Shooting the solar eclipse with SL2

[NightPix]

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I will be traveling to the US Midwest next week to shoot the total solar eclipse. There’s nothing really attractive on the ground where I will be, so I’ll be focusing on the sun itself (weather permitting) using my SL2 with a Sigma 150-600mm with a solar filter on the lens. The period of totality at my location will put the sun almost directly overhead which means that I will be on the ground under the tripod (would be nice to have that tilt screen about now) awkwardly trying to track the sun, manually focus and keep shutter and ISO under control as the sun is progressively blocked. I’ve been practicing with the full sun, so I have a pretty good idea what I’m in for. Nevertheless, I would greatly appreciate any advice from the group on recommended settings, tips, and pitfalls that might help me get the best results.
Thanks for any and all advice. 

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[Photoworks]

i saw adorama and b&h have tips how to shoot it.

if you don't have the tilt screen you can use the iPhone or iPad remote ot tether to do live view. I probably would use capture on for mobile.

alternative an HDMI monitor should help.

[jankap]

During the eclipse, when the sun is shadowed completely, you can take off the filter.

Be aware of the birds going to sleep. Also, there will be moving shadows on the ground. Perhaps a photo of the colleagues with different equipment.

It is 3 minutes hard work. Good luck!

PS1 The next morning it is new moon. Try to find him.

PS2 There is a "nice" blog of Lens Rentals. Photos of returned cameras, where the people did not use a filter.

Edited April 3, 2024 by jankap

[davidmknoble]

I was lucky enough to be in the 100% area for the last eclipse in the SouthEastern US.  I used the SL2, but also used a nikon 500 f/8 mirrored with a 1.4x extender (and an adapter to the L system).  I had a Mylar sun filter that slipped over the front of the lens, and removed it for the short period of totality.  Photos were incredible.  Now I have the Leica R 500 f/8 mirrored lens and the APO 2x which I think would be a good setup.  

The great thing about the SL2 was that I was able to use the Focus app on my ipad to take images, while letting others see the view.

This time I’ll be closer to 70-80%, but it will still be fun!

[jankap]

Kolari Vision offers tips for the eclipse too.

I have always used the 500mm. But less long lenses interesting pictures can be shot. Search the net.

Edited April 4, 2024 by jankap

[Eclectic Man]

If you have to look up at the camera, try using a Thermarest* mat to lie down on for a bit of comfort, and, obviously, a cable / remote release.  I'd check that your batteries are fully charged (it gets quite cold at and around totality).

Mostly remember to enjoy the moment.  Professional photographers with telescopes and tracking mounts and specialist astronomical cameras will take superb photographs getting images like: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240402.html so get ones you are happy with, don't expect to get images which would rival Hubble or Palomar, so don't come home having missed the eclipse because you were too busy taking photographs.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!

* https://www.thermarest.com/ie/products/sleeping-pads 

[theseahawk]

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what is your approach to focusing the SL2 during an eclipse? AF, MF?
 

is it true that a 16-stop ND filter (or 10+6) is sufficient filtration to capture an eclipse on a mirrorless camera ?*
 

*https://youtu.be/FbpB7DNa6TA?si=0yG8QxJ9Nk8JGv6o

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2024 by theseahawk

[NightPix]

Manual focus seems to work best. Otherwise the lens hunts a lot. I have a Tiffen 18 stop solar filter on a Sigma 15-600mm lens. The filter cost $1 per mm. 

10 hours ago, theseahawk said:

what is your approach to focusing the SL2 during an eclipse? AF, MF?
 

is it true that a 16-stop ND filter (or 10+6) is sufficient filtration to capture an eclipse on a mirrorless camera ?*
 

*https://youtu.be/FbpB7DNa6TA?si=0yG8QxJ9Nk8JGv6o

 

 

 

 

[theseahawk]

You might also try using the FOTOS app as a remote for the SL2, once focused, to refine composition and shutter release. Otherwise, I’d be careful lying below and looking up at the camera pointed at the sun. 
 

I only have a proper solar filter for a my old Canon G7X. It also has a flip screen, so I’ll use that for any direct shots. Only have 14 stops of (stacked) ND for the SL2, so I’ll only use that for foliage / camera obscura effects on the ground and the like. Possibly for cloud effects if they partially occlude the event. 

[pgh]

On 4/3/2024 at 10:14 AM, NightPix said:

There’s nothing really attractive on the ground where I will be,

Never true. Just a matter of attitude and seeing.

[007]

SL2

Leica 100-400  f6.5  ISO 400 base shutter 1/125. Sky was not perfectly clear but good enough.

five step bracket two stops apart. electronic shutter, two second delay on release.  

If I did it again maybe I would have one stop apart and then have the base shutter at 1/1000 then shift the base to 1/60 th. 
 

I had two fresh 126 gig cards and an extra battery in the hand grip as I didn’t want any chance of running out of power. Regular high tripod, didn’t think I would need tracking and never had to reposition the aim. It lasted three minutes.

SL3 with a better buffer, and a tilt screen would have been nice.
 

https://www.macdonough.net/ECLIPSE-2024

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[Photoworks]

Well, nothing exciting here, in NYC the clouds cover most of it and presented a sun that looks more like a moon.

But I have learned that you need a long lens, 90-280 in not long enough, but I made it work with what I had. In reality, I wanted to do a panorama with the sun in it, but the sun surveyor app did show how high the sun actually was and out of frame from a good composition.

Setting the lens to MF was great and turning it until the lens showed infinity.

I have discovered that the SL3 does only 5 stops of exposure bracketing. Some other cameras can do 9.

I was shooting tether to the iPad with capture one, it is easy to see the progress on a live screen, I made friends that could not get any good images with the iPhone. I was sharing the live gallery with a few people as I was taking them. I iPad battery kept the SL3 fully charged for the 2 hours of shooting true the tether cable

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[Alan Friedman]

We had an interesting go of it in Buffalo, NY, where my back yard was a few miles north of the centerline of totality. Cloud cover was very heavy, but the amplification of light from a small telescope (105mm aperture, 600mm focal length) helped to pierce through the muck and reveal some nice details with the obstruction, which added something to the images. I was comfortable with the exposure settings from the partial phase and had focused on the nice sunspots visible so I didn't make any adjustments after taking the filter off when totality started... just allowing the passing clouds to vary the exposure and give a different feel to each shot. Not what I had planned for, but I was thrilled to have seen it and photographed it. 

I included a picture of my SL2-S with the telescope adapter on. This is a 2" nosepiece that mates to the telescope focuser and an Urth SL-T2 mount adapter. The complication is that telescope T2 threads are .75mm pitch and camera T2 threads are 1.0mm pitch... so an adapter is needed to connect the two. It's not a common piece, but I found one on Amazon that worked perfectly. 

cheers,

Alan

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[Stuart Richardson]

Here the totality was below the horizon after sunset, and my west/northwest view is partially obscured by hills and Snæfellsjökull, so I just got a partial eclipse shot. There were low clouds on the horizon, so did not get it at max. I was too dumb to realize that I needed a solar filter, but luckily no damage has been done, it seems. I guess there was a lot of filtering from the clouds and it was cold out, so maybe that kept the heat from building up too much. I did not shoot for too long. The first was taken at ISO 50 and f16 at 1/40000th. I think I see a sunspot or two there, but who knows? I used the 90-280mm at 280mm and cropped in with the SL2. The other pictures are how it set over the hills.

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[jaapv]

Please post these in the Eclipse thread as well for the benefit of non-SL users.