Blurry or blown-out moon shots come from how the iPhone handles a bright object in a dark sky. Two settings and a steady phone can fix most of it.
Most iPhone moon photos come out as a glowing blob or a blur. Engadget's guide says the fix is simple. Lower two exposure settings, lock focus on the moon, and keep the phone still. The iPhone does not fake lunar detail, so the result depends on how you set the camera.
The Moon is very bright, and the night sky around it is very dark. The camera tries to average the light, so it brightens the scene. That overexposes the Moon, which turns into a textureless circle.
Blur has a separate cause. When the iPhone boosts exposure, it slows the shutter to 1/30th of a second or lower. Any hand shake then smears the image, even with stabilization. The Moon can also look too small if you do not zoom in as far as your phone allows.
A tripod is the best option. The guide suggests spending at least $20 on a more adjustable one, plus an inexpensive smartphone holder. A tripod also helps with long exposures, panoramas and video calls.
No tripod? Prop the iPhone against a book or coffee cup. Then use the camera's three-second timer, found in the six-dot menu. That stops the jolt from pressing the shutter button.
Older iPhones lack manual shutter and ISO controls. The iPhone 18 Pro's camera app offers them. On other models, use the two exposure settings below.
Keep the picture dark, even if it looks too dim. You can brighten it afterward. Both exposure and brightness need to be at or near their minimum, or the photo will lack detail.
Video works the same way. Switch to Video, zoom in (15x is the maximum on recent Pro cameras), set -2EV, lock focus and lower brightness. Record, then pause on a frame and take a screenshot to get a still.
Zoomed-in shots can look pixelated. At 25x digital zoom, an iPhone 15 Pro or 16 Pro has an effective resolution of 0.48 megapixels. The iPhone 17 Pro and 18 Pro reach 1.24 megapixels. The phone then upscales the image, but the lost detail does not return.
Moontake is a free app built for moon photos. It uses the longest telephoto lens and sets exposure automatically. It also shows data such as the Moon's azimuth and altitude. Halide Mark III and ProCamera give manual control over ISO and shutter speed.
Set Exposure to -2EV, lock focus on the Moon, lower brightness near its minimum, and steady the phone with a tripod or the three-second timer.
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