Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:18 am
Looked at your EXIF data. ISO too high - you're using a tripod so shoot at ISO 100 and shoot RAW. Use apertures that lens is best at ie. f8 - f11, manual focus to a little less than infinity if cam won't lock on anything, at f11 max wide you'll have plenty depth of field. Set shutter and aperture manually, set a speed, say 15 seconds, then if that looks ok in preview, bracket around that setting, only change the shutter speed, or, use AV at f8/f11 and bracket, though you may find that any auto setting in the dark will tend toward overexposure. Use delay timer to trigger shutter and hold tripod base firmly if windy. Try auto bracketing - used with timer, your cam will take 3 exposures, then pick best shot afterwards. Try setting 'long exposure noise reduction' it's buried in the menu somewhere, though in practice you may not need it at iso100.
Happy shooting
Oddlegs
PS No, you don't need a faster lens, in the dark all you need is the shutter open long enough and a good tripod.
