Solar Eclipse

[Rosemarie]

I'm already planning a trip to the Sahara next year for the total eclipse, and want to take some pics with my 300D. Does anyone have any experience in using a digital for an eclipse, or have any tips? Sorry if this question has turned up before, but I haven't tracked down anything useful yet for digital users.

[BearSummer]

Hi RoseMarie.

Warning - looking directly at the sun is dangerous, looking directly at the sun using optical equipment is asking for eye damage, do not do it. Seek professional guidance on how to keep your eyes safe.

Ok thats out of the way, anything else you try now is your own responsibility. The trouble with looking at the sun is it's not just the light that is dangerous its the infra red as well, anyone want to cook the back of their eyeball..... anyway, I would suggest that you practice first, not on the sun but something similar and a lot safer. The reason that solar eclipses work is that the sun and moon are almost exactly the same size when viewed from earth. So practice taking pictures of the moon and it will give you an idea of what you are likely to get, size wise on your sensor. I seem to remember that to get the moon to fill a 35mm film frame you need to have something in the region of a 1500 mm lens, so with your 300d you will need to get something around 920 mm if you want to fill the frame. As the moon is reflecting sunlight you can use the sunny 16 rule to give you somewhere to start with regarding camera settings.

I seem to remember that there is a filter that is specifically made for solar photography, I was loking into getting one for the total eclipse we had in 1999, but i think it was feafully expensive.

Hope that helps

BearSummer

[robertwgross]

First of all, there are books specifically on the topic of viewing eclipses and photographing eclipses. Look around.

As 1991 dawned, I realized that there was going to be a total solar eclipse visible in Hawaii for July of that year. To be specific, the path of totality was going to pass over the Big Island, almost perfectly square-on. I made my decision to go there to photograph it. Then I started doing my research. At the time, I was using a non-Canon SLR film camera, and I had one backup camera, but I had no decent long lens. Due to the particular location situation that I was going to be into, I could not transport a decent long lens to the site, so I settled for an indecent long lens. That was a 500mm mirror lens with a 3x teleconvertor. If that happened today, I would be horrified of such a rig. But that was back then, so I didn't know any better. My goal was to have a focal length between 1500 and 2000mm. On 35mm film, that 2000mm will almost, but not quite, fill up the frame with the solar disk. I think maybe 2200mm would. However, that 1500mm would fill up 2/3 or 3/4 of the frame, and that seemed like a practical goal. Note that with a Digital Rebel, you have a 1.6 factor, so you can use that to choose a lens at about 1000mm, give or take. One of the problems of using a teleconvertor is that your lens will not autofocus. OK. If you think about it, your subject is going to be at a constant Infinity, so that is not a huge deal, as long as you can accurately manually focus on the Moon's dark edge. You can work out exposures to aim for, but it will change a lot. Here is the trick. You must have a solar filter! A solar filter is a neutral density filter that will knock out about 99% of the sunlight. It is so dark that sometimes you can look up at the sky with it and you can't find the sun. I'm not kidding. However, that is the one item that allows you to shoot directly at the sun during the pre-totality and post-totality. Since those shots are semi-important to the whole experience, do not leave home without a solar filter. Now, there are two kinds of solar filters. One kind is very very dark glass and it screws on just like a polarizer. Very specialized. One kind is cheap, and it is made out of "space blanket" material, which is aluminized mylar film on a cheap filter ring that pushes on. So, you get into position with a sturdy tripod (and a chair), and you go to work. It will be very helpful if you have weather studies and almanacs to help you plan. In general, you want to be as high as possible to avoid surface weather and atmosphere. I went to about 12,000 feet elevation to do mine, but that may be difficult for your case. You'll also need a good weapon to fight off the other photographers that covet your position (just joking). With the solar filter on, you shoot, then shoot again, then shoot again, during the pre-eclipse period. Then, when it goes total, you rip off the solar filter and shoot directly. All that will be visible is a dark circle (the Moon) with a bright ring around it (the corona of the Sun). If you are really, really good, then you might capture a solar prominence, which is a solar flare that shoots out from the solar surface. I got one that showed in hot pink. Once totality is over, then get the solar filter back on ASAP. Don't get me wrong. You can shoot the whole thing with a 200mm lens, but you will end up with tiny results. If you think about what the whole trip will cost you, the cost of a super lens is small. Good luck.

In 1991, there was some East Coast photo magazine that advertised a guided trip for photographers for the Hawaii eclipse event. A dozen or so photographers paid big bucks to be guided there, and the leader had them set up on the lawn of the resort hotel right on the Hawaiian coastline. Bzzzt! Wrong answer. If they had studied the weather charts in advance, as I had, they would have seen that to be a very risky place for clouds for that season. Those photographers were all "clouded out" and they were pissed. Meanwhile, yours truly runs into them a few days later, and I had gotten the clear shot without benefit of the expensive guide. I will admit, however, that it was a rough trip.

---Bob Gross---

[defordphoto]

We get a total here in the NW in 2007 I think it is. Can hardly wait!

[robertwgross]

Jim, I don't see that one listed for 2007.

I see listings for the following:
2006, Africa
2008, Siberia
2009, India
2010, South Pacific
2012, Australia
2017, major portions of the USA

My reference is "Eclipse" by Brian Brewer, 1991 edition. It has only a couple of pages on eclipse photography.

---Bob Gross---

[defordphoto]

Crap...2017 then. :(

Clear your calendar for August 21, 2017: a total solar eclipse will move across North America from Portland, Oregon to the coast of South Carolina. Click on the image for a map of all total solar eclipses for the years 2000 to 2025. Credit: NASA

From: http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/f-eclipse.html

[robertwgross]

Jim, by then, you will be sitting almost directly on the line of totality, and you will be using a 100 gigapixel camera! Or pretty close.

---Bob Gross---

[defordphoto]

:lol: Yeah, you're probably right! What do you think though? Should I get the 8 or 10 terabyte SD card?

[robertwgross]

Rosemarie, make sure you get the shot!

After I got my shot in 1991 and several key individuals got their 11x14 prints hung up in Hawaii, I didn't think too much more about it.

Then, several years later, a stranger contacted me from Hawaii. They had seen one of my prints hanging there, and they were contacting me to buy a print. Apparently, this woman's child was born on that day in 1991, and she wanted to give him a special birthday gift.

Fortunately for me, I still had the original 35mm slide.

In fact, you might consider carrying a compatible film camera with you as a backup to your digital camera. There are still some (dinosaur) agencies that prefer to deal with transparencies rather than digital files.

---Bob Gross---

[robertwgross]

:lol: Yeah, you're probably right! What do you think though? Should I get the 8 or 10 terrabyte SD card?

I don't know, I guess if you are on a budget, you can stick with the 8 terabyte cards. Let's see, your lens will be the 1500mm synthetic aperture Super-L lens. I know those will be old and almost obsolete by then.

---Bob Gross---

[robertwgross]

Next, some wise ass is going to ask if it is good enough to use their Speedlite 420EX for eclipse shooting.

Oh, yeah!

---Bob Gross---

[defordphoto]

It will sure be interesting to see where technology is at in 12 years. If the planet is still here then...

Synthetic aperture, Super-L. Yummy!

[RJSorensen]

Do you think if I traded in my 550 EX for a 420EX I could . . . ;)

[robertwgross]

Yes, RJ, get the flash unit with the guide number of about two zillion.

---Bob Gross---

[Rosemarie]

Thanks all for the advice. My trip is going to be in some obscure place on the Egyptian side of the Libyan border, miles from civilisation, so, freak weather conditions permitting, it should be a pretty good experience (I have experienced a desert storm before, so I am not counting on it). I am now going to get my solar filter, and pinch my partner's super-lens (I will be taking weight training classes for this), and see what transpires. I will take the advice of my old film camera as a back-up as well. Thanks much, all! Rosemarie

[PhotosGuy]

Now, there are two kinds of solar filters. One kind is very very dark glass and it screws on just like a polarizer. There's an alternative to this one - use 2 polarizers. I suspect that it would result in a higher quality image than a cheap filter would. When you get them setup for the right exposure, tape them together.
The biggest problem that you're going to have is that the sun is going to be moving & mirror slap will make the whole image shake, so try (recommended somewhere in POTN) shooting a series of 3 exposures in burst mode in the hopes that one of them will be sharp.
I'd also recommend that you get one of those collapsible 5(?) gallon water containers to hang from the tripod to give it some inertia. (My 40# cam bag worked great for this). Or, if you can, duct tape it to something that will not move - not a railing 'cause someone will lean on it!

[robertwgross]

The biggest problem that you're going to have is that the sun is going to be moving & mirror slap will make the whole image shake, so try (recommended somewhere in POTN) shooting a series of 3 exposures in burst mode in the hopes that one of them will be sharp.

Yes, the eclipse is a dynamic event. It is constantly changing, even though that is not necessarily visible to the naked eye.

The best part of the 1991 Hawaii experience for me was when totality was approaching. I had been snapping one shot every minute or so, and then, suddenly, something told me to look around. I glanced out across the Pacific from my position at 12,000 feet, and I could see the shadow of the moon racing across the ocean surface. COOL!

I would try to beat the mirror slap problem with mirror lockup rather than three shots in a burst.

---Bob Gross---

[martina7]

you might try www.mreclipse.com/Totality/TotalityCh12-1.html

don't forget an angle finder!

we'll go on a package with eclipse freaks to Side, Turkey. Afterwards we will go to Cappadocia. I'm interested in your trip though!

1999 we photographed some egg shaped things, so for zambia 2001 i got a d30 and rented a lens (was not delivered in time). this time i really want to train the handling of the equipment, maybe i rent a second lens for taking slides - i cannot imagine changing lenses during an totality.

regards,
martina