[bdery]

That's very dangerous and misleading! There's a huge difference between having the sun in the frame in a landscape image and steadily pointing a long telephoto lens directly at the sun.

A 300 mm f/5.6 lens, for example, creates a spot of sunlight that is 300 times brighter than ambient sunlight. The longer the lens and the bigger the aperture, the greater the total destructive energy.

That is perfectly true, but I did not mention a 300mm lens.

Filtering the UV from the sunlight will do nothing to stop you from burning your retina

I am talking about looking at the camera's tilted screen, NOT through the viewfinder.

[photoptimist]

Examples of sun damage:
From Solar Eclipse Burned Camera :


From Melted canon 6d – or any DSLR exposed to sun | Digital Canon repair Blog

[goldenarrow]

Examples of sun damage:
From Solar Eclipse Burned Camera :


From Melted canon 6d – or any DSLR exposed to sun | Digital Canon repair Blog

Pass the marshmallows!

[Alliecat]

That is perfectly true, but I did not mention a 300mm lens.

Well most people are probably going to want to use a long lens to photograph the sun, rather than have it be a speck "in the frame"...

Wow, good photos, Photoptimist. Picture's worth a thousand words, and so on.

For heaven's sake, people, don't take chances on random stuff like stacked polarizers, and spend the $30 on a sheet of solar film to protect your optics. AND your eyes. I know someone who looked at a partial eclipse through some dark plastic or something and ended up with a crescent-shape burn on their retina that lasted for years. The eye dr. could see it.

I'll try again: Recommendation for sturdy eclipse glasses that aren't flimsy cardboard?

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Last edited by Alliecat; 07-25-2017 at 12:26 AM.

[dmr]

Surf here:

xkcd: Eclipse Flights

[Bob 256]

Well most people are probably going to want to use a long lens to photograph the sun, rather than have it be a speck "in the frame"...

Wow, good photos, Photoptimist. Picture's worth a thousand words, and so on.

For heaven's sake, people, don't take chances on random stuff like stacked polarizers, and spend the $30 on a sheet of solar film to protect your optics. AND your eyes. I know someone who looked at a partial eclipse through some dark plastic or something and ended up with a crescent-shape burn on their retina that lasted for years. The eye dr. could see it.

I'll try again: Recommendation for sturdy eclipse glasses that aren't flimsy cardboard?

Ditto on the polarizers. Polarizers work in the visible light range but pass infrared freely so you can be toasting your sensor or eyes and not know it. Worse yet, your eyes think it's dark and open up to let the IR in. Use the right stuff!!!

Plastic solar shades can be found at B&H and by Googling solar glasses. They run about $20US. These are almost like a cheap set of sunglasses but have the high optical density you need for viewing. Something worth getting also is a set of solar binoculars. They make the view a lot more satisfying than just direct viewing with glasses since the image is magnified. There are some cheap ones out for around $100US (B&H and Amazon) or you can make your own by making slip on filter holders to place approved solar film in front of both objectives. DO NOT use regular binoculars with solar glasses!!!

Also some questions about image size versus lens floating around so here is an example for image sizes on APS-C and FF sensors (latter also applies to 35mm FF film). These are approximate but pretty close to what you'd get. Obviously, 2400mm is overkill for an APS-C sensor. Allow room for the corona during totality.

[1wild1]

So I have a DAL 55-300 and a Tokina 80-200 ATXpro and a 2x converter. I need to order a filter. Would you get a ND3.0 and shoot with the tokina/converter or a ND4.0 and shoot with the DAL? Shooting with a K50. I have only played with the converter a small amount and did not notice a stop of light difference but I'm still a beginner and was shooting pretty wide open.

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Last edited by 1wild1; 08-06-2017 at 06:09 PM.

[photoptimist]

So I have a DAL 55-300 and a Tokina 80-200 ATXpro and a 2x converter. I need to order a filter. Would you get a ND3 and shoot with the tokina/converter or a ND4 and shoot with the DAL? Shooting with a K50. I have only played with the converter a small amount and did not notice a stop of light difference but I'm still a beginner and was shooting pretty wide open.

You want the ND 4.0 (not the ND4 which entirely inadequate for solar photography). An ND 3.0 will probably be painfully bright unless the sun is very low on the horizon.

P.S. Make sure the filter also blocks IR and UV. Some ND filters only block visible light. Also, unless the filter is rated as safe of direct viewing of the sun, only use live view (not the eyepeice) for focusing, etc.

---------- Post added 08-06-17 at 07:49 PM ----------

Also some questions about image size versus lens floating around so here is an example for image sizes on APS-C and FF sensors (latter also applies to 35mm FF film). These are approximate but pretty close to what you'd get. Obviously, 2400mm is overkill for an APS-C sensor. Allow room for the corona during totality.

Great diagram!

The easiest way to think about the right focal length for a frame-filling sun or moon photo is to realize that the sun is about 100X further from the earth than the sun is wide (93 million miles away vs. 865,000 miles across). The moon has a similar 100X ratio (239,000 miles away vs. 2,160 miles across).

Thus the focal length of the lens needs to be 100X the width of the sensor or film frame which is about 1800 mm for APSC and 2400 mm for FF.

The corona extends away from the sun for many solar radii but the further from the sun you go, the dimmer it is. At 8 radii, it's about 14-stops dimmer than the chromosphere so some serious bracketing & HDR is the way the pros do this. Many seem to capture only about 3-5 solar radii which means using something like 360mm to 600 mm on APSC or 500 mm to 800 mm on FF.

[Bob 256]

So I have a DAL 55-300 and a Tokina 80-200 ATXpro and a 2x converter. I need to order a filter. Would you get a ND3.0 and shoot with the tokina/converter or a ND4.0 and shoot with the DAL? Shooting with a K50. I have only played with the converter a small amount and did not notice a stop of light difference but I'm still a beginner and was shooting pretty wide open.

You should probably go for an actual solar filter which is designed for the purpose. Some ND filters use dye and it's transparent to infrared - not good. Check with Thousand Oaks (suggest a telephone call being time is so short):

Solar Filters (“White Light”) – Thousand Oaks Optical

I think they (and others) sell mounted solar filters but $$$.

I make my own by using a reasonably good UV (or skylight) filter, removing the retaining ring, dropping in a circular cut piece of the filtering material, and then replacing the retaining ring. Some filter material is thin and very flexible so care needs to be taken when tightening the ring so the material doesn't squeeze out under the edges and leave a pinhole. If the material is rigid, you can leave out the glass filter. It might also help to make a swipe with silicone adhesive around the retaining ring (back edge which faces the filter glass), drop it on the filter material and let it dry. Then use a razor blade to trim the excess filter material away and screw the retaining ring back in the filter ring.

A good choice is an Amazon basics UV filter which is cheap and works pretty well for the filter holder.

[aslyfox]

we shouldn't spend all of our time during the eclipse looking up??

" Animalia
Do eclipses drive animals wild? Here’s how you can help scientists find out. "

Do eclipses drive animals wild? Here’s how you can help scientists find out. - The Washington Post

---------- Post added 08-07-17 at 06:41 ----------

we shouldn't spend all of our time during the eclipse looking up??

" Animalia
Do eclipses drive animals wild? Here’s how you can help scientists find out. "


" All you have to do, they say, is whip out your smartphone and download the iNaturalist app. Created by the California Academy of Sciences, iNaturalist allows anyone to take a picture of an animal (or plant or fungi or whatever) and make an attempt to identify it. Then others, including experts, weigh in on whether your ID is correct or not. Think of it as a bit like Pokémon Go, only you’re trying to “catch” real creatures instead of Charizards and Vaporeons.

On the day of the eclipse, theapp will feature a special drawdown menu that allows you to record observations leading up to, during, and after the astronomical event. Simply keep an eye out for any interesting or unusual behavior and snap a few pics while you enjoy the show "

Do eclipses drive animals wild? Here’s how you can help scientists find out. - The Washington Post

[goldenarrow]

we shouldn't spend all of our time during the eclipse looking up??

" Animalia
Do eclipses drive animals wild? Here’s how you can help scientists find out. "

Do eclipses drive animals wild? Here’s how you can help scientists find out. - The Washington Post

I will probably be doing this at the same time as preparing to photograph the eclipse:
LINK TO: AM radio DXing experiment

Radio waves will travel farther, just like at night, as the umbra dark spot travels over the transmitters of AM and Shortwave radio stations. I hope to record the broadcasts along the path of the eclipse to see what I can pick up on my portable radio and external loop antenna.


I will be very busy for three hours!

[Roger Dier]

I want to pre-program my K-70 using the U1, U2 and U3 modes for the eclipse. Is it possible to use mirror lock with bracketed shots in those U functions? Tried bracketing today without mirror lock in Manual mode. Lots of vibration.

Hope someone who knows the K-70 well
can help.

Thank you very much.

[DeliaRana]

I have a K70 and a K200D . I plan to have one setup for progression shots of the eclipse and one set up for totality. Just not sure which camera to use for each situation. Any recommendations? I have a solar filter and a remote trigger for both, and zoom lenses up to 300mm.
I also have a teleconverter but I don't remember which one.

[Bob 256]

I have a K70 and a K200D . I plan to have one setup for progression shots of the eclipse and one set up for totality. Just not sure which camera to use for each situation. Any recommendations? I have a solar filter and a remote trigger for both, and zoom lenses up to 300mm.
I also have a teleconverter but I don't remember which one.

The main decision is what picture quality do those cameras provide. Considerations for regular picture taking apply. What is the camera resolution; how good is it at keeping shadow detail; can it bracket exposures; do you have a relatively long lens that fits the camera; do you want to take video with it; does it provide "live view"; does it have mirror lock-up?

These are some of the things you need to ask yourself. Apart from that, regardless of camera, you're going to need a long lens if you want close up shots of the sun, you'll need a solar filter for that lens if you want shots of the partial phases, and you might find bracketing a benefit if you plan to shoot at totality. You'll also need a sturdy tripod or mount for the camera and probably a remote release to help reduce jar when tripping the shutter.

If you have vibration problems, a heavier tripod may help or adding mass to your camera. Make sure you have a genuine solar filter and not an ND filter or crossed polarizers. Use live view for critical focus on the partial phase and that same focus should apply to totality when the solar filter is removed. A teleconverter can help but it will not coax extra resolution out of the lens it's used with (it will probably lose a bit in the process). These general guidelines apply to all DSLRs (and most to even film) cameras used for the eclipse.

[Alliecat]

DIY binoculars filter.
Jigsaw a holder... add plumbing adapters that fit over the objective ends snugly, with a little rim inside one end... make washers from cardboard & sandwich Baader solar film in them... stick washers in adapters... stick adapters into holder... elastic to binoculars.