Any chance one could bless us with some exposure data please?
a. The one with bright moonlight:
-400-800 ISO
b. The darker ones (same equipment used above):
-Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 for FF Canon 5DII. Aperture f/2.8, at 16mm, manually focused to infinite
-Camera on a tripod, with the viewfinder covered to avoid light from entering the camera
-ISO from 600-1,000 or so
-Exposure: 10-13 seconds
-WB: Automatic
-RAW images
Since I am taking photos of the lights, I try not to use very high ISO speeds or longer exposure times. The photos are slightly underexposed, but that way I don't blow the highlights too much. Then I PP my photos with CS6, and clean the digital noise in the dark areas with NIK's plugin (within CS6).
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But there is nothing wrong with using higher ISO speeds, or longer exposures. I just prefer bright as possible lights with the darker foregrounds that are present when taking the photos. But if there was something in the foreground or in the horizon (mountains, for example) that I want to show in the image, then I would probably use a higher ISO speed. Also, if you don't have a fast lens, by all means use high ISO or longer exposures.
If you can't afford an expensive lens you could always buy one of the most popular manual lenses out there. This is a 14mm Rokinon (comes with different brand names), and it costs around $500.00. But it is a manual focus lens, which should be no problem for sky photography since you have to shoot with both the camera and lens on manual.
Hope this will be of help.
