CliffMcKenzie Loc: Lake Athens Texas

Sam, try Ft. Worth Camera, they are good people. Tell them I said hello. Next, if you are in Plano at 11am, I will be speaking at the Plano Photography Club on the eclipse at the annual Tabletop.

Never look through eclipse glasses into a camera, binoculars, or telescope. The filter must be on the end of the instrument.

Next, homemade solutions are not a clever idea. It is like buying a Porsche and putting discount regular gas...it will not end well.

In selecting your filter, make sure you can pop it off and pop it back on. Mine is magnetic. When totality occurs, you must pop it off without moving the camera.

Parts of Ft. Worth will not get totality. Think of going to Kaufman or Sulfur Springs. I will talk a lot about the reason to be centered in this 367-year opportunity. If you cannot make Plano today, PM me and I will give you a link to slide presentation or reach out to me on FB.

JBRIII

If all you want is a few shots during totality, no filter is needed, indeed if you use one then you might not see anything. The filters are designed, like the glasses, for shooting the sun anytime and from the start of the eclipse until a few secs before totality (see info on diamond ring effect) and then again after totality. The filters reduce the light to something like 0.001-0.0001% of normal.

There are different films which people differ on and which also produce a red or white sun disk. Some are stiff and some are very flexible.

You can buy film and make your own filter from cardboard and tape. I've made them from cardboard and from rings cut from solid foam board insulation. Just search the web for home made solar filters.

Finally, if you live near a Barnes and Noble, they have or, at least the one in Morgantown, WV, did yesterday, A Sky and Telescope magazine special issue on everything you need to know about the eclipse. During 2017 many state information stands along interstates gave away booklets and glasses on the eclipse. Some of the stores are selling out of film, etc. so don't wait.

LAST: if you use a camera, either use live view or absolutely certain that your camera view finder show what the lens sees, i.e., if you cover the lens, the view finder show dark. If the view finder, shows an image while the lens is covered or does not show a finger across the lens, then it has a separate optical system and you will looking into the sun and it will blind you. If I'm making no sense, then use liveview. Most experts say cover over the cameras view finder to avoid accidents. Using live view also protects against a filter coming off, your camera may be damaged, but not your eye.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

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In 2017 I bought an inexpensive solar filter through B&H Photo. They have a variety to choose from, some expensive and others less expensive. I just checked and they have them for around $20.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

I took pictures of the partial and total eclipse in 2017 using Mylar film from Amazon and electrical tape. Nothing else. As previously stated, you don't need a filter during totality. What you need is to get the filter needed during the partial eclipse off the camera quickly. What I did was trim the Mylar film into a square about an inch wider than the lens opening. I taped on side of the filter to the side of my lens and used another piece of tape to hold down the other side. No need to make sure the film is flat because you will be focused on infinity and never see anything from the lens itself.

Incidentally, you can practice making images of partial eclipses by taking pictures of the sun right now a look for sunspots. If the sunspots are reasonably sharp after post processing, then you've done it right and you're all set for the eclipse. For images of totality, what I'm planning on doing is during the partial phase, I'm going to set up my tripod and manually focus to get the sharpest image with the VR turned off. I'm then going to tape my filter ring in position so that it doesn't change. Once totality occurs, untape one side of the filter and let it hang on the lens. and get ready to make images of totality. Totality is going to require a whole different set of conditions.
I's check articles on photographing totality to get some ideas for a starting point. I think aperture should probably be around f8, ISO maybe 800 and focus taped after manually set during partial. What you need to do is bracket exposures by varying shutter speed. May want to do this manually. and shoot a wide range because at slower speeds, you will expose the corona at it's greatest width albeit overexposed immediately around the sun. At the fastest shutter speeds, you will expose the corona near the sun but also may be able to see prominences (loops) arching out from the sun's surface (pink). I wasn't expecting to see them but were there when I processed the images (300 mm).

So practice, practice, practice for the partial eclipse and sacrifice a chicken to the weather gods for clear skies. Good luck.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

One other thing to keep in mind is to make sure that you take the time during totality to step away from the camera and just look and enjoy the sensation of the eclipse. If all you do is tend the shutter you will miss out on an amazing experience. Afterwards you can get to play with what you captured.

(Download)

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

I can attest to this. I was engrossed in capturing the 2017 Great American Eclipse, when all of a sudden I realized I was missing out. I looked up at totality and the first thing I saw was a black hole in the sky. Then I looked around at all the people going crazy, hooting and hollering. It will give you chills if it's your first total eclipse. Oh yea, it does get cooler at totality.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

That’s an astute observation and one heck of an image!

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

This is a neutral density filter. The highest rated on is 7.2. Neutral density filters are recommended for solar images but the rating should be 18. That is why your images were all white. I'm not sure that you would be able to see sunspots with this filter but having never tried one, I don't know.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

[quote=pmorin]One other thing to keep in mind is to make sure that you take the time during totality to step away from the camera and just look and enjoy the sensation of the eclipse. If all you do is tend the shutter you will miss out on an amazing experience. Afterwards you can get to play with what you captured.[/q


Amen to that. Being present during totality is a truly spiritual experience with so many different things happening. My wife was sitting next to me during the 2017 eclipse and the first thing she said when it was over (2 min 30 sec) was "that wasn't long enough" and she was right. You can view your images later or other peoples, but you can only physically and emotionally experience totality probably only once in a lifetime.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Actually that's not correct. The Firecrest Filter I used was 18 Stops. It is a filter made specifically for photographing solar eclipses, which is why it's called "Firecrest Ultra Neutral Density (IRND) Solar Eclipse Filter". The filters are available also in 20, 22 and 24 stops. You're confusing Optical Density Number with Stops of Light. A filter with an Optical Density Number of 5.4 is an 18-stop filter.

Also the reason the sun is white with this filter is simply because that is the actual color of the sun. Like any quality ND filter, this filter does not add any color cast to the image as many cheaper filters do. If you use this filter and want a yellow or orange cast, that can always be added in post.

Canisdirus

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

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

Good to know. Thanks, but $200+ for a filter is a little rich for me. I use Mylar film from Amazon and I get good enough results for my purposes.

CliffMcKenzie Loc: Lake Athens Texas

Reuss points out something that most never even think about - practice!. It is sunny here in Texas today, why not bracket 5 shots? Why not bracket 7 shots? Native ISO - why not bump it up a little? If the angle is 64 degrees, can I drop the tripod down and shoot from a chair? Practice, practice....

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Yes, it is on the pricey side and there are definitely more cost efficient options.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

100 % agree! Before I traveled to Wyoming for the 2017 eclipse, I practiced with my setup on the morning and afternoon sun, using the same filter I'd be using for the "event." I experimented with various ISO, Aperture and shutter speeds (based on various "pro recommendations" to find the combo I was happy with. I even "pretended" to take the filter off and see how fast I could run through the different shutter speeds during totality. By the time it was game day, I pretty much had my routine committed to memory and was able to get all the shots I needed from start to finish without really having to think about it. I plan to practice again before April.