Solar Eclipse...

Angelo

ring of fire in California this weekend

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/solar-eclipse-2012-in-los_n_1519644.html

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Pure Energy

Time to take flight to shoot the moon. Any suggestions for shooting the solar eclipse?

By the way Angelo, where'd the kwazy scientist go? How do we embed a video in the forums?

Gotta love this line at 1:25

"See, living creatures are full of what's called excitable tissue." --- Cara Santa Marie

http://embed.5min.com/517367375/

Angelo

Pure Energy wrote: »

How do we embed a video in the forums?

didn't work. deleted it! :cry

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Pure Energy

Anybody got any good links to solar eclipse photos?

If we're not supposed to look at the sun with our own eyes... what about aiming these digital cameras at the sun?

Any suggestions for ideal camera settings? Minimums needed to get the sky blue and the eclipse looking as fiery as possible?

Bendr

Pure Energy wrote: »

Anybody got any good links to solar eclipse photos?

If we're not supposed to look at the sun with our own eyes... what about aiming these digital cameras at the sun?

Any suggestions for ideal camera settings? Minimums needed to get the sky blue and the eclipse looking as fiery as possible?

I could be wrong, but my understanding is you run serious risk of damaging your camera if you don't have a special filter on it. There is too much energy being focused through the lens. Even a serious ND filter doesn't filter all the wavelengths.

ChrisJ

Please do not point your camera directly at the sun without a solar filter. For one thing, if you accidentally look through the eyepiece, you could blind yourself... less importantly, it will damage your camera.

Obviously there are mitigating factors, like focal length, cloud cover, time of day... but in general its a bad idea unless you have the right filter (or there's a lot of atmosphere in the way, which is really just like a filter).

http://thousandoaksoptical.com/solar.html
(no affiliation)

Pure Energy

Is the moon in the way going to be enough filter? That's at least one shot if a better filter can't be obtained for the shots leading up to and afterwards.

David_S85

Pure Energy wrote: »

Is the moon in the way going to be enough filter? That's at least one shot if a better filter can't be obtained for the shots leading up to and afterwards.

No. Eclipse or not, do not point your camera at the sun, do not use binoculars, and don't stare at it with the naked eye. Even if it is 99.9% covered by the moon. Very dangerous.

From SpaceWeather.com May 19th front page

Because this is not a total eclipse, some portion of the sun will always be exposed. To prevent eye damage, use eclipse glasses, a safely-filtered telescope, or a solar projector to observe the eclipse. You can make a handy solar projector by criss-crossing your fingers waffle-style. Rays of light beaming through the gaps will have the same shape as the eclipsed sun. Or look on the ground beneath leafy trees for crescent-shaped sunbeams and rings of light.

ChrisJ

The only exception is when it is a total solar eclipse. And during that brief period of time (usually only a couple of minutes), you can safely look the sun and see the incredible corona (and sometimes bright stars and nearby planets).

But this eclipse is only annular, not total... so nowhere on Earth can you do that safely on Sunday.

DsrtVW

Shooting in live view would not expose your eye to bad rays will it. That way you are not getting reflected image directly into your eye through view finder. I still would not leave your camera focused on sun for extended amount of time.

David_S85

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTtU4_jUBNk

Cygnus Studios

Pure Energy wrote: »

Any suggestions for ideal camera settings? Minimums needed to get the sky blue and the eclipse looking as fiery as possible?

(Now this is personal advice, don't quote me on it. If you burn up your camera, don't blame me).

The best solution is solar film, but these are usually sold out well in advance of an eclipse. Welding glass #10 or #12 does a nice job (also makes a heck of a ND filter). These can be found at Lowes or Home Depot for under $6.

The welding glass is tinted green, so shooting with a custom white balance or in raw is required.

I will be shooting with both solar film and welding glass tomorrow in Reno with my Nikon D3 cameras.

DsrtVW

I am probably heading up Redding way I thought about Reno but so more clouds that way on the local future cast. There is said to be more clouds to the north so maybe Chico might be the place, who knows as always adapt and relocate.

Angelo

http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how.html

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/safety.html

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David_S85

Darn it! I'll be at work the 20th during all this. Get this... the weather report calls for thunderstorms from 3pm to 9pm - basically covering the entire eclipse from start to finish.

ChrisJ

Hope everyone had fun and stayed safe! It was better than I expected. I posted my best shot in "Other Cool Shots." :cool

eoren1

I might be missing something obvious here but why is it okay to shoot a 'sun star' but not an eclipse? Both expose the sensor to direct, focused light from the sun. I've shot a number of images that included the sun in them (not as a central element mind you) and don't see holes in the sensor.

DsrtVW

At Gridley CA Graylodge Wildlife Area southern end of the eclipse track 39.320782,-121.845052 Google maps
D7000 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 @300mm with Cokin 007 IR filter