That's a morray

[captpackrat]

Tried using my new camera to take a picture of the moon.



Not bad for a compact digital camera. I should try this some time with a real camera.

Comments

[rcoony.livejournal.com]

Ooh, not bad. I'd always wondered how to get photos of the moon; I'd never been able to get one that I liked, myself. Though I did just get an awesome 50-500mm zoom lens recently. I'll need to give that thing a try.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

The most important thing is to use a steady tripod, you can't take a decent picture at night without one.

The longer the lens, the better the image will be. This camera only has 3x optical; an SLR with a 500mm lens will take a much better image. With a long lens like that, you'll probably want to use a remote shutter release to avoid shaking the camera. A remote release is pretty much mandatory if you're using Bulb mode.

You also need to make sure your camera's light meter can do spot-mode or else you'll need to manually set the shutter speed and aperture.

[rcoony.livejournal.com]

I gave it a shot last night, and it worked out very well. I never tried it with a good tripod and good zoom before. My camera doesn't have a plug for remote cable release, unfortunately. I just used the timer instead. I can get a remote, but never got around to it. I set the shutter and stuff myself, and took a bunch. This one was ISO 200, 1/250sec, f/8, 500mm.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

Wow, what kind of camera do you have? That's a really great picture!

[rcoony.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's a several-year-old Nikon D70, with a Sigma 50-500mm zoom lens. The lens was costly ($1000), but awesome. :) And a very nice Manfrotto tripod, which helped immensely.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

A nice setup. I still prefer film for "Photography" and just bought a (relatively) cheap compact digital (Pentax A30) so I could carry it around and snap pictures of interesting stuff. I suppose one day I'll buy a digital SLR, maybe. The instant feedback of digital is nice, but there's a certain satisfaction in handling film.