i need help

this is my first post here after weeks of reading and viewing. i really like your site. here is my dilemma, for weeks i have been trying to shoot the moon. well i've got the exposure down, just not the focus part. i'm using a 70-300mm lens. i can't seem to get the moon in focus. yes i've got a tripod and a good one, and yes i'm using a remote release. shooting at the "sunny 16" theory. my D50 only has a ISO of 200. i tried a 2X teleconverter and still i'm can't seem to get it right. please if you have any ideas i would love to have them.

laurie

What is your shutter speed?

i've tried any where from 150 to 1 sec. setting the f stop as needed. i read where a guy set it from manual to programed auto "P". i'm going to give that a try also.

laurie

Hi Laurie,

COuld you post a slightly larger file? The one you are uploading looks fine to me - I see no motion blur and it looks generally sharp - at least at the size I am seeing.

James

Quote:

---

this is my first post here after weeks of reading and viewing. i really like your site. here is my dilemma, for weeks i have been trying to shoot the moon. well i've got the exposure down, just not the focus part. i'm using a 70-300mm lens. i can't seem to get the moon in focus. yes i've got a tripod and a good one, and yes i'm using a remote release. shooting at the "sunny 16" theory. my D50 only has a ISO of 200. i tried a 2X teleconverter and still i'm can't seem to get it right. please if you have any ideas i would love to have them.

laurie

---

Laurie,

I can't really tell how good your resolution is from the low res web photo, but I'm sure you are probably getting the optimum image you can from your setup. Unfortunately, I can tell you from experience that you don't really have the optics to get the resolution you want. A 70-300mm lens on a 6mp sensor just won't do it (even with a TC). On top of that the full moon is especially hard to capture because of the lack of shadow detail. Here is my best effort using a Tamron 600mm mirror lens, 1/30", f/13 on a D200 body (10mp sensor) with the mirror locked up and a very good tripod. It'a also about a 50% crop. Shooting the half moon at least lets you get some crater shadow detail at the horizon line.

The best moon photos I've seen always come from astrophotograpy with a telescope. If you are really interested in astronomical photograpy, that would be the way to go.

Hope this helps.