Help with getting shot

[mdaddyrabbit]

Here is the situation, I am using Canon 20D 70-200mm f4 lens on a tripod with a shutter release cord. I was trying to capture the moon at quarter. I tryed using normal settings which didn't work so I set the camera to bulb and did different exposures. I either over blowed the moon or under exposed it. I also had an enormous amount of blur. I just want to capture the moon along with the stars around it and have it to come out good. Is this impossible or am I missing something? Please offer any advice you may have. Thanks

[Sharlene]

this link might help:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=69402

[Bernoulli]

You've got all the equipment you need for some great starter shots. It sounds like your exposures are much too long. Try this:

Go to full manual for aperture and shutter speed.
You can use autofocus, maybe just using the center focus point.
Set the lens full open (f4) and zoom all the way to 200 mm.
Set ISO to about 200 or, at most, 400.
Set shutter speed to about 1/50 to start with.
Point at moon, let it autofocus, and trip shutter!
No need for shutter cord or tripod.
Move shutter speed progressively up to 1/100, 1/250/, 1/500, 1/1000

At quarter moon the right exposure should be in there somewhere, I'm guessing about 1/500.

You'll never get stars and the moon at the same time, the moon is too much too much brighter to get them both exposed properly at once.

Good luck and let us see your results (not tonight I guess, the moon's barely a sliver).

[Adrena1in]

I just want to capture the moon along with the stars around it and have it to come out good.

If you look at Bernoulli's MMJ thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=620978), you'll see he's captured the moon nicely along with stars around it, but you'll only really be able to do this with a very new or almost new moon. Even with a thin crescent, you'll see the crescent part is way over exposed after just a few seconds, but the dark side of the moon appears due to the sunlight reflecting off the earth and lightening up the moon, a.k.a. "earthshine". Once the moon starts getting past the quarter phase it's going to completely outshine the stars around it unfortunately.

If you really want to get a lot of stars and a well exposed moon then you're probably going to have to "cheat" and do a composite of two images together...one using a very quick exposure to get the moon, and another long exposure to get the stars.