chuckla Loc: Kennesaw, GA USA

Last week I decided I should practice shooting the sun for the upcoming eclipse. I used my D810 and Nikon 200-500 f5.6, at 500mm both with and without a 1.4x teleconverter, with a Thousand Oaks Optical filter, set up on a tripod in the driveway.

Big problem! How to aim it at the sun? I know there are devices that aim telescopes and move the scope to track the sun’s progress, but I can’t see spending that kind of money, so I’ll have to work with what I have.

You can’t look at the sun to get an approximate alignment without filter glasses, but with them you can’t see the camera. Can’t very well look through the viewfinder or use Live View with a filter on the lens- at 500/700mm the odds of being able to find the sun by blindly scanning in its direction are impossibly high.

One thing that seemed to work, but which was impossibly slow, was to aim the camera at the sun by watching its shadow on the ground- as the lens is tilted up and down, or right and left, its shadow shows up; from that I was able to approximate where the lens was aimed at the sun. When things are aligned a sun image is projected on the ground through the viewfinder - slip on the filter and shoot. Unfortunately this whole process takes time and will need to be repeated as the sun moves, so it will be difficult to record steps of the eclipse.

Assuming that shooting without the filter on, or having Live View on through any of this, will damage the sensor, I was careful to avoid either.

Any suggestions on how better to do this without investing in a lot of additional hardware?

duane klipping Loc: Bristow iowa

Live view with the filter on should not damage the sensor. Should it? I would zoom out to 200 center as best you can and zoom in from there. I need to practice also.

Some here say not to shoot the eclipse and leave that to the pros. Not me I am attempting it as it could be my only shot at doing it and who knows it might be a shot of a lifetime.

I won't be going any more than 500mm and probably 200 to 300 during totality.

krl48 Loc: NY, PA now SC

Practice is good.

You should be able to find the sun with the filter on, lens at 200mm, then center image in LCD and zoom in as you wish. It's not as hard as you're making it sound.

Don't tell me you didn't drop a couple of bucks to get a pair of eclipse glasses?

SS319

I would not allow a direct shot at the sun to hit the lens - you may heat up the lens very fast and do damage. even if you do not do damage, you change the lens physics with the heat produced in the lens, and then when you put the filter on, the lens characteristics will change constantly as you cool down the lens.

So, put the filter on, and then watch the shadow of the camera on the ground. the lens and the top/bottom/sides of the camera will disappear from the shadow when the lens is pointed at the sun and you will have a crisp image of the camera body. I use exactly this same method with my 10 inch Dobsonian telescope when sun spot watching. Once you get the sun in the live view (or viewfinder, keep it there - with my 10"diameter scope, I have to adjust more than once a minute.

chuckla Loc: Kennesaw, GA USA

Of course I did, but as I said earlier, with them on you can't see your gear.

chuckla Loc: Kennesaw, GA USA

Hadn't thought of that



I'll try it- thanks.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

I'm going to travel to Oregon to see the eclipse but instead of my camera, I'm taking a lawn chair!!!! LoL
SS

Math78 Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

I have also been photographing the sun using a D7100, Nikon 200-500mm lens with 1.4x TC and the Thousand Oaks solar filter. My experience. . .

1. Forget the tripod with that lens. It is just too hard to find the sun, especially when the sun is almost overhead. You finally get the sun, and then you have to continually adjust the tripod to keep the sun in view. Way too much work without a telescope mount. I want to enjoy the eclipse.

2. For the eclipse, I will use a tripod but with a wider angle lens. Point the camera at the part of the sky where the total eclipse will take place, +/- 90 minutes, and then take a series of photos without moving the camera. There really aren't any details to capture until you get to totality. I can use the big lens during totality without needing the solar filter.

3. It is quite easy to take handheld photos of the sun at maximum zoom. You get to use a fast shutter speed. I've been taking pictures of the International Space Station as it transits the sun, and I use a shutter speed of 1/2000 or faster to stop the motion of the ISS. I've learned to pick up the camera and find the sun in less than 10 seconds. And I have no trouble keeping the camera on the sun once I find it. I align my body with the sun so that I can raise the camera straight up until I see the sun in the view finder.

4. My problem is focusing. Modern lenses don't have a hard stop at infinity and there is very little contrast on the sun to focus on. Auto-focus works best, but it is inconsistent. About half the time I get sharp focus on sunspots, and the other half the focus is a little soft. The LCD on the camera is not good enough to tell the difference. You can't see what you have until you get to a computer monitor. Manual focusing is worse, the view finder resolution is terrible, and all my manual focus shots have been out of focus. (I'm considering using my old manual Nikkor 300mm lens, less reach but at least it is always in focus.)

ISS using Nikon D7100, 200-500mm lens and 1.4X TC

(Download)

Math78 Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

chuckla Loc: Kennesaw, GA USA

Cool pic of the SS.I got good focus by focusing on the full moon the night before my test, switching lens up manual and using gaffer tape to lock focus in place.

Math78 Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

My first attempt. Beginners luck. Transit time was only 0.5 sec. I was shooting continuous and by luck caught the ISS in the center of the sun. And focus is good. I've taken others where the focus is a little soft.

I thought about taking off the solar filter and focusing on the moon. But that probably won't be an option for the eclipse since it'll be a new moon.

I'm going to keep it simple and enjoy the experience. The best photo I take may be my iPhone selfie during totality.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

If you are technically savvy, you can get a clock drive at a hobby shop, gear it down to a 360° / 24 hour motion, attach the clock drive on an equatorial mount, and mount it on the tripod. For this kind of shooting it will work well enough.

Have said that, your technique or the zoom out and then back in will be more than adequate. For my first eclipse I took two bodies, two rolls of new film, mounted one with a 21mm and the other with a 400mm. I used your technique for the 400mm and the 21mm stationary to show the partials leading up to a shot of the total eclipse. If you practice, you can shoot with two cameras and come away with great shots. And I was very much an amateur. This time I plan to only take sunspots photos (if any), Bailey's beads, and corona shots with no equatorial drive. It will be easier for me that you since I will be shooting with a mirrorless camera with no chance of eye damage from the camera. For your exposures I would go to the NASA website and use the values as they are indicated by Fred Espenak's exposure charts. They worked perfect for me twice (my third eclipse was "washed out") and I know they will work for me again.

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

That is an awesome shot of the space station transecting the Sun.

wkocken Loc: McGregor, MN

I am an amateur astronomer and hobbyist photographer. I plan to take photos of the eclipse, but since it's a one time thing I cannot risk messing it up. I found this e-book by a well respected astronomer/photographer. It covers the full gamut from snapping shots with your cell phone to taking high power photos with a telescope and video and everything in between. I think it's well worth the $9.99 it cost me. (I have no connection to this book other than to be a happy customer.)
http://www.amazingsky.com/tablet/eclipsebook.html

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Lots of info -
Filters -
http://www.thousandoaksoptical.com/solar.html

Technique -
http://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/image/SE-Exposure1w.GIF
http://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/photographing.HTM
http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/h20zakgu/how-to-photograph-a-solar-eclipse.html
https://photographylife.com/how-to-photograph-a-solar-eclipse