{"id":42360,"date":"2023-02-24T09:35:46","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T09:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=116390"},"modified":"2023-02-24T10:32:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T10:32:44","slug":"photograph-the-moon-with-your-smartphone-camera","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/photograph-the-moon-with-your-smartphone-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Photograph the Moon with your smartphone camera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tips and tricks to help you succeed in lunar astrophotography using a smartphone. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 24 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

T<\/span>he Moon is a great target for photography, whatever your level of experience. Being bright and having a tangible size in the sky, it doesn\u2019t call for specialised or expensive equipment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s bright enough to photograph with a smartphone, the Moon may cause disappointment because, despite how it looks to your eye, it\u2019s actually pretty small.<\/p>\n

When fuller phases of the Moon are seen rising or setting, its proximity to the horizon makes it appear huge, an effect known as the Moon illusion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Try taking a photo of a Moon like this and you\u2019ll see just how small it really is.<\/p>\n

Get moon phases and dates delivered directly to your inbox by signing up to the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Discover the best astronomy apps<\/a> and gadgets to turn your phone into an astrophotography camera<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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A bright, fuller-phase Moon against a dark sky may also cause exposure issues.<\/p>\n

Attempting to capture the Moon against a foreground horizon, an automatic camera typically either favours the Moon, losing the foreground, or else the foreground, over-exposing the Moon.<\/p>\n

One way around this is to try to catch the larger gibbous phases of the Moon during daylight conditions.<\/p>\n

The waxing gibbous phases can be seen in daylight in the afternoon to evening period before sunset, while the waning gibbous Moon<\/a> appears in the morning sky after sunrise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The waxing and waning crescent moon<\/a> phases are even better, as these can be caught under twilight conditions either after sunset or before sunrise respectively.<\/p>\n

Being less bright than a full Moon<\/a>, a humble smartphone can often capture the shape of these beautiful crescents well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Zoom in to get a better view<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Smartphone zoom lens Credit: Agus Fatwadi \/ EyeEm \/ Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

More detail is gained by zooming into the Moon\u2019s disc. Here it pays to know your phone\u2019s spec.<\/p>\n

Typical phone cameras have optical and digital zoom capabilities.<\/p>\n

Optical zoom uses lenses to increase magnification; digital zoom uses software to stretch an optical result.<\/p>\n

Consequently, digital zoom doesn\u2019t really give you any more than the maximum optical zoom of your camera.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d be better off using the maximum optical zoom setting then downloading and resizing the image yourself with photo-editing software.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Credit: m-gucci \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Greater magnification can be obtained by using a smartphone zoom lens<\/a>, or by coupling your phone to a telescope.<\/p>\n

The technique, known as afocal imaging, takes a bit of getting used to, but can produce surprisingly good results.<\/p>\n

Take a look at our guide further below and try it for yourself.<\/p>\n

You can also use a smartphone telescope adapter<\/a> to help you.<\/p>\n

Using a digital camera<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Moon, Linda Cooper, Firth of Forth, Scotland, 5 November 2022. Equipment: Canon EOS 90D DSLR camera, Sigma 150-600mm lens at f\/22, Peak Design Travel Tripod<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re really interested in phtotographing the Moon, it\u2019s worth touching on the use of digital cameras for a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because, of course, another way to show lunar details is to use a more sophisticated camera.<\/span><\/p>\n

A DSLR, MILC or equivalent is ideal for this because you can switch the lens out for something that will give you a better image scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basically, the longer the focal length, the larger the image scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use a lens beyond 200mm focal length and you\u2019ll start to see convincing detail in the Moon\u2019s disc.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a 1,000mm telephoto lens you\u2019ll see lunar maria<\/a>, mountain ranges and, of course, craters.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have a telescope, it\u2019s possible to couple your camera directly to the eyepiece holder to use the telescope as the telephoto lens.<\/p>\n

All you need is to use an adaptor ring specific to your camera make and model that has a T-thread, into which you can screw a nosepiece.<\/p>\n

Readily available from telescope stockists, these inexpensive adaptors will open up all sorts of photographic adventures for you.<\/p>\n

Find out more in our guides on how to photograph the Moon<\/a> or how to do astrophotography with a DSLR camera<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Gallery: smartphone images of the Moon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Daniel Ruy Pereira, Oldham, Greater Manchester, 8 October 2022 Equipment: Samsung Galaxy Note Ultra 20 smartphone camera, Sky-Watcher Heritage 130p telescope, improvised mount<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Sonia Turkington, North Reddish, Stockport, 10th July 2022 Equipment: Google Pixel 6 smartphone, SkyWatcher Skyliner 250PX, Dobsonian mount<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""The\"<\/picture><\/div>
Sonia Turkington, North Reddish, Stockport, 18 May 2021. Equipment: Google Pixel 4 smartphone, Sky-Watcher 10-inch Skyliner 250PX Dobsonian<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""The\"<\/picture><\/div>
Michael Cassidy, County Meath, Ireland, 19 January 2020 Equipment: Samsung S10e smartphone, Sky-Watcher 200P Skyliner Dobsonian<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""The\"<\/picture><\/div>
Matt Harwood, Belvedere, Kent, July 2022 Equipment: Oppo Reno 10x Zoom smartphone, handheld<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Richard\"<\/picture><\/div>
Richard Matthews, Staffordshire. Equipment: Samsung Galaxy J5 smartphone, Celestron Travel Scope 70.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""ISS\"<\/picture><\/div>
Bal\u00e1zs Benei, Budapest, Hungary. Equipment: 72\/500 refractor, 10 mm Pl\u00f6ssl eyepiece, Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Dark\"<\/picture><\/div>
Alex Higgs, Hessle, E. Yorkshire, UK. Equipment: 20\u00d780 Binoculars, Smartphone.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Amateur\"<\/picture><\/div>
Alex Higgs, Hessle, UK. Equipment: 20\u00d780 binoculars, Smartphone.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Schroter's\"<\/picture><\/div>
Julie Straayer, Albany Creek, Australia. Equipment: Skywatcher 150 Pro Maksutov, Skywatcher AZEQ 5 mount, Starguider 12mm eyepiece, Orion Steadypix EZ smartphone adapter, Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Down\"<\/picture><\/div>
Julie Straayer, Albany Creek, Queensland, Australia. Equipment: Skywatcher 150 pro Maksutov, Skywatcher AZEQ5 Mount, Celestron Ultima 18mm eyepiece, Samsung Galaxy J5 smartphone, Orion Steadypix EZ smartphone adapter<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Thomas Lewis, Newport, Wales, UK. Equipment: Celestron 76EQ, 15mm Keller lens, 2x Power lens, Samsung S7 Smartphone.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Winter\"<\/picture><\/div>
Martin Davies, Bridport, Dorset. Equipment: Celestron Travel Scope 70, iPhone 5s.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""The\"<\/picture><\/div>
Callum Pennington, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK. Equipment: Sky-Watcher BK 1309 EQ2 130mm telescope, smartphone.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

Photographing the Moon with a smartphone, step-by-step<\/strong><\/h2> <\/body><\/html>\n
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