Eclipse Filters

[Tricia]

We have an 8 year old DSLR with a decent lens and polarized filter.
Is that an okay filter to use for the Eclipse, or should we invest in something better?

 

[at_nyc]

Did you check out the B & H web site (in the "resource" section) to see what they say about photographing the eclipse?

My understanding after reading that, is probably not a good idea. It may fry the CCD sensor.

(keep in mind polarizing filter only cut 1/2 of the light)

Hope TonyC come online and offer his experience.

p.s.
From a pure physics viewpoint, if you have two polarizing filter, you should in principle be able to stack them opposite to each other, which would block out ALL the light. Then, rotate them slowly to let in the desired amount of light.

[edit]
The 2 polarizing filter idea should work, but only when at least one of them is a LINEAR polarizer. Look here for explanation: http://www.thephotoforum.com/threads/two-polarizing-filters-one-variable-nd-filter.106960/

 

[graham418]

You need a proper solar filter. You can damage your sensor otherwise. You should be able to get one at a well stocked camera shop

 

[Eleeski]

Your best bet is to make a pinhole projector and take pictures of that. Or better yet, find the shadows of a tree or some natural pinhole and take pictures of that. Those can be really cool and fun.

Eric

 

[at_nyc]

You need a proper solar filter. You can damage your sensor otherwise. You should be able to get one at a well stocked camera shop

At upward of $150.

Also, the recommendation is to use the electronic viewfinder, not the optical view finder. So if you got something wrong, you fry the camera but not your eyes!

 

[Tricia]

I posted the link to this thread on Facebook and got some interesting info from @WTFH and Garry Z
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddar...otographing-the-total-solar-eclipse-on-aug-21

And, since my camera is a Canon, I checked out some obvious links on their site
http://learn.usa.canon.com/resource...lipse/solar-filters-eclipse-photography.shtml

 

[Tricia]

I bet @DoryBreaux and @epic will have some interesting ideas and shots.

 

[Tricia]

You need a proper solar filter. You can damage your sensor otherwise. You should be able to get one at a well stocked camera shop

Thanks. That is what I'm gathering from the conversations I've had this morning.
I have two lenses for my camera.
58mm - 18-55mm stock lens with an ultraviolet filter
72mm - 18-200mm with a polarized filter.

I found a few inexpensive options that may work for the eclipse. This one at Best Buy for my 72mm would do the trick,$50.00
There is also this kit with a variety of lenses for my 58mm Platinum - 58mm Lens Filter Kit, which has the ND filter in the package for under 60.00

@at_nyc , They aren't all 150.00

 

[at_nyc]

I found a few inexpensive options that may work for the eclipse. This one at Best Buy for my 72mm would do the trick,$50.00
There is also this kit with a variety of lenses for my 58mm Platinum - 58mm Lens Filter Kit, which has the ND filter in the package for under 60.00

@at_nyc , They aren't all 150.00

Hmmm... I thought the articles you linked to specifically warn AGAINST using neutral density filters?

ND filters reduces visible light but may let in ultraviolet and infrared which could potentially cook your camera's sensor.

 

[nemesis256]

Thanks. That is what I'm gathering from the conversations I've had this morning.
I have two lenses for my camera.
58mm - 18-55mm stock lens with an ultraviolet filter
72mm - 18-200mm with a polarized filter.

I found a few inexpensive options that may work for the eclipse. This one at Best Buy for my 72mm would do the trick,$50.00
There is also this kit with a variety of lenses for my 58mm Platinum - 58mm Lens Filter Kit, which has the ND filter in the package for under 60.00

@at_nyc , They aren't all 150.00

I wouldn't risk using those, I don't trust them to be dark enough, and block non-visible light.

Don't take this the wrong way, but it may be best if you don't point your camera at the sun at all. If you're asking about filters at this point you're not ready for it. Points #24 and #25 from this article are very good:
http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/astro...r-the-august-21-2017-total-solar-eclipse.aspx

 

[Tricia]

I wouldn't risk using those, I don't trust them to be dark enough, and block non-visible light.

Don't take this the wrong way, but it may be best if you don't point your camera at the sun at all. If you're asking about filters at this point you're not ready for it. Points #24 and #25 from this article are very good:
http://cs.astronomy.com/asy/b/astro...r-the-august-21-2017-total-solar-eclipse.aspx

After talking to Phil about it and doing the research, both on here and other sources, that's pretty much the conclusion we came to.
There are other ways to enjoy the eclipse and we probably have friends who are prepared.

 

[at_nyc]

I do have a linear polarizer from my film photography days (if I can find it, that is). And a circular polarizer when I got my DSLR. Between those two polarizers, I have a variable density filter (which actually works in the whole spectrum, visible and invisible).

I''m not in totality zone. So I'm not going to take that all that seriously. But if I can find both of my polarizers, I might work from home Monday and just sat the camera on a tripod around noon. Go outside every half an hour or so to take a look.

 

[oldschoolskier]

Going old school the old solution was to use a welders Google or lens. Not all are dark enough so it important to know what you use.

Here is a link with some information.

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety

 

[TonyC]

Using a DSLR to photograph only a partial eclipse is like using an Alaska big mountain ski at a 100 vertical Midwest molehill. Total overkill and just not that interesting.

But yes, you need a proper solar filter or you risk damaging your optics. You can get thin and flexible Baader solar film and tape it over the objective end of a camera lens, perhaps fitted with cardboard cutouts. Finding any of this stuff this late in the game will be a challenge.

Anybody interested enough to ask a question like that needs to:

If you are within a day's drive invest your efforts there and forget about fooling around with any gear you don't have yet. This is much more about your own personal experience than recording it for posterity. There are thousands of experienced professionals who will do a better job of that. We have at least two of them in our group, so I feel minimal compulsion to do much in the way of photography myself.

Most of Oregon and western Idaho now have a squeaky clean clear sky weather forecast. The only issue may be smoke from a few local fires as noted by Tony's post on his drive to Bend. You will not regret making the 6 hour drive from Reno to Boise, then N on 55 or NW on I-84 from there.

 

[Frankly]

As far as photos of the actual eclipse, what is the point? You're going to find much better images from serious dedicated astrophotographers soon afterwards. It's a case of, "buy the postcard" and enjoy the experience rather than nerding out. An expensive solar filter will be worthless for another 10-80 years for most people.

I'm a professional photographer (more or less) and I'm going to take photos of what happens here on Earth with the eclipse - the way the light is, etc.

Maybe I can shoot the stampede of quickly blinded folks running amok after staring at the sun....

 

[Tricia]

As far as photos of the actual eclipse, what is the point? You're going to find much better images from serious dedicated astrophotographers soon afterwards. It's a case of, "buy the postcard" and enjoy the experience rather than nerding out. An expensive solar filter will be worthless for another 10-80 years for most people.

I'm a professional photographer (more or less) and I'm going to take photos of what happens here on Earth with the eclipse - the way the light is, etc.

Maybe I can shoot the stampede of quickly blinded folks running amok after staring at the sun....

Thanks @Frankly I'm looking forward to seeing what you photograph.
I'm sincerely an amateur and am pretty sure that I don't have what it takes to get a really good shot, with or without the right filters.

Can't wait to see your work.

 

[at_nyc]

As far as photos of the actual eclipse, what is the point? You're going to find much better images from serious dedicated astrophotographers soon afterwards. It's a case of, "buy the postcard" and enjoy the experience rather than nerding out.

It's not about the end product. It's about the "journey". For photography nerds, that is.

For photo-nerds, it's the challenge of trying to photograph something one haven't seen before. If it turn out, there's a sense of accomplishment.

For all others besides the photo-nerds, I agree 100% it's a pointless.waste of money. Not to mention potentially missing out on the once-in-a-lifetime experience by being too wrapped up in the viewfinder and missing out the actual view.

An expensive solar filter will be worthless for another 10-80 years for most people.

7 years, actually. That's assuming you can find it 7 years from now.

I'm a professional photographer (more or less) and I'm going to take photos of what happens here on Earth with the eclipse - the way the light is, etc.

That's the photographer talking.

I'm not in totality zone (and don't feel strongly about the event to take the day off to drive to one). But my office overlooks a big square that has unobstructed view of the sun during the eclipse period (checked that last week). I'll get a birds eye view of the PEOPLE in the square (mostly tourist who happens to be visiting the city and office worker having lunch outside). I'll get to observe how many of them bother to look up.

 

[quant]

Here is Adorama's take on photographing the eclipse. I'll have a bunch of ND filters but will let NASA do this one. https://www.adorama.com/alc/how-to-photograph-the-total-solar-eclipse

 

[at_nyc]

Am I the only one who felt the "recommendations" a little dated?

IF, (granted that's a big "if") one is a motivated photo-nerd, it quite likely one has multiple lenses and even several cameras! If I were one such photo-nerd sitting at the totality zone, I wouldn't bother taking off the filters during totality. I'd simply set up 2 cameras, one with filter and one without. Alternatively with only one camera, it's actually just as fast, if not faster to swap in a lens without filter during the couple minutes of totality, rather than fuss with taking off and putting on filter.

If you think about it, there're a lot of steps to change from shooting partial to shooting totality: filters, exposure, bracketing... Definitely a time crunch in 2 and half minutes. But with 2 cameras set up differently for their purpose, there's no crunch for the change over. Just concentrate on picture taking.

Of course the real deal is, one should enjoy the light show first, picture taking is only secondary.

(Disclaimer: I used to ne a semi-photo-nerd. So I have a bunch of gear left over from those days. But I'm not in totality zone, so those strategies don't apply)

 

[Tricia]

In a world where (as the Colorado Crew says) we all carry a camera with a phone app, some questions have come up from iPhone users about taking pics of the eclipse.
As has already been said in this thread....its best to leave it up to the pros.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthon...the-last-thing-your-iphone-sees/#d6fec093c921