Solar Eclipse Photography?

by andre.vanrooyen
Question by : Solar Eclipse Photography?
Will a 14 welder's glass in front of my 300mm telephoto lens prevent the Sun from burning my image censor and my eyes at the view finder?
I will get a welder's glass of 14, 13, 11, 9 and 5... maybe the 5 will work better?

Also... Camera ND filters, would that work?


Best answer:
Answer by cedykeman1It may work, It would be important to find out how many stops the welders glass takes out of the brightness. if it's a 14 , that may mean it takes out 14 stops. I would guess ( as a professional) that it takes out too much light. In that fact I am guessing it would not work very well as you would most likely have to have a long shutter speed to make up for the lost light and that would mean that the sun will be moving and you'll get a blurry photo. It all depends though on how your camera is set up.

I would try it, here is what I would do, stop down all the way, fix the filter to the camera and set the ISO to 200. Take a few photos of the sun and adjust the aperture until you get a good photo. The shutter will need to be no slower than say 1/30,possibly much faster. Use a tripod too. You might get into a situation where you can't adjust the camera anymore and get a good image. If that is the problem then your welders glass is just to dark.

Also realize that as the sun goes into eclipse the light is going to change a lot and you'll be having to change the settings often and fast. Also realize the welders glass is not made for photography so the colors will be terrible and you could get terrible lens flare.

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't try it, EEK.

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A slideshow of solar eclipse photographs. This sequence is an extra on the Path of Totality, my one hour documentary on the total solar eclipse that passed over outback South Australia in 2002. The digital film includes footage and photographs of the total solar eclipse combined with interviews and reactions from a wide variety of characters including eclipse chasers, astronomers, ravers, astrologers and cynics. The Path of Totality was selected to play on 600 screens around Australia and New Zealand for National Science Week. Many thanks to all the great photographers who participated. Music track by Happy Ghosts. The 2012 special edition release of The Path of Totality comes with additional scenes, enhanced visuals and audio and 30 minutes of special features. You can purchase copies of the DVD by emailing me directly ash@starkey.net.au or check it out on Amazon goo.gl
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Total Solar Eclipse | Solar Eclipse Information