Photos

One of my first moon shots after I bought me the 100-400mm tele-zoom. I took a lot of shots and tried all sorts of shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting combinations. From my own experience I found out that the best results in taking moon shots are achieved by the following camera pre set-up:

1. Obviously mount the camera on a solid tripod.
2. Switch off image stabilization (the tiny little motor causes vibration if the camera is on a tripod)!!
3. If camera has the option to lock up the mirror then do it (can also cause vibration)
4. If the moon is high and the camera points up you might feel more comfortable to use life view! Escpecially with an articulated screen.
5. Have a little torch or head lamp ready. you need light to fidle araound with the camera settings.
6. Set the trigger to 10 seconds self timer (2 seconds is not enough time for the camera to stabilize the vibration caused from touching it) or better have a remote control in order to trigger.
7. Choose RAW picture format for best quality. Also you will need the EXIF data from the pics to compare all settings later.
8. Now switch the camera to manual mode (M). You can independently change ISO, shutter speed and aperture settings.

Finally play with various different settings and take as many shots as possible. General guidelines are:

> Slow shutter speed can blur the image as the moon is moving.
> No need to use more than ISO 100. The moon provides emough light and higher ISO would cause too much noise, unless you have a PRO camera with excellent low light noise values.
> Keep the lens aperture wide open in order to be able to increase the sutter speed and thus reduce motion blure. A good quality lense is crucial, but it will cost its price.
> Try variations between different shutter speeds and apertures. See for yourself what you prefer.

This guidelines are based on my own experiance and will work fine on a clear night. If you want clouds also on your photo but the moon should not be overexposed, then you will need a semi-pro or pro camera which has good low light noise reduction and also a pro level lense.

The gear I have used for this shot:

Canon EOS 60D
Canon EF 100-400 L f4.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon Wireless Remote Shutter Release
Manfrotto Tripod

Photo is cropped and slightly sharpened.