Saturday 29 September 2007

Moon Watching

(Nearly) Full Moon Close Up
nearly full moon close up photo of the moon - craters, spots, markings, man on the moon!
First, let me tell you one thing - no, I did not use a telescope. A few nights ago I got out with the new camera, stuck it on a tripod, and got some shots of the (nearly) full Moon. When I looked at them on-screen later (and with a bit of cropping), this is what came up! I've never been able to take a photo of the Moon as accurate and detailed as this before, but with the Fujifilm S9600's 10.7x zoom these photos turned out remarkably clear. You can actually see the minute markings and dark patches on the Moon.

I found, however, that using auto-exposure settings resulted in a washed-out Moon, even when I focused the camera on the Moon's radius. I actually had to increase the shutter speed to about 1/320 before the Moon's markings started to become visible. This also helped to make the camera steadier, so I was able to use an ISO setting of just 80.

Later in the week I got up on the roof and shot the photo below. The Moon is framed by the branches of the eucalyptus, or gum tree which fills up most of the frame, and the tree in turn is highlighted by the Moon's light. This photo was taken at dusk, just after the Sun had set.

After trying many times to get good Moon photos I had nearly given up, but this new camera has yet again proved its worth, managing to get some excellent photos of the Moon. My only piece of advice to potential moon-gazers is this - keep your shutters well up!

Moon behind Eucalyptus tree
nearly full moon silhouette shining through tree branches - moon outlined by treeThese photos taken with the Fujifilm S9600 camera.
Photo #1 (Moon Close-up): Shutter speed 1/319, F4.9, ISO 80
Photo #2 (Moon behind tree): Shutter speed 1/60, F4.9, ISO 100

12 comments:

  1. Hello! I love the picture with the Eucalyptus tree.

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  2. Hi mike,

    Thanks for the comment. I'm really happy about the way these turned out, glad you like them.

    David

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  3. Hi susanne,

    Thanks, I find the moon is always very pretty close-up, and it's exciting to be able to get my own photos of it now.

    Cheers,

    David

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  4. Both photos are quite nice. The second one is more appealing to me.

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  5. Hi hyderabad,

    I agree, a lot of people prefer the second picture, it certainly has a lot more "feel".

    Regards,

    David

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  6. I agree that the second may have more appeal... but I'm impressed with the first. I've tried before to get good shots of the moon -- with little success.

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  7. Hi angie,

    Moon photos are very hard to get without a good zoom. I would suggest at least 10x, and then you have to digitally crop it at least 2x before you get a good full-size pic. That's why the Fujfilm S9600's 9MP is so good - the cropped image is still 3-6MP.

    Cheers,

    David

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  8. Wow, I'm very impressed. It must be more than the camera - although shots like these could certainly sell that camera, too!

    Garden Lily

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  9. Hi Garden Lily,

    It was an exceptionally clear night, so I was very blessed to be able to get this shot. Maybe I should try submitting it for Fujifilm marketing??? :)

    Cheers,

    David

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  10. this is a beaut! i'm jealous... :)

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  11. Hi Carol,

    Thanks for the comment. I'm sure you'll be able to get one just as good - try it one night!

    Cheers,

    David

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