Solar Eclipse on RED Epic-W

[paul Robinson]

Hi all, I am going to be driving up to wyoming to capture the total solar eclipse. I was wondering if anyone else is going to be shooting it as well. I ordered a solar filter 16.5 stops but wanted to hear other peoples opinions on gear they purchased or how they plan to set up their shots.

I am thinking of putting it on a motorized slider for about 4 hours and hot swapping batteries when needed. It seems like it will be very tough to manage the taking off of the filter when we reach full solar eclipse and then putting it back on right afterward. I got a 4x4 filter so that it may be slightly easier to remove.

I plan to shoot it on the canon 100-400 but wish i had access to something with a little more zoom!

happy shooting all!

 

[Nathaniel Haban]

I'll be down in the very southern tip of IL. I neglected to go with anything motorized, since I'll be trying to get as full of a frame as possible, and the effect of the motion would be wasted. Will be shooting with a Nikon 500mm and H-Alpha filter, to get better detail of the sun's surface.

 

[Mark Phelan]

The last total eclipse I saw and shot was back in 1984. I shot it with a 400mm telephoto using two polarizers and stopping down. Worked like a charm. BUT, the lens was not long enough. The sun still looked like a small dot on the 35mm slide. You really need 1000mm or more, imho. This page from NASA confirms my experience: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/SEphoto.html

Have fun shooting it. Looking forward to seeing what you get.

 

[Fabricio Morato]

If the desired effect is to have a big sun in the frame, and no access to longer glass, try getting a 2x extender. 400mm is not enough for this unfortunately.

 

[Matt Bai]

If the desired effect is to have a big sun in the frame, and no access to longer glass, try getting a 2x extender. 400mm is not enough for this unfortunately.

Seriously. $10 to rent Canon's version.