There will be more than 3 minutes of totality at spots that are about a 4 hour drive from me so I plan to go up. But I’m wondering how to take photos and videos.
I got some with my cell phone 7 years ago. Not very good though. I marveled at the crescent shadows of leaves, which I never found a satisfactory explanation for.
Good reminder. I need to get the shaded Google for wearing over prescription lenses.
https://astronomerguide.com/solar-film-for-telescope/
This method also works for camera lenses. Just scale it down.
I bought this for my telescope a few years ago when Mercury transited the sun: 10"x10" Solar Filter Sheet
The intensity of the sun will melt the internals on your lens. They make filters.
We chased the 2017 eclipse. My daughter got some great photo’s with a homemade and very effective filter.
A friend in Cleveland has invited us to his house for the event so we’re making a long weekend out of it.
I intend to let the professionals take the photos.
I’ll be in Erie, PA at my wife’s sister’s place.
I’ll just enjoy the eclipse without bumbling around trying to take photos.
You should be able to safely photograph the eclipse at totality, without a filter.
But, ONLY at totality! It’s not safe to look directly at it any other time-you will need a filter in front of your camera lens or to look directly through.
Do NOT look at it directly, before or after totality without some sort of safe filter. It will damage your eyes if you do.
You need to get a solar filter, whose diameter is the same as the diameter of the other filters you use in your camera. Thus, if your camera has a 51 mm filter mount, you’ll need a 51 mm solar filter. Solar filters are totally different from ordinary filters in that they are almost opaque and transmit less than 1% of the light. If you don’t use one, you will seriously damage both your viewing eye and the camera, particularly if you’re shooting at a relatively high magnification. You might also be able to find one for a smart phone. Check on that with either the phone manufacturer or a secondary supplier like Amazon.
I know about this because I took an excellent set of pictures of the 2017 eclipse using a 51 mm solar filter for my Panasonic FZ 300 camera.