Solar photos

Hello group



Looking for some advice.

I am hoping to capture some photographs of the approaching solar eclipse and
I am slightly confused as to which equipment will offer the best chances of
success to an inexperienced hand.



Option 1 and the easiest to travel with would be an old 35mm film camera
with a 200mm lens and a 2x tele-converter but I imagine the size of the
solar image would be small with this? Another problem is I have no solar
filter for this arrangement?



Option 2 is the most portable scope I own: an 80mm refractor (a quite bulky
skywatcher) I do not have an easily transportable EQ drive for this so it
would have to be somehow mounted on a yet to be purchased photo tripod?

I have a home made baader solar filter with reduced aperture for the
refractor would this be any good?

I could then either buy an adapter to couple the 35mm camera to the scope
(difficult to focus?) or I could use eyepiece projection (bracket) to a
small digital camera.



I do not want to get too distracted by all the equipment and so miss the
once in a lifetime event but I would like to capture some photos, any
advice?



many thanks

Darren

Originally Posted by Spr_astro

Hello group

I do not want to get too distracted by all the equipment and so miss the
once in a lifetime event but I would like to capture some photos, any
advice?

many thanks Darren

The latter is a very valid comment - it's so easy to be totally engrossed with photography that you never 'see' the event for real. I know from experience!

I suggest you take the least amount of equipment conducive with getting some mementos. A camcorder + lightweight tripod is very effective especially the added sound effects and they've usually got great zoom lenses [don't use digizoom!] to get solar closeups.

As a guide if you use a regular film camera the sun's diameter is ~100th of the focal length of the lens + Barlow[s] combination eg 200mm + x2 Barlow = 400mm = 4mm diam sun etc.

BTW- my 1999 eclipse page at http://home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/dieppe.htm

Good luck

Nytecam

"Spr_astro" wrote in message
...

Option 1 and the easiest to travel with would be an old 35mm film camera
with a 200mm lens and a 2x tele-converter but I imagine the size of the
solar image would be small with this? Another problem is I have no solar
filter for this arrangement?

Hi, just to give you an idea: this
http://www.gogo.me.uk/newastro/widef...ol_eclipse.jpg

is an uncropped picture I took with a canon eos 300d and a 200mm lens
(zoom). I build a home-made filter with baader filter with Baader filter and
cardboard. This was taken at 1/1000 at ISO 100.
I'm also trying to think of the best set-up to take with me in Egypt. I have
a small table-top Orion mini equatorial mount and I thing I'll mount the
camera on it (with the drive) and just take the picture with a remote
control while I am also watching naked-eyey. Hope this is sensible...

Gogo

"Spr_astro" wrote in message
...
Hello group



Looking for some advice.

I am hoping to capture some photographs of the approaching solar eclipse
and
I am slightly confused as to which equipment will offer the best chances
of
success to an inexperienced hand.



Option 1 and the easiest to travel with would be an old 35mm film camera
with a 200mm lens and a 2x tele-converter but I imagine the size of the
solar image would be small with this? Another problem is I have no solar
filter for this arrangement?



Option 2 is the most portable scope I own: an 80mm refractor (a quite
bulky
skywatcher) I do not have an easily transportable EQ drive for this so it
would have to be somehow mounted on a yet to be purchased photo tripod?

I have a home made baader solar filter with reduced aperture for the
refractor would this be any good?

I could then either buy an adapter to couple the 35mm camera to the scope
(difficult to focus?) or I could use eyepiece projection (bracket) to a
small digital camera.



I do not want to get too distracted by all the equipment and so miss the
once in a lifetime event but I would like to capture some photos, any
advice?


Hi Darren,

I think the secret to these fast moving one off events is to rehearse. That
way you find out what is likely to work and what problems there are with
your setup. You also become familiar with the routine you are going to use
and so make fewer mistakes and can spend more time enjoying the view. You
can check out everything with the exception of the exposures for actual
totality before you go (Don't forget to remove the filter for the totality
and bracket the exposures widely.) Having said that I have yet to see a
total eclipse having been clouded out with 3 min to go in 1999 :-(

If you use a large image scale through a telescope on an undriven alt az
mount you are likely to find yourself chasing the sun, particularly if you
do not have slow motion drives (A minimum requirement IMO) Wider views will
need less attention.

I am just putting my kit together for this year. It will be based around a
small driven equatorial mount, but because from Turkey, the sun crosses the
meridian during the eclipse, I am having to figure out how to mount the
cameras to avoid the mount clashing. I am glad I found this out before the
day though!

Robin

On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:42:51 -0000, "Spr_astro"
wrote:
I am hoping to capture some photographs of the approaching solar eclipse and
I am slightly confused as to which equipment will offer the best chances of
success to an inexperienced hand.

Option 1 and the easiest to travel with would be an old 35mm film camera
with a 200mm lens and a 2x tele-converter but I imagine the size of the
solar image would be small with this? Another problem is I have no solar
filter for this arrangement?

Option 2 is the most portable scope I own: an 80mm refractor (a quite bulky
skywatcher) I do not have an easily transportable EQ drive for this so it
would have to be somehow mounted on a yet to be purchased photo tripod?

I have a home made baader solar filter with reduced aperture for the
refractor would this be any good?

I could then either buy an adapter to couple the 35mm camera to the scope
(difficult to focus?) or I could use eyepiece projection (bracket) to a
small digital camera.

I do not want to get too distracted by all the equipment and so miss the
once in a lifetime event but I would like to capture some photos, any
advice?

Darren,
if this is your first total eclipse then I strongly recommend that you
take only your eyes and a pair of binoculars for each person in your
party; a monopod for the binoculars is a good idea as well because the
experience is a very emotional one and you will be shaking quite a
bit.

It is a very challenging photographic task. Others who have done it
before will capture the image much better than you can on your first
attempt and you can download their images afterwards.

The only extra equipment that I would consider is a compact 35mm film
camera to record the place and the people and a cassette recorder or
similar to record the sounds of everyone's reactions. Some use a
compact video camera for this purpose, set it running a couple of
minutes before totality on a tripod.

Fit new batteries in everything a couple of hours before the eclipse.

I have seen many people spend too much time on their equipment and
afterwards regret not just watching it. Do just that, your visual
memory will love you forever.

- Mike

"Robin Leadbeater" wrote in message
...
I am just putting my kit together for this year. It will be based around a
small driven equatorial mount, but because from Turkey, the sun crosses
the
meridian during the eclipse, I am having to figure out how to mount the
cameras to avoid the mount clashing. I am glad I found this out before the
day though!

waouw, thanks you for pointing this out: I just tried mine and (obviously) I
have the same problem... I better start thinking about another system too! I
think if I remove the drive and move the mount manually, it'll be alright.
Could someone check with me if I'm thinking right here?

if I have the same photographic set up as at the last eclipse
(http://www.gogo.me.uk/newastro/widef...ol_eclipse.jpg), I think
my field of view (height of the picture) is about four degrees (if the sun
is 32 arcmin). The sun is moving at 360 deg in 24h, or 1 deg in four
minutes. therefore, I should not have to move the mount more than every 10
minutes or so...
In fact, if it's the case, a simple tripod should be fine...

"gogo" wrote in message
. ..

"Robin Leadbeater" wrote in message
...
I am just putting my kit together for this year. It will be based around
a
small driven equatorial mount, but because from Turkey, the sun crosses
the
meridian during the eclipse, I am having to figure out how to mount the
cameras to avoid the mount clashing. I am glad I found this out before
the
day though!

waouw, thanks you for pointing this out: I just tried mine and (obviously)
I
have the same problem... I better start thinking about another system too!
I
think if I remove the drive and move the mount manually, it'll be alright.
Could someone check with me if I'm thinking right here?

if I have the same photographic set up as at the last eclipse
(http://www.gogo.me.uk/newastro/widef...ol_eclipse.jpg), I think
my field of view (height of the picture) is about four degrees (if the sun
is 32 arcmin). The sun is moving at 360 deg in 24h, or 1 deg in four
minutes. therefore, I should not have to move the mount more than every 10
minutes or so...
In fact, if it's the case, a simple tripod should be fine...



The mount I am planning to use is the Eq1 you can see here.
http://www.leadbeaterhome.fsnet.co.uk/pisp2.htm
My current thinking is if I remove the OTA and mounting rings and mount the
camera on the plate with but with the dec axis rotated 90 deg, and use a
lighter counterbalance further down the shaft, it should clear ok. (Remember
to try it with the polar axis elevation set to your destination)

Robin

Mike Murphy wrote:

Fit new batteries in everything a couple of hours before the eclipse.

I have seen many people spend too much time on their equipment and
afterwards regret not just watching it. Do just that, your visual
memory will love you forever.

- Mike

Alternatively, the brief moments of an eclipse may be better retained
in the memory by an image or two.

A small refractor at low power on a stable tripod or mounting and a
compact digital camera (with newly recharged batteries!) will quickly
refresh the memories as they fade. I used a 90mm refractor with Baader
solar foil filter with the camera handheld to my lowest power eyepiece
for an eclipse and two transits. The eclipse alone required moving from
my own garden to a local hilltop due to the early hour of the event.
Practicing on the Sun beforehand is excellent advice. If you can
capture sunspots then you can also capture an eclipse. The camera will
do the exposures automatically for you. All you need to do is centre
the camera on the eyepiece using the camera screen and squeeze the
shutter button.

You'll also need proper eye protection to be able to enjoy the eclipse
in between exposures. I hadn't arranged anything and watched all three
events through my camera screen and telescope.

"Robin Leadbeater" wrote in message
news:dqbnbn$7s7
The mount I am planning to use is the Eq1 you can see here.
http://www.leadbeaterhome.fsnet.co.uk/pisp2.htm
My current thinking is if I remove the OTA and mounting rings and mount
the
camera on the plate with but with the dec axis rotated 90 deg, and use a
lighter counterbalance further down the shaft, it should clear ok.
(Remember
to try it with the polar axis elevation set to your destination)


Hello agin,

Your mount seems very similar (identical?) to mine
http://www.gogo.me.uk/mount_minieq.jpg
, but my motor extend further outside than yours, and when it comes to about
the right position for the eclipse, the camera is hitting the motor. It's
just less than an inch, so, i guess I could try to have a camera mount
"extension" of some sort to have the camera further away from the mount.

Gogo

"gogo" wrote in message
. ..

Hello agin,

Your mount seems very similar (identical?) to mine
http://www.gogo.me.uk/mount_minieq.jpg
, but my motor extend further outside than yours, and when it comes to
about
the right position for the eclipse, the camera is hitting the motor. It's
just less than an inch, so, i guess I could try to have a camera mount
"extension" of some sort to have the camera further away from the mount.


I am looking at working on the opposite side of the mount, ie starting with
the camera lower than the counterweight at the start of the eclipse. This
means that the camera swings upwards and all I have to watch for is the
counterweight clearing the motor, which it will do if I slide it far enough
down the shaft. So I need to find a lighter counterweight. (I also had to
rotate the camera 90deg to the normal direction of the scope so that the
plate the camera is mounted on cleared the mount at the start of the
eclipse.) It looks like with things arranged this way, I could follow the
sun almost from sunrise to sunset without a clash.

Robin