Eclipse filters

If it's just a shot at totality your doing and the camera is handheld , being lifted up just at the point of totality , then that would be fine .

The last time we had an eclipse over here it was just under total , but I had the camera set up on a tripod ready as I wanted to take some shots as the Moon progressed passed the Sun .
As it's a fairly uncommon event I didn't want to restrict myself to just one shot .
I used a   Sony a77mk2 with a Minolta 300mm f/4 HS/APO G and a matched Minolta X2 teleconverter with a Astrozap Baader Solar filter attached .
Although mine might have been another firms filter as I paid less than a third of the current price . There again it was eight years ago .

If I hadn't used it with the sun focussed on the sensor it would certainly have done damage by over heating it .

You can buy the film on it's own for much less and either make your own holder out of stiff card or simply tape it to your lens with some masking tape .
Don't worry about it being a bit crinkled up , it won't effect the resulting images .
Baader AstraSolar safety film ND5

Incidentally , these aren't simple ND filters as used for photography .
Photography ones just reduce visible light to control shutter speed . They don't block out the infrared light that heats up your sensor etc .
Some state that the are infrared blocking and yes they are , to prevent shift on the photos , but they don't block the wavelength's that do damage to your eyes and sensor when pointed at the Sun .
These Solar filters blocks out that as well .

The filter I bought is big enough to use on one of my telescopes , so I hold it on the Minolta lens with a lump of foam !

Here's a shot of my set-up for the last Solar eclipse I shot , notice the sturdy tripod , usually used for medium and large format cameras !


Set-up by Neil , on Flickr

When I got to where I would have a clear view and got set up it was lovely clear blue skies as far as the eye could see .
Being in a camper van , the next job was to put the kettle on for a cup of coffee and wait .
As the Moon arrived , so did the clouds ....at some times you couldn't dee the sun with the bare eye , but enough light got through for the camera to see what was happening .
But this did reduce detail .


#7 And then the cloud rolled in . by Neil , on Flickr

This as far as it got that time .


#4 by Neil , on Flickr

Despite the cloud , I still managed to get some detail of the Suns surface , here's some Sun spots .
No not dust on the sensor !


#1 Sun Spot's and Eclipse by Neil , on Flickr


A few years earlier I used this filter on another lens I had before I got the Minolta G lens .
It was a Sigma 170-500mm apo lens at 500mm with a generic 2 times and 1.4 times teleconverter stacked. This gives a focal length of 1400mm ( or a 2100mm effective focal length in 35mm terms ).
The sun spots are clearly visible . after stopping the lens down to f/10 , so were some dust spots too ! I think I edited most of these out.
The lens wasn't very good and stacking cheap teleconverters isn't a good idea , but at the time it's the best I could do .
This is a cropped image , so would be effectively about a 4000mm lens on the Sony a580 16mp sensor manually focussed .
But it's the first time I had seen Sun spots other than pictures someone else had taken .
But yes , I would recommend either buying a ready made filter if you intend using it again , or buying the £25 sheet and making or taping to your lens your own .
It'll give you the opportunity to take more shots to create a story , and try a few other things besides while your set up waiting for the eclipse .


Sun spots by Neil , on Flickr


Edited by neilt3 - 23 December 2023 at 11:49

My tip is to take a second camera to video the solar snakes wiggling on the ground during totality. I travelled for the 2017 eclipse and it was awesome but seeing the snakes was unexpected but totally mesmerizing, kind of disorienting and for me the highlight of the trip.