent photo lens, and sharper than most. The draw back is that's only manual focus.

Of course, there are other alternatives, telescopes or photo lenses, but I think that's this has a best price/quality rate, at a fairy small dimension.

rosebud · 09-06-2014, 06:43 PM

Wow thanks everyone I will try to see what I can do with all of the wonderful information you have given me. Its raining and cloudy today so im hoping tonight will be clear to take some more photos. going to try and put one of my photos up for you all to see. My lens is......55 Sigma Zoom, 100-300mm 1:4.5 - 6.7 DL got no idea on what this means. yet.sorry if this is big still try to figure this out. This was f/6.7, 1/1000sec, ISO 200 and focal length was 300mm. and on a small tripod. thanks everyone.

Last edited by rosebud; 09-06-2014 at 06:46 PM. Reason: forgot to add a word

**boriscleto** · 09-06-2014, 07:32 PM

Handheld @ 300mm then cropped to 3 MP (2120x1412 pixels)

ZombieArmy · 09-06-2014, 08:25 PM

Taken at 200mm, can easily be cropped down. Though I feel like I missed the focus a little bit.

http://i.imgur.com/2vJHEvQ.jpg

**interested_observer** · 09-06-2014, 08:38 PM

It's situations like this where you can do some real learning, fairly quickly. You can set things up, go out and shoot some. Come back in and load the images on your PC to see how you did. Taking a look at them, you can see what you like and don't like. Sitting there looking at the images you can consider what you might want to change. I would suggest changing one item at a time, then go back out and shoot some more. Wash and rinse (repeat).

If you run out of things to try, go back and read some, or post a question with perhaps an image or two (with the EXIF data attached).

I have shot the moon quite a bit - learning, trying out a new idea (to me) - seeing what the result is. The key is not to get upset when things don't work out. Sometimes, it just takes thinking things through to figure out why you are not getting the desired result. A lot of it is just practice. The more I shoot the better I get, until I stop shooting for bit. Then I startup again, expecting to continue where I was - only to do something stupid.

Brooke Meyer · 09-06-2014, 09:26 PM

Early on, as everything was new, one of the first things I wanted to do was photograph the moon. I did it for years but haven't since I made this. Moon and Memory Maybe this winter.

mikeSF · 09-06-2014, 11:10 PM

all good advice. I've got a 300 plus 1.4x TC and as mentioned, that is not long enough if you want good results, but works fine to include terrestrial objects (foreground) in the shot.

Here is moon by itself on a black sky with a good bit of cropping, from the 300 w/TC

wildman · 09-06-2014, 11:58 PM

If by "moon photography" you mean a basically terrestrial shot that happens to include the moon then, perhaps, 300mm.
If you mean a detailed shot of the moon only than 600mm as a minimum.

The moon at 1000mm.....

ZombieArmy · 09-07-2014, 01:54 AM

Originally posted by wildman

If by "moon photography" you mean a basically terrestrial shot that happens to include the moon then, perhaps, 300mm.
If you mean a detailed shot of the moon only than 600mm as a minimum.

The moon at 1000mm.....

Who do I gotta kill for a 1000mm lens

JimmyDranox · 09-07-2014, 05:42 AM

Originally posted by ZombieArmy

Who do I gotta kill for a 1000mm lens

No one.

Sky-Watcher Pro 100 ED APO Refractor Telescope - OPT Telescopes

Well, is not a 1000mm, only 900, but for moon photos, is a real killer.

09-06-2014, 07:23 AM	#1
rosebud New Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 7	lens for moon photography Can anyone please give me some info as to what lens length I would need to buy for taking pictures of the moon. I have a lens that goes to 300mm but it doesn't get close and its not sharp.

09-06-2014, 08:24 AM	#3
Adam Administrator Site Webmaster Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 51,608	When shooting the moon it's important to have a stable setup and to use a fast enough shutter speed. You also need to nail the focus. Thus, it's best to have a lens with a tripod mount as well a sturdy tripod. I'd say anything other than a consumer superzoom is optically good enough for decent moon shots, so you definitely don't need to go spending a lot of money. Just practice a bit and make sure your tripod is stable and you'll end up getting good results Adam PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide \| Site Help \| My Photography) PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:

09-06-2014, 08:43 AM - 1 Like	#4
interested_observer Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,707	Good Morning - well at least here... Shooting the Moon, I don't think is dependent on a single item - such as a lens. But, I can certainly understand what you are asking. 300mm is a pretty long lens (or a zoom out to 300mm), and should do the trick. As such, it is not going to fill the frame, so you are going to need to crop. All of that said, there are a whole host of other items to consider and address, that goes into getting a good shot. The Moon is a bright spot usually in a dark sky (well at least at night). You camera has at least two main exposure approaches. One set averages the light over the entire frame (or a good part of it - such as center averaging). The problem here is that the Moon is a very bright spot and everything else is pretty black. So, these modes really do not help. There is also spot mode, which uses the point at the center of frame to meter off of. With the Moon being so bright, this is the mode that you want to use. [Note - after shooting the moon, reset the camera back to the mode it was previously in - or you will wind up with the camera acting different than before.] With the Moon being so bright, you can use ISO 100 or 200. You can also stop down to f8, or so to get to the sweet spot in your lens. Also, you can go completely manual and use the "Sunny 16" rule - f16, what ever ISO speed, with the shutter speed the inverse of the ISO - which is f16, ISO 100 @ 1/100 sec; f16, ISO 200 @ 1/200 sec, etc. The Sunny 16 Rule - Digital Photo Secrets Now, the Moon moves - pretty rapidly through the sky at night. Also, it is bright enough that you really don't need a tripod - you can shoot hand held, since your exposure is going to be pretty fast. But that does leave one aspect that you need to address - focusing. You are going to have either autofocus or manual focus lens. If its autofocus then point it and get it (the moon in the center of the frame) so that the camera will meter on the light and lock focus on it, then shoot. With a manual focus, you will be trying to manual focus on a moving target while you are bobbing around (handheld camera) in the dark. What you might want to do is to go out while its still light and pre-focus on something that is far far, far away, and then don't touch the focus again (perhaps putting a piece of tape across the focus ring). Then you need to shoot - if your hand holding, get in to a stable position, breath in, breath out while aiming, and when you finish exhaling, push the shutter. You can get a doubler for your lens, a 300 lens with a doubler goes to 600mm. You get a larger moon, fills more of the frame, but its harder to hold and aim, plus as you are holding it, you are bobbing around more. Also, it takes some practice. If you are using a tripod, since the moon moves, you are always trying to readjust the aiming on the tripod to keep the moon in the frame. With using a tripod it helps to have a remote shutter release, so you don't need to touch the camera (shaking it) to take the picture. Or you can use the 2 second delay. The bottom line is you want to accurately focus, and then have the shutter speed fast enough to prevent camera shake (and you can turn on SR), but with an ISO low enough to limit the sensor noise in the image. How to Photograph the Moon How to Photograph the Moon: 8 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow How to photograph the moon: an easy way to shoot moon pictures full of detail \| Digital Camera World How to Photograph the Moon \| Photography Mad

09-06-2014, 11:58 PM	#13
wildman Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Flyover America Posts: 4,469	If by "moon photography" you mean a basically terrestrial shot that happens to include the moon then, perhaps, 300mm. If you mean a detailed shot of the moon only than 600mm as a minimum. The moon at 1000mm..... Last edited by wildman; 09-14-2014 at 03:20 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
What lens for portrait photography	claudiamoroni	Pentax Medium Format	19	05-11-2013 04:49 PM
Right lens for product photography	sozey	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	17	03-20-2013 03:25 PM
Fast lens for low-light photography	Chaim	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	24	01-15-2013 05:19 PM
lens for studio photography	vimeto	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	6	10-25-2012 06:53 PM
Lens for street and landscape photography	v3lv3t_r0s3	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	21	10-11-2012 11:23 PM

09-06-2014, 08:12 AM	#2
stillshot2 Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Phoenix, AZ Photos: Albums Posts: 1,070	300mm should be ok. Having lots of megapixels helps too, so you can crop afterwards to get "closer". I took this photo with a 16mp Sony a55 at only 200mm with a nice and sharp 80's Minolta lens: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/7007076640/in/photolist-bFc6Ld-bnNH9x so I'd say even 200mm can be enough. As of now, I have a Pentax K30 with the same 16mp sensor, and I use a Pentax 80-200mm f4.7-5.6 from the 90's that only cost me around $30. This combo can also take sharp pictures when the lens' aperture is stopped down a little and cropped afterwards, such as this one: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adudenamedjosh/14888388706/ I'd suggest setting your lens around 280mm, stopping it down to f8 or f9, and put it on a tripod to eliminate any camera movement and see if your moon pictures sharpen up a bit. Just curious, but exactly what lens is it?

09-06-2014, 09:39 AM - 1 Like	#5
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	The moon by itself is disappointingly small at 300mm. Lenses above 300mm can be pretty expensive, and still not fill the frame. For that kind of shot, 800-1000mm is good. Instead, try getting other elements in the frame. The moon is still not huge, but when the rest of the shot is not solid black, it's more interesting. This is at 400mm, about 10% cropped I think. I used a Tokina SD 400mm lens, manual focus, on a tripod. The focus is easy with this lens, because the infinity stop is perfect. I usually take a lot of shots at different exposures so I have choices when I process. The challenge here is to find the elements to include and get them exposed close to the moon exposure. Moonset and sunrise calculators are available, even as apps.

09-06-2014, 10:10 AM	#6
JimmyDranox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Ploiesti, Romania Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,632	A lens for moon? Better a small, but good refractor telescope, like this Sky-Watcher SWED 80 Refractor At 600mm is longer, much cheaper than any equivalent photo lens, and sharper than most. The draw back is that's only manual focus. Of course, there are other alternatives, telescopes or photo lenses, but I think that's this has a best price/quality rate, at a fairy small dimension.

09-06-2014, 06:43 PM	#7
rosebud New Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 7 Original Poster	Wow thanks everyone I will try to see what I can do with all of the wonderful information you have given me. Its raining and cloudy today so im hoping tonight will be clear to take some more photos. going to try and put one of my photos up for you all to see. My lens is......55 Sigma Zoom, 100-300mm 1:4.5 - 6.7 DL got no idea on what this means. yet.sorry if this is big still try to figure this out. This was f/6.7, 1/1000sec, ISO 200 and focal length was 300mm. and on a small tripod. thanks everyone. Last edited by rosebud; 09-06-2014 at 06:46 PM. Reason: forgot to add a word

09-06-2014, 07:32 PM	#8
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Handheld @ 300mm then cropped to 3 MP (2120x1412 pixels)

09-06-2014, 08:25 PM	#9
ZombieArmy Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 3,210	Taken at 200mm, can easily be cropped down. Though I feel like I missed the focus a little bit. http://i.imgur.com/2vJHEvQ.jpg

09-06-2014, 08:38 PM	#10
interested_observer Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,707	It's situations like this where you can do some real learning, fairly quickly. You can set things up, go out and shoot some. Come back in and load the images on your PC to see how you did. Taking a look at them, you can see what you like and don't like. Sitting there looking at the images you can consider what you might want to change. I would suggest changing one item at a time, then go back out and shoot some more. Wash and rinse (repeat). If you run out of things to try, go back and read some, or post a question with perhaps an image or two (with the EXIF data attached). I have shot the moon quite a bit - learning, trying out a new idea (to me) - seeing what the result is. The key is not to get upset when things don't work out. Sometimes, it just takes thinking things through to figure out why you are not getting the desired result. A lot of it is just practice. The more I shoot the better I get, until I stop shooting for bit. Then I startup again, expecting to continue where I was - only to do something stupid.

09-06-2014, 09:26 PM	#11
Brooke Meyer Guest	Early on, as everything was new, one of the first things I wanted to do was photograph the moon. I did it for years but haven't since I made this. Moon and Memory Maybe this winter.

09-06-2014, 11:10 PM	#12
mikeSF Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: East Bay Area, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,622	all good advice. I've got a 300 plus 1.4x TC and as mentioned, that is not long enough if you want good results, but works fine to include terrestrial objects (foreground) in the shot. Here is moon by itself on a black sky with a good bit of cropping, from the 300 w/TC

09-07-2014, 01:54 AM	#14
ZombieArmy Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 3,210	Originally posted by wildman If by "moon photography" you mean a basically terrestrial shot that happens to include the moon then, perhaps, 300mm. If you mean a detailed shot of the moon only than 600mm as a minimum. The moon at 1000mm..... Who do I gotta kill for a 1000mm lens

09-07-2014, 05:42 AM	#15
JimmyDranox Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Ploiesti, Romania Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,632	Originally posted by ZombieArmy Who do I gotta kill for a 1000mm lens No one. Sky-Watcher Pro 100 ED APO Refractor Telescope - OPT Telescopes Well, is not a 1000mm, only 900, but for moon photos, is a real killer.