I've developed some of my Moon photos and still have some camera jitter. I use a 200 mm with a 2 x lens and the craters along ther terminator still look a bit blurry.

I used ASA 200 film. Am I better off with ASA 100?

I stopped it down to f/8 like suggested and used between 1/60 sec and 1/1000 sec as suggested.

I have a SLIK 5000 tripod. Cost about $ 50. If I just photograph in the tripod's smallest position (legs unextended), will this get rid of the jitter effect?
Is the tripod more stable when it's down on the ground rather than legs extended and up higher?

Or is the difference not noticable?

Yes. Shorter legs (unextended) will help with shake.

You can see this yourself with any optical device, just look at a distant object (daytime may help) and tap on the leg. Look to see how long the shake last.

JustAFriend covered your question, but just for an explanation of why this is so, when the tripod's legs are unextended, its center of mass is lower than when the legs are extended. Thus, when the tripod is hit by wind, for example, there is a larger torque on the tripod and camera/scope with legs extended, as for a given amount of force applied to an object, torque increases as the lever arm increases (the tripod feet are the fulcrums).

As for film ISO's (ASA's), the lower the ISO, the less sensitive it is to light. A higher ISO will yield a shorter exposure than a lower ISO, if all other parameters are the same. However, IIRC, the higher the ISO, the grainier the film. I hope that helps.

Part of it is the tripod, and part is the 2x convertor. You didn't say what kind of lens you're using either. If it is a zoom, especially a slow zoom, you're only setting yourself up for disappointment.

Quite frankly, Slik tripods are pieces of crap, and 2x convertors will make even the best lens yield soft results under ideal circumstances. Slap a 2x convertor on a typical consumer zoom, then mount it on a cheap tripod and you get blurry photos every time.

Even if you use a Canon 200/2.8L lens and Canon 2x convertor on a monster Bogen tripod you'll get soft photos.

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Spaceboy0 - I agree with the others who posted replies and would like to add one more comment. Once the exposure has started, any movement you make with your feet will set up vibrations in the tripod legs, thus ruining your shot. Silk tripods are junk- I too tried one years ago for nature photography and even with the legs collapsed, most of the shots were bad due to vibrations on the camera. Mr Q

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