Practicing for the April 8th Solar Eclipse.

sk66

sk66

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I'm lucky enough to be able to be in the central path of totality. And I got a NiSi Solar Filter Pro Nano to fit my Z180-600 for Christmas. So I gave it a go trying to figure out what will be the best settings. I don't know if this is a good result or not; I've never gotten a perfectly clear sky yet.

_SGK1965.jpg
 
That's very good, certainly got those sunspots very clearly.
 
I'd be very happy with that!
 
Looks good to me. All the spots are there. Sun's having a slightly less spotty spell right now. I find going slightly underexposed works best then you don't lose any of the subtle limb darkening, tiny spots etc. Just be aware that during the later stages of the eclipse the light levels will be changing quickly so you'll have to be on top of the exposure to compensate, then whip the filter off for totality. Biggest eclipse I've imaged was 85%, mostly through a 'natural' solar filter ie cloud. I did see the 1999 one in all its glory, but that was back in my film era from a yacht off the French coast, so the camera was left at home in favour of the Mk1 eyeball and sketch pad.
Have you see a total solar eclipse before? It's like nothing you ever imagined.
 
Jannyfox said:
Have you see a total solar eclipse before? It's like nothing you ever imagined.
Click to expand...
I have not viewed one directly.

I figured I would use auto ISO to keep up with the exposure changes and addition/removal of the filter. I was also playing with exposures to see what works best with the Z9. Basically, anything that avoids overexposure clipping seems to be fine; there doesn't appear to be much tonal variation to record.

I actually edited this to reduce the limb darkening effect some... I had to look that up :rolleyes:
 
sk66 said:
I figured I would use auto ISO to keep up with the exposure changes and addition/removal of the filter.
Click to expand...

Try it first on filtered exposures of the full Sun - different times of day, through thin cloud or a clear sky, they'll all give you differing exposures - see if auto iso gives you the same as you would consider right. I've never thought to try it but I think your camera is a bit more advanced than mine :)
My solar filter is a sheet of mylar and a cereal packet......... :LOL:
 
sk66 said:
I have not viewed one directly.

I figured I would use auto ISO to keep up with the exposure changes and addition/removal of the filter. I was also playing with exposures to see what works best with the Z9. Basically, anything that avoids overexposure clipping seems to be fine; there doesn't appear to be much tonal variation to record.

I actually edited this to reduce the limb darkening effect some... I had to look that up :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Be prepared to be where you're viewing the eclipse from for a while!!! It took a few hours for the traffic on the major routes away from the 1999 path of totality to die down a bit.
 
Until totality the exposure should be the same as it is for the full sun as the bits of sun visible are just as bright as the full sun, there’s just less of it. The difference in exposure is on the ground. At totality, when you whip the filter off the exposure changes dramatically, if you want to expose for the corona. , I suggest getting a timer to audibly warn when the sun is about to appear again, so you are ready with the filter and eclipse glasses. If possible, enlist a helper to remove and replace the solar filter from the lens, so you have more time to get the exposure right.

Also I suggest having two cameras, some of the amazing effects are what is happening on the ground, with shadows as the eclipse progresses, and the weird all-round sunset effect when you are in totality.

If you want to photograph the corona properly, don’t magnify the sun to fill the frame, you’ll miss most of the corona.
 
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