Ok, with a full lunar eclipse coming up on February 20 it is time for all who know how to chime in and let the rest of us know the best way to try and get some decent shots of this event, assuming clear sky!

 

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html 

 

Got any suggestions?

 

My longest lens is limited to F/4 and that will do but even at 300 mm I am getting only 6x magnification.  That might be a good thing since if you have seen celestial objects even through perhaps 40x you know the objects are moving across the view of field.   I suspect 6x will be ok for a decently long shot without much movement showing in the moon.

 

How to expose for the shots of a lunar eclipse?

My tut on using spot metering for exposure shows what happens when the camera is allowed to expose based on black, gray or white colors.  From this, if I had to use the moon for exposure and it was bright, I would likely want to drop the ev back a couple of steps( drop back shutter full stops or do the same with aperture for less light).  However, the moon may appear bright but is not really that bright.  Lowering exposure may not be a good idea at all for these shots.  Likely, this will take some trial shots of the moon around here before the eclipse to get some idea of exposures to use.  Whatever, this will need a tripod and likely longer exposure and higher ISO than normal, especially when the eclipse is nearing full.

 

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/tutorial/index.php?tutorial_id=1670

 

Got suggestions? Please post for all of us here who might be able to get a shot or two.

 

Thanks,     Tomdart.