Solar eclipse remote viewing: I could probably search here for answers, but I am not sure what title to use to be specific enough to get only the details I want. Also, I would like the...

Toby

I could probably search here for answers, but I am not sure what title to use to be specific enough to get only the details I want. Also, I would like the latest info.
I live in Ohio very close to the path of the maximum eclipse. Being 80 I may not be here when the next one comes, so I want to get it right this time.
I have a Canon R7 with a solar 16 stop filter and I would like to set it up so that I can get the image live on a monitor. I have never tried this before and believe I can save hours of experimentation if some of you have suggestions from some of your trials. It is the setting up of the remote live viewing on a monitor info that I want even if it is not during an eclipse. Do I need to run the camera signal thru a computer, or can I run it directly to a monitor? Any other tips?
Thanks in advance for your responses. Toby

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Toby wrote:

I could probably search here for answers, but I am... (show quote)

One option is to use WIFI and Canon’s Canon Connect SW installed on your tablet or Laptop/computer. Not only will that allow real time live view, but it will provide camera control and image transfer. I have found the range to be somewhere in the 25-30’ region, but this will vary depending on your particular WiFi and any obstructions between the camera and the computer. Lot’s more convenient and safer (no chance of pulling the camera over tripping over the cable) than using an HDMI cable directly to a monitor from the camera. An HDMI cable from the camera’s HDMI port directly to the monitor (without a computer) will also work assuming your monitor (or TV) has an HDMI input, but you won’t be able to control the camera which could be important

Toby

TriX wrote:

One option is to use WIFI and Canon’s Canon Connec... (show quote)

Thanks I like your suggestion

JBRIII

Toby wrote:

I could probably search here for answers, but I am... (show quote)

The next one in the 48 is 2045, one in far north Alaska in 2036? I believe, one may go over my house on 2099, but if I live to be 150+, I plan to have other things to do. Hasn't been one in AZ since Tomas Jefferson was around I believe?

jscorbin Loc: Woodinville, WA

Toby wrote:

. . .
I have a Canon R7 with a solar 16 stop filter and I would like to set it up so that I can get the image live on a monitor. . . Any other tips?
Toby

When you say "remote viewing," how remote do you mean? Will you be near the camera to frequently guide it and just look at the image on a notebook computer while sitting in the shade, or stay back in the house with the camera some distance away?

Some issues:

(1) The solar filter is only good for before and after totality. For the four minutes of totality, you'll have to remove the solar filter, and may also need to refocus.

(2) If you want a decent view of the corona during totality, you'll need at least a 300mm lens for a full-frame camera, or better a 500mm or 600mm lens. With the same lens you plan to use, try taking a photo of the moon, which is about the same apparent size as the sun, to see how big the sun will appear in your photo. During totality, the corona may extend over one solar diameter or more on each side.

Alternatively, you could use a wide angle lens -- say 35mm -- to take a series of photos with the camera on the tripod, and let the sun move across the frame over the couple of hours of the whole eclipse, then make a composite to see all of the eclipse from first contact to totality through last contact. Practice this several days beforehand, just to see how to angle the camera frame along the sun's path. In two hours, the sun moves about 30°.

(3) For remote viewing where you are not present to guide the camera, it needs to be on a sturdy tripod and a tracking mount, to follow the sun because of Earth's rotation. The sun moves about ½° (its own diameter) every two minutes. The tracker needs to be set up with its rotational axis parallel to Earth's axis (pointing near the star Polaris). Difficult to do in the daytime. You could set it up at night, cover it, and then use it in the daytime. If you get a tracking mount (several hundred $), practice a lot before the big event.

Some examples:
https://www.moveshootmove.com/collections/move-shoot-move-rotator/products/msm-rotator-for-star-tracking-time-lapse-panorama-photography?variant=21144679022669&aff=198
The Move-Shoot-Move tracker is good for shorter focal-length lenses, but inaccurate or slips for long (heavy) focal-length lenses

Better for a heavier camera/lens: https://www.skywatcherusa.com/products/star-adventurer-mini-pro-pack

(4) During totality, there is a huge variation in brightness from the little pink prominences on the sun's limb, to the inner corona, to the outer corona. You'll need several exposures at different durations to capture all parts of it. For example, a series of seven exposures from 1/500 sec. at f/11 to ¼ sec. at f/11, at ISO 1200 could get all the parts. You could then combine the series into a composite. To do that remotely, you'd need software that controls the camera.

If you are not planning to take photos, but just watch the eclipse on the remote computer, you'll still need some way to guide the camera and remove the solar filter during totality, and change the exposure for the live view. If there is any way you could be outside on the center line during totality, maybe with binoculars, that will give you by far the best view and experience. There are many things that go on during an eclipse, from the darkening of the sky, to stars and planets coming out, to crescent-shaped images projected on the ground through tree leaves, to strange moving shadows, to quieting of animal noises. It can be an emotional experience.

Good luck.

jcboy3

Toby wrote:

I could probably search here for answers, but I am... (show quote)

Even 80 year olds can travel. Here's the list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_eclipses_in_the_21st_century

Toby

jscorbin wrote:

When you say "remote viewing," how remote do you mean? Will you be near the camera to frequently guide it and just look at the image on a notebook computer while sitting in the shade, or stay back in the house with the camera some distance away?

Some issues:

(1) The solar filter is only good for before and after totality. For the four minutes of totality, you'll have to remove the solar filter, and may also need to refocus.

(2) If you want a decent view of the corona during totality, you'll need at least a 300mm lens for a full-frame camera, or better a 500mm or 600mm lens. With the same lens you plan to use, try taking a photo of the moon, which is about the same apparent size as the sun, to see how big the sun will appear in your photo. During totality, the corona may extend over one solar diameter or more on each side.

Alternatively, you could use a wide angle lens -- say 35mm -- to take a series of photos with the camera on the tripod, and let the sun move across the frame over the couple of hours of the whole eclipse, then make a composite to see all of the eclipse from first contact to totality through last contact. Practice this several days beforehand, just to see how to angle the camera frame along the sun's path. In two hours, the sun moves about 30°.

(3) For remote viewing where you are not present to guide the camera, it needs to be on a sturdy tripod and a tracking mount, to follow the sun because of Earth's rotation. The sun moves about ½° (its own diameter) every two minutes. The tracker needs to be set up with its rotational axis parallel to Earth's axis (pointing near the star Polaris). Difficult to do in the daytime. You could set it up at night, cover it, and then use it in the daytime. If you get a tracking mount (several hundred $), practice a lot before the big event.

Some examples:
https://www.moveshootmove.com/collections/move-shoot-move-rotator/products/msm-rotator-for-star-tracking-time-lapse-panorama-photography?variant=21144679022669&aff=198
The Move-Shoot-Move tracker is good for shorter focal-length lenses, but inaccurate or slips for long (heavy) focal-length lenses

Better for a heavier camera/lens: https://www.skywatcherusa.com/products/star-adventurer-mini-pro-pack

(4) During totality, there is a huge variation in brightness from the little pink prominences on the sun's limb, to the inner corona, to the outer corona. You'll need several exposures at different durations to capture all parts of it. For example, a series of seven exposures from 1/500 sec. at f/11 to ¼ sec. at f/11, at ISO 1200 could get all the parts. You could then combine the series into a composite. To do that remotely, you'd need software that controls the camera.

If you are not planning to take photos, but just watch the eclipse on the remote computer, you'll still need some way to guide the camera and remove the solar filter during totality, and change the exposure for the live view. If there is any way you could be outside on the center line during totality, maybe with binoculars, that will give you by far the best view and experience. There are many things that go on during an eclipse, from the darkening of the sky, to stars and planets coming out, to crescent-shaped images projected on the ground through tree leaves, to strange moving shadows, to quieting of animal noises. It can be an emotional experience.

Good luck.

When you say "remote viewing," how remot... (show quote)

JBRIII Sorry I took so long to get back to you, I was tied up on something else.
I would like to set up the camera on a tripod with an HDMI cable directly tied to the monitor so I can watch it on the monitor. The monitor will probably be about 5’ from the camera. Do I need the camera set to record video for continuous viewing, or will it automatically show what is on the back LED screen? If I occasionally shoot a still photo will the camera still show a live view at the monitor even when I am not shooting?.
I will be using a Canon R7 mirrorless with a Tiffen neutral density 16 stop filter made for shooting solar images on a 150mm lens. Since you said I should take the filter off for the total eclipse I may set up my 7DmarkII with a 400mm lens without a solar filter to shoot that.
We have had an unusually dry Winter this year but I’ll bet I can guess the weather on Eclipse day.
Thanks again for your help. TOBY

charles brown Loc: Tennesse

jscorbin wrote:

When you say "remote viewing," how remote do you mean? Will you be near the camera to frequently guide it and just look at the image on a notebook computer while sitting in the shade, or stay back in the house with the camera some distance away?

Some issues:

(1) The solar filter is only good for before and after totality. For the four minutes of totality, you'll have to remove the solar filter, and may also need to refocus.

(2) If you want a decent view of the corona during totality, you'll need at least a 300mm lens for a full-frame camera, or better a 500mm or 600mm lens. With the same lens you plan to use, try taking a photo of the moon, which is about the same apparent size as the sun, to see how big the sun will appear in your photo. During totality, the corona may extend over one solar diameter or more on each side.

Alternatively, you could use a wide angle lens -- say 35mm -- to take a series of photos with the camera on the tripod, and let the sun move across the frame over the couple of hours of the whole eclipse, then make a composite to see all of the eclipse from first contact to totality through last contact. Practice this several days beforehand, just to see how to angle the camera frame along the sun's path. In two hours, the sun moves about 30°.

(3) For remote viewing where you are not present to guide the camera, it needs to be on a sturdy tripod and a tracking mount, to follow the sun because of Earth's rotation. The sun moves about ½° (its own diameter) every two minutes. The tracker needs to be set up with its rotational axis parallel to Earth's axis (pointing near the star Polaris). Difficult to do in the daytime. You could set it up at night, cover it, and then use it in the daytime. If you get a tracking mount (several hundred $), practice a lot before the big event.

Some examples:
https://www.moveshootmove.com/collections/move-shoot-move-rotator/products/msm-rotator-for-star-tracking-time-lapse-panorama-photography?variant=21144679022669&aff=198
The Move-Shoot-Move tracker is good for shorter focal-length lenses, but inaccurate or slips for long (heavy) focal-length lenses

Better for a heavier camera/lens: https://www.skywatcherusa.com/products/star-adventurer-mini-pro-pack

(4) During totality, there is a huge variation in brightness from the little pink prominences on the sun's limb, to the inner corona, to the outer corona. You'll need several exposures at different durations to capture all parts of it. For example, a series of seven exposures from 1/500 sec. at f/11 to ¼ sec. at f/11, at ISO 1200 could get all the parts. You could then combine the series into a composite. To do that remotely, you'd need software that controls the camera.

If you are not planning to take photos, but just watch the eclipse on the remote computer, you'll still need some way to guide the camera and remove the solar filter during totality, and change the exposure for the live view. If there is any way you could be outside on the center line during totality, maybe with binoculars, that will give you by far the best view and experience. There are many things that go on during an eclipse, from the darkening of the sky, to stars and planets coming out, to crescent-shaped images projected on the ground through tree leaves, to strange moving shadows, to quieting of animal noises. It can be an emotional experience.

Good luck.

When you say "remote viewing," how remot... (show quote)

Thanks JBRIII for all the information. Was very helpful.

jscorbin Loc: Woodinville, WA

Toby wrote:

... br I would like to set up the camera on a trip... (show quote)

I haven't used those Canon cameras, or the software that controls them. All I can say is, practice your setup with the sun (uneclipsed, of course

) several days or weeks before the eclipse. When I tether my Nikon camera to a notebook computer, I use either Lightroom Classic or NX Tether 2, and can see the live view throughout a series of exposures and also control the camera's speed, f-stop, and shutter.