[hhm]

Are the color pictures over exposed? I have seen the Milky Way lots of times (and quite clearly), but it always looked more like an almost gray cloud... I've never seen the kind of bright colors that are usually shown on pictures.

[maxxxxx]

These pictures usually get taken at 15-30 secs with a very fast lens (f2.8) and an ISO of 1600-6400. You need a pretty dark sky or a lot of post processing. Within 50-100 miles of the background is just brown.

If you have a camera with manual control, give it a try. You need a wide angle lens, otherwise you'll get star trails quickly.

[semaphoreP]

You're probably using the rods in your eyes at night to look at the Milky Way and they can't see color.