Originally posted by kamisu FA 77, K3, AV mode, spot metering: full moon is all white, overexposed. Is this as it should be or I am doing something wrong?
Where was the center spot metering? If on the the moon, one would expect at least two stops underexposure. If on the black of space, the moon should be completely blown out overexposed. Conventional wisdom around these parts is ignore the meter, shoot in M mode, and calculate the exposure using the Looney 11 rule for exposure estimation.
Think of it this way, the surface of the moon is basically a sunlit desert landscape and may be treated as such, exposure-wise. There is no need for high ISO or fast lenses. The full moon has an LV (EV at ISO 100) of about 15.* That is only one stop less than sand or snow in full sun. LV 15 translates to a good starting point exposure of 1/250s and f/11 at ISO 100. Using traditional Looney 11, LV 14 would be the starting point (1/125s and f/11 at ISO 100).
Originally posted by kamisu Also, with underexposing, I can get a good exposure for the moon, but then the small star/planet close to the moon completely disappears. Anything I can do to have them both in the picture?
Show the star, blow the moon...show the moon, clip the star. If you want them both, do what the pros do and make a composite based on two different exposures.
Steve
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Exposure value - Wikipedia Looney 11 rule - Wikipedia