Yes, most people are unaware that the shadow travels at about 2000 mph. Even jets chasing the shadow cannot lengthen the view by more that a few minutes at the most. All the various broadcasting stations will have several cameras along the path. There should be a few that will get a view of totality.

Only if the total eclipse isn't clouded out in Texas. Unfortunately, a lot of the path of the total eclipse will be potentially cloudy. The best areas so far are Indiana/Ohio and Vermont/Maine. Out of three eclipses I have been to, one was clouded out. This is always a possibility with total eclipses. Is it worth the attempt? Oh, yes, absolutely yes!!! Because of my granddaughter's wedding, I will forego this particular eclipse. But there are some coming up in other countries that I will seek out for viewing. Good luck for everyone that will be trying for Monday's eclipse. May the sky clear for you at the time of totality.

If you want protection at this time, try welders glass of ND 16 to ND 19. If you can see the sun through the glass, then it is safe for both your eyes and camera. I have used a ND 18 welders glass for all day viewing and all day camera protection for two total eclipses. Unless you use a camera filter of ND 16.5 stops or more (not the NDs of 1 to 3 stops used for making silky waterfalls), your camera will very quickly become "toast" and useless. Once you burn the camera's sensor, the back screen of a mirrorless is useless for viewing. Thousand Oaks sells filters for cameras and eyes. And that is the one other safety point. Only some filters shut out both the light and the UV rays. If you fail to cut out the UV rays, your permanent eye damage will occur within 24 hours. There are always some ignorant people that have eye damage with every total eclipse after not following proper eye safety. At this late a time, welders glass may be your best bet. It will stop the high light intensity and UV rays of welding as well as the light and UV rays of the sun.

And one more bit of information: Once the moon covers the sun disc totally (totality), no eye protection will be needed for one's eyes or camera. Your will have only 3 or 4 minutes of totality so use them wisely.

User ID is correct. The Panasonic lumix S5 is a full frame series camera. The Panasonic 4/3rds series has very good cameras like the G9 mkII, GH6, and soon to be GH7. And these cameras usually surpass full frame cameras in their video abilities (Panasonic is still ahead of OM in video abilities). These Panasonic and OMs 4/3rds cameras and lenses have interchangeability with their bodies and lenses for all basic functions.

The new OM-5 with the 12-45 f4 Pro lens is on sale until March 31st for $1400 (normally $1600). It weights in at 14.6 oz for body/battery and 8.96 oz for the lens. One of the suggestions for you were the Canon EOS RP (17.1 oz) plus the RF 24-105 f/4L IS (24.6 oz). That is 23.56 oz (OM) versus 41.7 oz (Canon). And as noted, the main difference is in the lenses, not the bodies.

Again, I know you are after a full frame system but you just might want to at least look at 4/3rds.

I find the easiest way for me to talk "equivalent" is to reference the angle of view. The angle of view (4.1°) for my 300mm 4/3rds lens is the same angle of view (4.1°) as the Sony, Canon, Nikon, and any other full frame lens of 600mm. And f4 is f4 for any lens of any format. But depth of field for the f4 will change between formats if keeping the angle of view and aperture the same. For me shooting wildlife, more depth of field is desirable, especially if shooting moving wildlife. Plus I can handhold the 300, 1.4X or 2X teleconverter, and body with no need of a tripod. This is where I feel my 4/3rds provides me an advantage. This is where the word "equivalent" has the most meaning for me.

It could if other tech advances do not progress with the megapixels.

Your ND filter is acceptable for full sunlight for your camera but not for your eyes. The filter you have is ND to 16 stops which is different from the 1 to 3 stop ND filters one uses for making silky waterfalls and such. Your filter will not stop UV rays. If you have a DSLR or use the filter for viewing with your eye, you will sunburn your eye (sunburn = blindness or serious eye damage; forget further photography with that eye). If you have a mirrorless camera, no problem; you are viewing a screen and not actual sunlight. But you still cannot use that filter with just your eye (filter is still passing UV rays to your eye and sunburning your eye; damage is felt within a day). Thousand Oaks sells sunshades that will protect your eye while viewing the sun directly. You can watch the sun all day with those sunshades and no danger. The only other way of protecting your eyes from direct sun viewing is welders glass of ND16 to ND19. Welders glass cuts both the light level and the UV rays that are generated by welding.

If you have a telephoto and a DSLR without a proper filter, and try viewing the sun, your eye will be either severely damaged or blind in that eye. Only during totality, the 3 or 4 minutes the moon covers the sun's disk, will no filter be needed. And unless you get a proper filter that stops both light and UV rays for your DSLR camera, you cannot use the DSLR for viewing the sun before totality. With a mirrorless camera, you will still need a filter to protect the camera. But since you are only viewing a screen with a mirrorless camera, there are no UV rays to damage or blind your eye. If you do not get a proper filter to block the sunlight for your camera and a proper filter to block the sunlight and UV rays for your eyes, damage and/or blindness will occur. Those are the rules.

I know you may be dead set on full frame, but look at OM and Panasonic 4/3rds. On the OM side, I would look at OM-5 and the 12-45 f4 Pro lens (24-90 in 35mm terms and very sharp). It should be close to your price range and relatively small and lightweight compared to a full frame (the lens will be where the size and weight savings is).

Now, now; that wasn't the question! You must chose one of the four options!

Just kidding! Of course most of us are happy with our 20mp. But as cameras move forward, so will the megapixels. Most of us amateurs, advanced amateurs, and enthusiasts only care about being able to produce a two page spread image and rarely printing 20X24 to 30X40. 20mp and 25mp will easily cover this situation. But for the professionals that are shooting 4/3rds, this could become interesting. OM Pro lenses can resolve 100mp images. All four of these possibilities would be game changing for the professionals. It will be interesting to see how the future unfolds.

All would work with the OM Pro lenses. For me, not working as a professional, I would like the 44mp. Less storage space required, faster downloads, less time required for PP.

Thank you. I will be looking it up. It sound like something I would like to read. One can never learn enough.

The love and joy of seeing. And the capture, even if not perfect, of the memories of those moments.

Your wish is close to being granted! Try the OM 150-400 f4.5 Pro IS 1.25X. The angle of view in 35mm terms is 300-800 and 375-1000 with the internal 1.25 teleconverter on. On the new OM1 mkII, it is a combined 8.5 stops of IS. Size is 4.6 dia. x 12.4" long at 4.14 pounds. And it can shoot 1:1 macro. It only misses on the internal teleconverter, 150 instead of 100, and 0.14 pounds over the 4 pound or less that you wanted. And for comparison to full frame - wait, full frame has nothing to compare to it!

If you are looking for the most perfect camera system, there isn't one. There are only systems that meet one's certain pros and cons. And one must determine which system's pros and cons are more important than the other system's pros and cons.

Starting with sensor shape, if you crop for most standard print sizes, full-frame can require up to a 11% loss of pixels while 4/3rds will only require up to a 7% pixel loss. This can sometimes "even out" the pixel count between a 24mp full-frame sensor and a 21mp 4/3rds sensor. Personally, I find this is the least determining factor. Because the pixels are smaller with a 4/3rds sensor, there is a difference in ISO and dynamic range with full-frame being the better of the two. But the OM-1 mkII has narrowed that difference by using a stacked sensor. This could be a factor if you do lots of low light shooting. As far as image stabilization, there are very few camera systems that are as good as the OM-1 (the Sony A7IV being one; note, as good, not better). Panasonic 4/3rds is much more prolific with their dual IS than any brand. But OM usually will have fewer but better dual IS overall due to the IBIS/ILIS strength. And the OM dual IS is really some of the total camera industry's very best. The 4/3rds system bodies and lenses are interchangeable for all basic functions (OM and Panasonic). Only a few of the full-frame brands are such. The glass of the OM system Pro series lenses will be able to resolve a 100mp sensor when someone finally makes one. There are differences between full frame lenses and 4/3rds lenses. 4/3rds tend to be smaller, lighter, and less costly for the same angle of view. Full-frame has a narrower depth of field for the same angle of view and aperture as 4/3rds. If you shoot lots of very narrow depth of field, full frame tends to be the better choice. But if size, weight, and cost are more important than depth of field, then 4/3rds will tend to be the better choice. One example of this is comparing the OM 300 f4 Pro IS lens to the Nikon and Canon 600 f4 IS lenses (same angle of view, 4.1°, different depth of field). The OM 300 is less than 10", 2.7 pounds, and $2900 compared to 16" to18" long, 6.5 and 6.7 pounds, and $13,000. In other words, I can buy one 300 lens and two spares for the same price of one of the other 600 lenses.

Does this mean that 4/3rds is better than full-frame? Absolutely not! But it does mean that there are different pros and cons between the two. Some on UHH shoot only full-frame. Some shoot only 4/3rds. But then there are others that shoot both full-frame and 4/3rds depending on what they are shooting or where they are going. Be sure that you look at the pros and cons and, if necessary, rent a 4/3rds to give yourself a feel for the 4/3rds system.