Solar ecilpse filter for a camera (Page 4): As a testament to how profound the experience can be, at the last eclipse in 2017 I had planned to make a video of totality with my cell...

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

As a testament to how profound the experience can be, at the last eclipse in 2017 I had planned to make a video of totality with my cell phone. I had a small table next to me and I had the phone all set for a video with full zoom but I didn't have a filter so I had it face down on the table and was going to turn it over at totality. I then shifted my focus to my camera on a tripod. When totality suddenly appeared, I was so stunned, I forgot all about my phone and only realized that I forgot it after totality was over. But I got an excellent audio recording of my wife's and my conversation during the eclipse. I'm not planning on doing that again. Will probably take a couple of pictures of the horizon and people around me then put it down and experience the eclipse first hand and not thru any devices.

ralfstinson Loc: SF Bay Area

Welder's Glass Shade 14. There are other shades and if less than 14, not good enough!

ralfstinson Loc: SF Bay Area

Welder's Glass Shade 14. There are other shades and if less than 14, not good enough!

markwilliam1

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petrochemist Loc: UK

Canisdirus wrote:

Solar filters...are...ND's

Not standard ones. Most NDs only affect visible light, solar filters must also block UV & IR.
Most of the UV will be absorbed by glass in the lens, but IR can cook the camera & your eyes if not blocked.

A IRND of sufficient darkness, or dark welding glass, & mylar film are the only safe options for direct viewing.

sjb3

I'll add my 2¢ in support of Thousand Oaks products. Just took delivery on an 8x8'sheet of their black polymer, to be used for DIY-type filters (as in '17's TSE) for my Linux FZ-1000, and a good pair of 15x70 Celestron astronomical binoculars I recently bought specifically for this event (good price on Amazon). I've read a lot on both sides of the argument for & against using Welders Mask glass, but it seems the cons are more than the pros. I can certify that the use of black polymer as a solar filter back in '17 resulted in some nice pictures and video with zero problems and no damage to my Retinas or camera sensors. I'll be re-using the filter I'd made special for my good old Fuji Finepix S1 with its (35mm equivalent) 1200mm telephoto reach; that one's hard to keep the image in the LCD screen when you don't have an azimuth tracking setup on your tripod (like I don't!) but you can luck onto some pretty good photos.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

sjb3 wrote:

I'll add my 2¢ in support of Thousand Oaks product... (show quote)

I agree with your assessment of mylar film for use as a solar filter. I used one in 2017 with 300 mm lens and could easily see distinct sunspots on the partial eclipse images prior to totality. I didn't use a tripod but did it hand-held. If you use a shutter speed of 1/ 2x focal lenght, in your case 1/2500 you can get sharp images using autofocus on the camera. I don't know how much of the screen the sun would occupy with a 1200mm lens but it's not a problem with 300. I set the focal length at f8 and ISO manually to get an orange image. The rest is done in post.

I didn't make a holder for the mylar film, just cut out a square to be about 1" wider than the lens then used electrical tape to hold it in place. Afterward, I made a small cardboard sleeve for the filter and carry it in my camera bag all the time. Try the setup taking pictures of sunspots on any sunny day and see if it can work for you. Don't know but 1200 mm lens may be too big for hand held.

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

samantha90 wrote:

We are due to see the upcoming total eclipse soon. I am interested in getting a few shots of it. I have no knowledge concerning the filter required to do this. I don't wont to spend a lot of money since this will probably be a one time thing. I would appreciate any advise or information. Thanks.

Sam

I use the Thousand Oaks 95mm solar filter on a Canon RF 800mm lens, works well for me. I took a test shot with it!

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

mikey12654 wrote:

I use the Thousand Oaks 95mm solar filter on a Canon RF 800mm lens, works well for me. I took a test shot with it!

Has this image been through post processing. I don't see any sunspots on it and would expect them as the sun is very active now. Did you use autofocus making this image. When you post images like this use should include download capability so we can get a closer look a the fine details.

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

Reuss Griffiths wrote:

Has this image been through post processing. I don't see any sunspots on it and would expect them as the sun is very active now. Did you use autofocus making this image. When you post images like this use should include download capability so we can get a closer look a the fine details.

You're right about the sunspots not being seen and honestly I wondered the same thing, especially with the sun approaching solar maximum. I took the shot with an R5 and did crop it, I think I used AF and another shot in MF. Perhaps someone on here could explain how that could happen. Here's a very old sun shot with the spots, I'll select the "store original" box for both shots.

(Download)

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

mikey12654 wrote:

You're right about the sunspots not being seen and honestly I wondered the same thing, especially with the sun approaching solar maximum. I took the shot with an R5 and did crop it, I think I used AF and another shot in MF. Perhaps someone on here could explain how that could happen. Here's a very old sun shot with the spots, I'll select the "store original" box for both shots.

There are two very faint supspots in your image. I fluffed and buffed your image in post a little bit and they became a little more distinct. Looks like you found a quiet day in the neighborhood

(Download)

mikey12654 Loc: Vancouver, WA

Reuss Griffiths wrote:

There are two very faint supspots in your image. I fluffed and buffed your image in post a little bit and they became a little more distinct. Looks like you found a quiet day in the neighborhood

Thanks for checking it out! As I think about it, I know the sun revolves somewhere around every 24 days at its equator and longer towards the poles so I kinda wonder if it's possible that sunspots cannot be viewed because of the sun's rotation? Years ago we had multiple forest fires where I'm at and it got super smokey, I took a sun pic.

(Download)

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

I'm not sure that I follow what you are saying about rotation and not being viewed. Because of the rotational period at the equator, sunspots at that point take 12 days to transit across the sun. Spots like in your picture being at such a high latitude, would only take a few days. I read recently because of Mars' current position on the opposite side of the sun from earth was using the camera on the Rover to take pictures of the sun's backside (to us) and warn about large spots on the backside that would soon be facing earth which, because of potential coronal mass ejections, might cause eletronic interference on earth and our satellites. That actually happened about 2 weeks ago.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

mikey12654 wrote:

Thanks for checking it out! As I think about it, I know the sun revolves somewhere around every 24 days at its equator and longer towards the poles so I kinda wonder if it's possible that sunspots cannot be viewed because of the sun's rotation? Years ago we had multiple forest fires where I'm at and it got super smokey, I took a sun pic.

Love the shot, Mike

My dad was 1 26 26 and I am 1 27 54, a day behind you and him

Happy belated birthday 🍰🍰

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Reuss Griffiths wrote:

There are two very faint supspots in your image. I fluffed and buffed your image in post a little bit and they became a little more distinct. Looks like you found a quiet day in the neighborhood

Reuss, our sun is only an adolescent star, so maybe it has some star-acne