Moon pictures with Rebel XS + kit lens

[PryorKnowledge]

Recently purchased a Rebel XS, along with the 18-55mm IS kit lens. Last night I tried taking pictures (with tripod) of the full moon and came away very displeased. I basically had a blurry white ball in a blurry gray/black sky. So my question is: what are the basics when starting out shooting moon scenes? Shutter speed, f/?, metering, etc.

VERY new to digital photography, so don't worry about your answers being "too basic"

p.s. Maybe the first question I should have asked is, is it possible to get quality images with only the kit lens?

[SteveInNZ]

You just picked the wrong thing to try. With a 55mm lens, the moon is a very small bright dot in a very big dark sky and the camera meter can't really cope with that. You'll need to help it out by setting the dial to 'M'.
While it might be dark here on Earth, it's a bright sunny day on the moon so you need to set your camera to expose for a bright sunny day. Hopefully it's sunny where you are so point the camera at something gray (and with not too much glare) and take a note of the settings your camera chooses. Use that as a starting point and try a few shots with more or less exposure.
There's not much you can do about the size other than getting a bigger lens. The kit lens approximates the field of view of your eyes (plus or minus 50%). The problem is that your brain plays tricks on you and makes you think the moon is larger than it is. It's about the width of your thumb held at arms length so try doing that during the day to see how big the moon really is with other things to compare it with.
Don't be displeased - Think of every shot as a learning experience and every next shot as a chance to improve on the last.

Steve.

[Michael_B]

ISO 100...F/8....SHUTTER SPEED 1/100. bingo!