[ZeroGhost]

Hi,

I'm getting ready for the total eclipse this year in WA, OR, ID, WY... I just got the K-70 and want to understand how to get the most out of it for the once in a lifetime event. I will be at center-line in northern Oregon and try to duplicate what I did with my *ist DS in 2012 for the eclipse I caught perfectly in Nevada.

I'm finally getting weather for astronomy and want to put my new K-70 on my Mead F-11 and Dob-10" Telescope. I want to bone up on settings for this, like time exposure and other new settings I can get. The last eclipse I was at a perfect center and weather held for 75% of the eclipse. After processing, I made a video and poster from the best exposures. This time I can do proper time exposures and at higher resolution with the Mede F-11 as my lens.

Video:

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

Art: Behance

I really need to know this camera better and got the book (Pentax K-70 Everything you need to know... and then some) here that seems like a great resource, if I can sit long enough to read it. I could use some advice for this. I have all I need except the direct experience with this camera, and what it can do that my *ist DS could never dream of. I can't miss this opportunity.

Thanks,

Garret Moore

[AstroDave]

Nice video. I would suggest you keep the exposure constant, though, for the non-total part of the eclipse. In your series, the brightness of the sun changes substantially near the annular phase. Either let your camera determine the exposure during total sunshine and then set that value for M (manual) exposure, or do a bit of experimentation to determine a good setting.

If you want to practice on getting any details on the solar surface, there are some nice sunspots at the moment. Take a look at this NASA site to see what the sun looks like:

SDO/HMI Continuum Image

If you click on the solar image, you get an enlarged version.

During totality, you will want to remove your solar filters and try lots of different exposures. Do a google search on "photographing total eclipse" for all sorts of information.

[ZeroGhost]

Thanks for the resources.

I'll likely have a second and third camera for the totality but was thinking that a K-70 auto exposure and sequenced shots 1 minute or less apart, but so far don't know how to do that.

I would need another K-70 to get a 4K time exposure. So while I would like that, I would need to also mount that on an equatorial with a drive. So unless I set up a crowd funding campaign I am out of luck. I can see if a friend has a good scope with a drive, buy another camera eyepiece adapter that's cheap enough.

If I have to choose the type of record I would be more interested in good high resolution the K-70 affords. The K-70 has an Astrotracer function using the shake reduction feature, but that has only a 5-minute duration. So I might be getting the iOptron Sky Tracker Pro [URL="https://goo.gl/TixTXP"] so I can do timed exposures without recentering the camera on the disk of the eclipse. Then using the WiFi capability I can maybe control the camera exposure and sequencing somehow from a tablet/phone, maybe I can get a perfect astronomical sequence of high-resolution shots. Exposures will be the challenge however and not sure how I could use autoexposure for that.

I'm just not a camera-technical photographer and will need to study and practice for that. I was hoping someone with experience could help, if not someone from the manufacturer themselves. It would be a complex setup with a very limited shoot time, so mistakes would be catastrophic.

I have two other Pentax DSLRs but at 7MP for the *ist DS and at 10MP for my K10D so should make use of them. Maybe my video camera at maximum too. So I have lots of shooting planning to consider.

I talked to the APOD editor a few years ago, and he said he would have used my video for the APOD for the Day! So literally I'm shooting for that too!

Any references or links are greatly appreciated and thank you for your answer. Anything helps this amateur photo astronomer.

Garret

[shiner]

I've been wondering something about 4K with the K70/KP, as well. I plan on setting up one of these two cameras with a wide angle and 4K time lapse, as I plan to be set up on a mountain overlook and want to capture the shadow rushing up. Will auto exposure continue to monitor the exposure during the 4K sequence? I'm thinking of simply using a wide averaging setting for that video.

[ZeroGhost]

That should be a good visual experiment. 4K and low noise is my sky target.

[Roger Dier]

Nice video. I would suggest you keep the exposure constant, though, for the non-total part of the eclipse. In your series, the brightness of the sun changes substantially near the annular phase. Either let your camera determine the exposure during total sunshine and then set that value for M (manual) exposure, or do a bit of experimentation to determine a good setting.

If you want to practice on getting any details on the solar surface, there are some nice sunspots at the moment. Take a look at this NASA site to see what the sun looks like:

SDO/HMI Continuum Image

If you click on the solar image, you get an enlarged version.

During totality, you will want to remove your solar filters and try lots of different exposures. Do a google search on "photographing total eclipse" for all sorts of information.

Hi Astro Dave,

Am new to the K-70. Going to use the U1 bracket to preset the partial eclipse shots. What focal length, ISO and shutter speed do you recommend for partial eclipse shots? I plan to also use mirror lock, cable release and a center weight on my tripod to keep the camera as quiet as possible. Will either be shooting in Illinois or Nebraska, whichever has the better weather forecast on Aug. 19.

Many thanks for your recommendations.

[AstroDave]

Hi Astro Dave,

Am new to the K-70. Going to use the U1 bracket to preset the partial eclipse shots. What focal length, ISO and shutter speed do you recommend for partial eclipse shots? I plan to also use mirror lock, cable release and a center weight on my tripod to keep the camera as quiet as possible. Will either be shooting in Illinois or Nebraska, whichever has the better weather forecast on Aug. 19.

Many thanks for your recommendations.

Hi Roger,

Go with the exposure suggestions in my original: So you wanna photograph the Eclipse - what you need to know in (sorta) a nutshell - PentaxForums.com for all partial phases.

The uncovered area of the sun is pretty much the same brightness all over the sun! (There is a solar atmosphere effect called limb darkening by astronomers, which refers to the edge (limb) of the sun being somewhat darker than the central region, but the overall effect is not much except as you get quite close to the edge.)

So, just find a nice exposure for the total sun, before the eclipse, and go with that value in M(anual) exposure mode - until totality.

[ZeroGhost]

I was able to get decent photos by using a general exposure setting on the K-70 and just before the beginning of totality setting for continuous exposures. I was able to get the Diamond ring and the pre-spark as the sun shone through a deep valley on the Lunar rim too. Using a Mead F-11 1000mm with a Celestron T-mount that otherwise does not allow F control other than the F-11 of the optic. I was not sure all would fall into place, but when I got the raw images into Lightroom I was able to compensate for the exposure and you can see the result. I shot these from northern Oregon on BLM land outside the circus of the city of Madras and was 3.5 miles south of the mapped line of totality. I was not able to process the shots until I was back from the trip, so was sweating the whole way.