Another new moon

[doug]

[doug]

     I forgot this, so:

     Sony A380
     300mm lens digital equivalent to 900mm
     exposure 1/5 sec
     f 5.6
     ..... on tripod, but no remote commander, unfortunately, so..... slight blur.

     Will do better next time 

     Doug.

[Mike]

Not bad. Try a shorter exposure length next time. It is always difficult to see how the image is exposed on the tiny view screens. There is a mode called highlights that show which part of the image is over exposed (i.e. clipped). If your camera has this then use it when taking images of bright objects. If it is clipped then reduce the exposure time. Any image that is not clipped can be processed afterwards to bring out overexposed details (especially if you record in RAW format). If the image is clipped then you have lost that detail permanently. But always try to expose correctly at time of taking the image. Best bet is to bracket your exposures either side then you have a good chance of getting a well exposed image.

[doug]

     Thanks , Mike, for the constructive comments... always welcome.  I wanted to try and get the detail on the crescent and also the earthlight on the hidden side.  I can take images in RAW format and I have the software for this on the laptop, downloaded fron the Sony disk.  It`s all an huge learning curve.. so I should, like an old wine, improve with time.  I shall persevere and yes; bracketing the exposures is a good idea. I did take two or three shots and chose the best one.

     All I can say is ................ watch this space.

     Doug. 

[mickw]

so I should, like an old wine

Good idea, I'll have an old wine too 

Don't worry about RAW at the moment - plenty of time for that malarky.

If you have the camera on auto exposure, you can stop it down about 2 stops (should be a +/- button on the camera somewhere) which would be a fair starting point for the moon.
With auto exposure, the metering is basically taking an average of the available light, and as most of what you are looking at is dark sky, the metering will try and give you a pretty picture of dark sky which will blow out the bright moon.

You could always play around with the camera hand held until you get the exposure how you want it then slap it on the tripod.
If you are getting camera shake on the tripod, use the self timer.

I am using the Minolta RC-1000 as a cable release on my Sony and it works fine so your Minolta stuff should work.

[RobertM]

Nothing wrong with a good old wine Mick

Doug, that's a great start and shows a lot of promise.  I can't really add anything to the advice already given other than to say you could blend two different exposures to show both Earth light and Sun light areas.

All I can say is ................ watch this space.

There are 9 spaces, which one should we be keeping an eye on 

Robert

[Fay]

Doug that is really nice!!!

Mick you are funny!!!!!!

[Carole]

Nice picture Doug, and it looks like you managed to post it on the Forum OK, so you've been practising.

Carole