http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclips...2008Feb21.html

So any pointers on what i should try to play around with?

I was thinking tripod wired remote and long exposures (newbie)
any pointers?

 

I would be interested in tips too, this will be a cool chance to test some sky shots.

 

Meh, I may just look at Jupiter's avatar....

 

Don't plan on getting "good" exposures for anything other than the period of totality (when the Moon is completely withn the Earth's shadow aka umbra). During the partial phases of the eclipse the tonal ranges are huge and next to impossible to capture in a single exposure. If you expose for the darker portion that's in the umbra, then you're almost certain to end up with the remainder the moon blown out. Likewise if you expose for the lighter portion, then the darker portion that's in the umbra will be next to invisible.

Here's a shot of the October, 2004 eclipse I took with my 10D. You can see how touchy things can get by looking at the tonal range from lower right to upper left.


FYI for anyone that didn't scroll down the page linked by the OP. This eclipse will actually be already underway at Moonrise for people out West.

 

from Billiam's advice maybe using a set of exposures then either HDR them or use photoshop to merge certain section might yield some interesting shots.

 

The problem doing the merge/HDR thing with the Moon is that it's moving. You should be able to freeze it pretty easily with a sufficiently high enough ISO to give you a decent shutter speed. But even if you successfully freeze the motion, the Moon is still going to be located in slgihtly different places in each of your exposures. This can make any sort of merge difficult to do well. Now if you're on an astronomical tracking mount of some sort, then you have all sorts of options.

For those using a normal tripod my advice would be:

A) Well before the eclipse starts (even 1 or 2 days before) find a shutter speed that you feel adequately freezes the Moon's motion. The Moon's effective speed through your field of view isn't going to change while the eclipse is happening.

B) Set the camera to either shutter priority or full manual so that you can be sure you'll have at least the minimum shutter speed you previously decided on.

C) Use either center weighted metering (or spot metering if you have it) and meter off of the portion of the Moon you want properly exposed. Remember from my previous post, you pretty much have to choose either the light portion that's outside the Earth's shadow or the dark portion that's within it.

D) Bracket liberally for each of your intended shots. I'd suggest whole stop increments like: meter reading, -2, -1, +1, +2.

FYI - Jup's avatar is not an eclipse.

 

Cool guys well i figure i'd try some shots and share it with you guys as well.

 

BTW - To give some idea of how much focal length you may want, my shot above is a 1:1 crop from a 10D exposure (6.3 MP 1.6x body). It was taken using one of my telescopes as the lens (known as prime focus). The effective focal length is 545mm.

 

It's a pretty awesome pic!

 

Thanks. I actually consider it a pretty mediocre result. I think, however, that may have something to do with my knowledge of the equipment costs involved.

One more tip just popped into mind for shooting the eclipse. Images of the Moon are an ideal situation for your lenses to display any chromatic abberations they may have. Since these usually get worse off-axis, try to keep the Moon as centered as you can in your frame.