The Moon and Me - need some guidance please....

[Storm420]

My goal this summer is to capture the moon. I've been researching and researching and there's no exact science to it of course but time is flying by (i.e. nice warm weather to stand in the night for as long as it takes) and I have yet to capture an image that doesn't frustrate me. So...seeking your guidance ... experts and novice's alike!!

My tools:

Nex6
SEL55210 (it's the longest I have)
A Mac computer with only Aperture on it.

I've been told to use F22 or thereabouts and longer shutter speeds. I've also been told use faster shutter speeds. The best time to capture the moon is not in it's peak in the night sky, but at moon's first rise when it appears largest. While I live outside of the city, it's more of a small suburban town than nice dark farm land...so capturing the moon on it's initial rise isn't exactly easy.

Playing around with that lens got me the pics you see below. While I was pretty excited about the first one when I first took it (being my first true attempt to capture the moon), it's not the end goal. It lacks WOW FACTOR. Not to mention, it's not editing well (very pixelated).

Any suggestions on what I can do? Is it really necessary to spend big bucks on Photoshop and different lenses (wouldn't say that's really an option).

Help!!

 

[chrid]

Problem with astrophotography is that everything is moving all the time, so it makes long exposures tricky. sometimes even requiring a tracking mount which are quite pricey. Don't think you want to use f22 for any of these shots as it will push shutter speeds really long. maybe try to get the shot at moonrise so you can get the landscape into the shot as well. Maybe someone here with more experience can help you better than myself as im still a novice.

 

[Deadbear77]

I shot this last year with my nex6

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This is the lens.... 500mm on eBay used for 35 bucks.

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Shot it handheld at about f11-13 I think the ISO was around 200 1/160


Sent from my iPhone using TalkNEX mobile app

 

[AK47J]

Keep the ISO as low as possible. f/22 might be too tight, try around f/16 ish. Use "spot" light metering

 

[dannat]

As others have said f8-14 is good for the moon,

What you said about shooting moon as rising is incorrect, you want o shot it at its peak, there is less light pollution, atmosphere, particles to shoot Thu (also its a visual illusion about moon being bigger when rising)
Start shooting crescents, getting Crater shapes will be more satisfying jmo.

Lastly moon becomes interesting at 400mm+, either get a 2x tc or some legacy glass

 

[Poki]

Exactly, f/22 is not the best idea due to diffraction and the longer necessary shutter speed. Use somewhere between f/8 and f/16 at ISO 100 for best results.

Also, you will need a longer lens to get a sharp, big picture of the moon.

 

[MizOre]

My best shot of the moon was with an old Nikkor manual focus 400mm f/5.6 on a D300, tripod mounted. F/11, 1/200 second. Shoot with manual settings and manual focus.