Solar Eclipse Sunday evening

[MClarkson]

This will occur about 0130Z(Monday) for much of the US southwest. This will not quite be a total eclipse, as the moon will be just a little too small to block out the sun completely.

I am looking up ways to take pictures of this with my digital camera without frying anything. Skies throughout AZ will be pretty much clear!

 

[Chip Redmond]

How much sunlight can a camera take without damage? Had some discussion on this today and we didn't really come to a conclusion. We figured if you avoided taking long exposures (duh) it wouldn't be damaging with the low angle and increased atmosphere the sun would be going through. Any preferred methods of shooting it with basic DSLR equipment and a telephoto lense?

Chip

 

[Terrence Cook]

ND/UV filter will drastically minimize these issues. Trees and other objects can make for interesting photos and further minimize potentially damaging exposure... When not shooting aim optics away as well.

 

[MClarkson]

I just got back from home depot. Replacement plates of welders glass are 2 dollars. I figure with that over my lens, I don't have to worry and can point my telephoto straight at the sun for the whole thing.

 

[Eric Bucsela]

A shade 12 to 14 welder's glass or designated solar filter is the usual safe choice for viewing or photography. But in this case, with the sun right on the horizon at mid-eclipse in the TX panhandle, you might get away with no filter at all - depending on the clarity of the sky. With a little planning, this could make for some spectacular photos.

BTW, this is how I got pictures of the transit of Venus in 2004 at sunrise in Washington DC. I had planned to use a black polymer solar filter, but the air was so murky, I didn't need it. Of course, within 5 min after sunrise , the sun became so bright, I had to put the filter on.

 

[brice.coffer]

I had a terrible time finding #14 welders glass yesterday. Best I could find was #12. Near sunset, I think it'll be alright as long as we don't stare too long.

 

[Tim Supinie]

Brice, I managed to find a 2" x 4.25" piece in OKC this morning (Friday), but they said I got their last piece of #14. They still had several #13's if you want to check them out (search "A Weldors Supply Inc" in Google maps).

I've staked out a few places using Google Street View northeast of Lubbock that might be good for eclipse viewing. Given infinite time and money, I'd head to Albuquerque. However, that would require making an 8-hour trip back overnight or getting a hotel, neither of which I'd rather do. My concern is cloud cover in the Texas panhandle, as there will be a frontal passage during the day. We'll see how that works out.

 

[MClarkson]

Think #10 welders glass is enough for a DLSR at 300mm focal length considering the sun will be fairly low on the horizon? This is for the camera only. My eyes will have those darker cheap eclipse glasses.

 

[Willoughby Owen]

Holding up the inside of a floppy disk works fine too - you just have to break it open. The problem in this day is finding them!

Unfortunately there looks to be some convection around the Caprock region Sunday evening with the cold front pushing through. West of the border, New Mexico looks a lot drier however.

 

[brice.coffer]

Thanks for the advice Tim. A friend managed to find plenty of #14 in Chickasha this morning. Now all we have to do is find some clear skies. I might be forced farther west (into NM) than I originally wanted to go. We'll see tomorrow though

 

[STexan]

I wouldn't worry about getting welder's glass. I shoot sunsets all the time with a graduated 4 and 6 stop filters all the time with no ill effects. And at sunsets, I use the graduated filters more to properly expose the foreground than to protect the ccd. As low as the sun will be (for most) and with all the pollen and haze (and pollution for some) that will be in the air, you will almost be able to view it with the naked eye and a pair of sunglasses. I thought about going out west somewhere to shoot but just couldn't get motivated to make the drive and scout a prime foreground location.

The bigger concern will be having enough lens length to "get close enough" to capture an image that displays more than a tiny dot on an image. All I can do is double a 200mm lens (full frame dslr) to 400 mm with an extender and I'm not sure that's going to get me the frame I want but I may head out and see what I can find since there's nothing else to do.

I'm fixing to head out the door. Will drive to Lubbock, then proceed WNW until I find a decent foreground and wait. Will gas as far as Chinle, AZ, but may stop as short as Albuquerque over the airport if I can find a good overlook vantage point but topo maps are not as good as being there.

 

[MClarkson]

You can take pretty good moon shots at 300mm. Its still pretty small overall, but you can crop that down and get the moon to fill an 800x600 pixel image or so.

I'll be somewhere north of Flagstaff, near the eastern end of the grand canyon, scoping out good hilly terrain for some less cropped shots.

 

[brice.coffer]

At a young age I learned first hand what a magnifying glass could do to an ant, so I'm glad I found the appropriate welders glass. I'd rather be safe than sorry while watching this event for over an hour.

 

[jshields]

anyone have any suggestions on what settings to use on a dslr camera? ISO, aperature, etc?! i want to make the most out of this opportunity to get some great pics....

 

[MClarkson]

Just took a few practice shots with my various filters. #10 welders glass looked pretty good when the sun was fairly high, say 15 degrees. By the time the sun was right on the horizon I had the filter off, although I was at about F25 and 1/4000th of a second ISO 100 for good contrast.

Its times like this when the lack of an infinity setting on Canon lenses is pretty annoying...