Upcoming solar eclipse in the US

[KoNickon]

Anyone planning to take pictures? I was thinking of using my Olympus OM-D EM10 with the 40-150 for the period of totality, effective 300mm focal length. I would need a proper filter, though -- I know there are Mylar filters out there but not sure I can get one in time. The local store has a 16.6x ND filter that's $105 (!!) and in any event is 82mm (the filter size of the lens is only 58mm), so that's not an option.

The guy at the store said that a strong filter is needed, even if the camera has an electronic viewfinder, since the sun's rays can fry the sensor. (Presumably the EVF would protect my eyes, even without the filter?)

But if I just take pictures during totality, do I need a filter at all?

Thanks for advice and thoughts.

 

[JoeV]

This probably isn’t helpful, but at last year’s annular eclipse myself and Ethan Moses, who operates Cameradactyl Cameras, succeeded in capturing the eclipse with a pinhole telescope onto Fujifilm Instax Wide. We used a 12 foot long cardboard shipping tube with a 3D-printed adapter on one end to mate a Lomo Graflok back (adapts 4x5 to Instax wide), and up front was a pinhole mounted to a Nikon N3003 film body, mounted to the top of the cardboard tube, with the Nikon’s shutter on bulb and triggered via a long cable release.

 

[Glenn2]

Wow! You must have had quite a time aiming that thing and tracking the sun. Well done.
I’ve got a 3.5 inch Questar scope (1400mm) that has a solar filter I can attach, but am too far from the event. Used it a number of years ago to photograph the transit of Venus. I uploaded the image to RFF so it’s in the archives somewhere.

I wonder if a shop that sold welding supplies would have suitable filters for welding goggles and helmets? Some of these might do the job.

My porch has a glass roof and during the summer gets quite hot. The last couple years I’ve attached some of those silver Mylar emergency blankets to the roof with magnets. Works great reflecting most of the sunlight. A layer or two of the stuff would probably provide enough density. During the summer looking at the sun through a single layer on the ceiling isn’t blindingly bright.

Glenn

 

[Dogman]

The long range weather forecast for my area is cloudy with thunderstorms. So likely no visibility around here.

But prior experience tells me that could actually mean anything--bright and sunny to gloom and doom.

 

[Slumgullion]

My parent’s place was in the path totality back in 2017. It was my first time experiencing anything like. I got so excited that mind turned to mush and I bungled my camera settings. I’ll just wait another 153 years for the next one. I’ll be ready then.

 

[Mackinaw]

I'm a few hour drive from 100% totality, and will make the trip south if the skies are clear. Not wanting to damage the sensor of my digital camera, I'll use an old 35mm film camera and a 500mm lens. I did this back in 2018 with pretty good results.

Jim B.

 

[titrisol]

Eclipses are fun to photogrpah, I was lucky to see a few in SouthAmerica in the 1990s
For the 2017 eclipse I bought a Thousand Oaks filter (gel) and I adapted it to a Cokin P holder using cardstock
In 2017 I used a 100mm lens.
This time I used the long end of a 55-300mm lens

 

[KoNickon]

I was in St. Johnsbury, VT for the eclipse. Totality lasted only ca. 90 seconds but I was able to take several pictures, and I am pleased with how they came out. I used my Olympus OM-D EM10 and the 40-150 zoom at 150mm, with an effective 300mm magnification. The camera took a little time (sometimes 2-3 seconds) to focus, not surprisingly, but it nailed focus and exposure. No tripod. Don't ask me what aperture or shutter speed was used! (I also brought my Nikkor 500/8 mirror lens but I figured I would be fiddling around too long trying to get an in-focus image. Glad I didn't try.)

I was still able to look away from the finder and take things in. Really quite something to experience -- I can only imagine how the ancients would have felt. Glad I did this; I doubt I'll have another opportunity.