Canon Powershot SX530 HS

[lfuqua10]

I just got a new Powershot SX530.  I am an amatuer camera user.  I tried to take a picture of the full moon last night.  As I held the camera up and pointed it at the moon, the moon was jumping around in the viewfinder.  The camera was in automatic mode and I was zooming in at 50%.  I could never get the moon to sit still in the view finder to take the shot?  The camera was making all kinds of noise and the screen had symbols that were continously changing.  What am I doing wrong, I thought it was just point and shoot?

[smack53]

Night shots of the moon. and especially any shots at zoom, should be done with a tripod for best results. The camera has a lot of items to set for night shooting, and it doesn't help that the shutter needs to stay open for a decent amount of time to get enough light on the sensor. That means you're very likely not to hold the camera steady enough for the shutter speed. To compound the issue, when you zoom in, every little movement you make is magnified even more, which is why you can't seem to get the moon to stay still. Tripods eliminate a lot of these issues, and are used by many for all night shooting. Even in daylight, a tripod cane make a lot of sense to get the sharpest images.

By the way, to get a lot of detail from the moon, you will need to use a high speed mode such as sport mode, or shoot in manual mode with a shutter value of at least 1/250th second, if the camera has it. If you use the night mode, the moon will look like a bright blob because there will be too much exposure of that moon light.

Steve M.

[mike87639]

Years ago we would use a Moon Filter which would cut out the glare which is part of the reason the moon would look like a blob...it would eliminate the glare...which is non existent during the day time....

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

1. Unless you manage to get a focus point on the edge of moon and sky camera can't determine focus. You should manually focus. 

2. As previously stated, you need to be on tripod. To get moon large in viewfinder you need to be zoomed, and zooming magnifies any camera motion. 

3. The moon is reflecting sunlight, so even though it is nighttime you should expose moon as daylight. Use the Loony 11 rule - ISO 100, 1/125 second at f/11 or equivalent.  If you have spot metering on your camera put it on the moon. Photographing the moon at night is not what the Night Exposure camera preset is for. 

[UniqueTouch]

Just jumping in and just wanna say great information on how to take a great pic of the moon Sir!!! I too  will use your settings to better my amateur skills Sir. Thank A Mil !!!.☺🤔

[UniqueTouch]

Thanks for the use a tripod and most of all the settings for a better moon night Shot Sir!!! Not many pro's like to help a rookie out by suggesting a good setting. Thanks a Mil Jr.Hoffman!!!

[UniqueTouch]

Smack 53, on the picture settings dial on my Canon Sx530sh.. there are several letter options such as auto and there is a 2nd auto and more letters. I only just found out the (M)-means manual. Now I just read the page in the book manual and it's not very _reader friendly _ Wonder if you'd be kind enough to explain what all the letter abbreviations mean??? I just a rookie but I read the page and it's all jammed together and just not clear enough for me to say "Oh..I'm, I understand this". Anyway, if you can help I'd gladly appreciate it !!! Sincerely UniqueTouch.

[jrhoffman75]

Google "Bert's cheat sheets". He make pocket one pge sheets that has pertinent camera info/settings on it.

[smack53]

Unique Touch,

M - Manual mode. Allows for selecting Aperture Value, Time Value, ISO individually. Provides the ultimate control over the camera where you make all the decisions. You can also set the metering mode, but that is not usually something that needs to be done. You can also choose white balance in the Av, Tv, P and M modes. White balance is a setting that allows the colors to be correct under different types of lights, such as incandescent, fluorescent, sunlight, cloudy days, shade, etc. There is usually a custom white balance that lets you select what is supposed to be white, but the Auto White Balance usually does the job quite well.

Av - Aperture Value. You set the Aperture value that you want to use, and the camera selects the best time value (shutter speed) based on the Av and ISO. The lower the Av number the wider the opening will be, kind of like your eyes in the day and night.

Tv - Time value (or Shutter speed) allows you to select the shutter speed and the camera will select the best Aperture value based on the TV and ISO selected. The Tv allows you to capture fast action with faster shutter speeds, like 1/250 sec, 1/1000 sec. etc. Long exposures or night photography would be slower shutter speeds like 1/4 sec, 1 sec, etc.

ISO - The sensitivity setting of the sensor. The higher the number the more sensitive the sensor, but the more noise (or grainy texture) the photo will have. A lower ISO will be sharper and less noisy, but will require higher shutter speeds. Bright light - low ISO, low light, higher ISO.

Exposure compensation - the +/- button on the camera is used in conjunction with the Av and Tv modes if you want the image to be lighter or darker than the camera is selecting.

P - Program Auto mode. This is like the Auto mode, except that you can select the ISO and Exposure compensation settings yourself. This is a good setting to use when you are just learning more about manual modes, and provides some control over the final results for the image.

Hope this helps.

Steve .

[UniqueTouch]

Thank you Mr. Steve. I'm thrown back! I can't believe someone took the time to reply and I,M shocked!...thank God there is a Good Man out there(You Sir)!!! Whom would help a rookie out☺ I truly appreciate the time and the care you took to explain what all the functions on the camera function_button means. I read it on my Canon book and I thought a scientist was whom they wrote for Sir... So I thank you Truly I do. Gonna read it again then try to print it and put the page w my Canon Camera book.!!! Thanks Mr. Steve!!.