So, the 24 shot roll of 400 speed film, mostly frames of Comet Holmes, was a complete and utter bust. Definitely under exposed. I look forward to trying again tonight with FAR longer exposures.
When i picked up the disappointment today, i also invested in some new toys: a Sima “QuicKonnect” platform to convert the very nice (but heavy) Slik tripod into the same sort of QuicKonnect head that the light (and somewhat short) Quataray tripod uses.
I also splurged and picked up another quick-release platform from Quantaray, with a bubble level. This will be a slight improvement for the Quantaray tripod.
I purchased a 12 exposure roll of Fujifilm Superia X-tra 800 ($2) and a six pack of 24 exposure rolls of Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400 ($10.50). I’ll try the roll of 12 tonight.
One lesson from last night: shoot an interior shot to get a first frame lined up.