Learn how to Photograph the Annular Eclipse | DSLR, Telephoto Lens, Star Tracker Tutorial

[@keithhanssen7413]

I took a photo of a compass aimed north and laying flat on top of my polar aligned mount at home, then at my chosen field site for the total eclipse in 2017, I set up the mount, leveled it, then re-created the compass alignment in my photo. I barely touched my mount for about 3 hours it was so well polar aligned 👍🏻

[@rgreeneish]

Here is a little trick I did for the last eclipse. Buy some of the Thousand Oaks Mylar solar film, and a cheap UV filter. Maybe $20 total for both. Unscrew the retaining ring on the filter and pop the glass out. Use that glass to trace a circle on the mylar film. Cut it out and put the glass and the film back in the filter and reinstall the ring that holds it all into place. You get a nice home made solar filter for very little money.

[@saugattripathisite]

I literally did this

[@LisaRSArt]

Thanks for tip. ❤

[@JustinWolffPhotography]

I did this works great!

[@pajamamar2011]

Me too! Way cheaper. I made 1 in 2017 and another one back in early September.

[@thom1169]

Where did you find a UV filter w/ a screw? I can't find one. What brand did you get? I have a 62mm Nikon 70-300 lens. Thank you for your help.

[@stevenpost9708]

Thanks!

[@davidmatney5033]

Great video, thank you! I bought the slip-on SolarLite from Thousand Oaks (and misc gear) and I'm "ready to rock"! Thanks again.

[@JustinBerke]

Best possible information. Great work. 🏆

[@brianbaxter5895]

Thanks Peter! Great video!

[@diceflawless9115]

This video was the most helpful! Thank you!

[@TalkingJesus]

Like the way you give simple instruction. It is very easy to understand. Thanks. Know you used to live in Kanab. I stayed at Red Canyon Cabins in Kanab last year and visited Bryce, Zion, and many more sites in Kanab, and then my sister and I drove to Moab where we visited Arches National Park. I am seriously considering going back to Kanab this coming year. Might go to Cottonwood Canyon Road at night to take some Milkyway images, if I do go.

[@gomanastro]

Nice job on this talk Peter, great job.

[@davewilton6021]

Great video! Another neat trick to get center the sun in the viewfinder is to use the shadow of the camera. When the camera is pointing at the sun, the shadow should just be of the rectangular back of the camera. If you can see the shadow of the sides of the camera or the lens, then you're not pointing at the sun. It's not perfectly accurate, but it will usually get the sun in the viewfinder, or very close, and you can center it from there.

[@taylormcclelland5147]

Just wanted to THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this video. I set the ISO at 1600 and from there it was pretty smooth sailing. Took photos in San Antonio, TX and captured the RING OF FIRE 2023😀

[@MHarvey-tp5km]

This is the definitive quick guide

[@CapricornGirl9]

Thanks Peter! I’ll be out at Capital Reef for the eclipse, I am super excited.

[@bakerfx4968]

Love that you put this out early enough for us to have time to buy the filters! Thanks!

[@crooked-halo]

Ha! I actually found one _the day before_ after calling 4 places in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area! I had to get a larger filter and an adapter, but my 210 is 49mm which is apparently not so common a size for solar filters, at least on the shelf at a brick & mortar store.

[@HeroineOfTwilight]

The annular solar eclipse is on a special day for me this year so I’ve been looking forward to taking a good picture of it all year. This video is the best guide I’ve found, as I’m a beginner and this is something with a lot of information. I do want to be double careful with my camera and equipment, as of right now it’s only a week or two old. I’m working on ordering my tripod/solar filter/telephoto lens/the works by the end of the week so I can start practicing.

[@chasingghostsphotography4091]

Thanks Peter! I am also using the ioptron this time because the sun moves so fast during eclipse, you end up fiddling way too much. This tutorial was super helpful.

[@pajamamar2011]

I took your advice on how to capture the annular from last week. I did the same settings and the/my images turned out great! On the 2024 total for the next tutorial.

[@RodrigoPolo]

THANK YOU!

[@solareclipsetimer]

Peter has made a very nice video about imaging the annular eclipse. As a veteran of imaging five total solar eclipses, I wanted to add some additional details (with Peter's permission). 1. Exposing the full solar disk image has an end-point exposure goal. You want a relatively bright center of the Sun that does not "wash out" any visible sunspots, and the limb of the Sun should be slightly darker. The limb of the Sun is naturally darker as it curves around as a sphere, and you need to preserve this with the shutter speed you choose and that then is a properly exposed full solar disk. 2. I don't use Thousand Oaks SolarLite film because I have found there is light bleed or a glow around the disk at the proper full disk image exposure. It's not a clean cut-off. Glass solar filters perform much better, and there is another reason I recommend glass for a total eclipse, which I will explain below (#10). 3. We are entering a solar maximum, and there will likely be sunspots in 2023 and 2024. You should focus on these, not the limb of the Sun. As I said above, the Sun is a massive sphere with the limb moving away from you, so it does not really have a good edge to focus on. If there are no sunspots, you will need to use the limb, but as soon as there is a sharp corner of a broad crescent showing, zoom in on the sharp corner and focus on it. 4. When you practice exposures before the eclipse, you should practice at the time of day when you will be photographing the eclipse. Closer to the horizon versus high in the sky can affect the exposure. This is not as crucial for 2023 and 2024 because the Sun will be relatively high in the sky along the path in the US for both eclipses, but for completeness, this needed to be stated. 5. If you practice with clear skies and the day of the eclipse, there are fine high cirrus clouds, your "practiced" shutter speeds will no longer be valid; you will need to slow 1/3 stop or more to compensate. 6. On a very deep annular eclipse you may not want to use the exact same shutter speed through the entire eclipse. You may want to include taking an image with a decreased shutter speed by 1/3 stop for the last deep crescent/annulus and the full annulus. These may emit slightly less light. 7. Having a remote camera release is not an option for eclipse photography. Get one. Use it for 2023 and use it again in 2024. 8. If your camera does not have an articulated LCD screen invest in a right-angle viewfinder and learn how to focus with it. For the purpose of this video, Peter is using his tripod fully extended at eye level. But during an eclipse, you should have your tripod low to the ground to lessen vibration and work sitting on a low stool or kneeling. It is challenging to work with a straight-through eyepiece or a flat LCD screen when the eclipse is occurring 50 to 60 degrees in altitude. 9. If you want a perfectly symmetrical annulus, you need to be located precisely on the centerline and take a shot exactly at max eclipse. 10. Back to glass solar filters and my recommendation for total eclipse photography. The light transmission of glass is such that I can tell you that the exposure you use for a properly exposed full solar disk (step 1 above) will be the setting that will expose for inner corona when the solar filter is off. This tells you a lot about your gear, and I also teach how this information then leads you to choose a shutter speed for the diamond ring and Baily's bead. I hope these additional points help. I have written the most comprehensive eclipse preparation book available, which discusses everything about "eclipse day" and photography in easy terms. Look for information about it and my eclipse timing app on my website Solar Eclipse Timer. Thank,s Peter!

[@davidletz9123]

Thanks for those additional tips. As an amateur photographer (using a 100-400 lens with 1.4x teleconverter) trying this for the first time in October, I plan to rely on my histogram for my exposure, being careful not to blow out any highlights. Is that a good strategy? Also, can you recommend a glass filter that won't break the bank?

[@solareclipsetimer]

@@davidletz9123 Hi David, thank you for commenting and asking questions. I don't know a lot about using histograms in general and would not know how to evaluate them for eclipse photography. During the partial phases, you are going to have a bright yellow disk in the center with a black background. I have looked at histograms of my partial phase images and they don't seem to be that informative, at least not to me. During totality, you are not going to have the time or the "mindset" to try to evaluate histograms, you need to set your exposure based on your partial phase exposures, which is too much to discuss here. It is actually so much simpler than you are making it, for the partial phase images choose a shutter speed that makes a bright center disk, but is not overexposed, and preserves seeing sunspots if they are there. The exposure should preserve limb darkening of the limb of the Sun. The Sun's limb is naturally darker. If you do those two things you have a properly exposed full solar disk image. Remember to slow your shutter speed at least 1/3 stop for the last one or two partial phase images. I strongly recommend you spend the money on a glass solar filter. I know it will cost between $100 and $200 depending on your aperture, but this piece of hardware is as important as your camera itself. Don't skimp on costs here. I don't like film solar filters for a number of reasons. I recommend you buy my book, the digital versions for tablets or the PDF are only $9.99. The book will really help you with all aspects of the eclipse. In fact, I received an email today from a guy telling me how great the book is; from Bruce: "I’ve been re-reading your book, and am really beginning to realize how wonderful of a resource it is. Awesome." So, go to my website solareclipsetimer.com for more information. Thanks!

[@hotflashfoto]

@solareclipsetimer - I used your Solar Eclipse Timer in August of 2017 and still have it on the same phone and tablet as I did back then. I was so surprised to see that it is ready to time the upcoming eclipses for October 14th, 2023 and April 8th, 2024 as well! It's a great product and was instrumental in making the 2017 eclipse so memorable for myself and over a dozen others around me, some of whom came from half a world away!

[@PixeloProGear]

I’ve also heard there is no need to remove a filter during the total solar eclipse, is that accurate ?

[@hotflashfoto]

So long as it is a TSE and the moon has completely hidden the sun so that only the corona is visible, then yes. But whenever any of the actual sun is visible, then you need eye protection.@@PixeloProGear

[@fuzzygear8690]

Great work!

[@donvawter]

Thanks for this. Did a practice run today. I have a large lens 150-400 m 4/3 equivalent to 300-800 FF. I wasn't really sure how well a star tracker would handle that. Did a 100 minute run and the sun barely moved in the frame. So, as long as I remember to charge the tracker and my camera I should be able to just sit back and enjoy.

[@mwilson315]

Excellent. I happen to have the IOptron SkyGuider and Polar Scope Align Pro, so you have set me up for success.

[@mguerramd]

I started with live view mode on my EOS 7D so I could look at the back screen. All my shots came out terrible. So I switched to regular viewfinder mode and all came out perfect! Using a 70-200 L lens and a 16.5 stop ND filter, manual focus. And a perfectly balanced set up on a Wimberley gimbal made it easy to track the sun’s motion manually.

[@astrosertao]

That's a perfect tutorial, thank you very much! I'm going to watch from Brazil, where I live. I'd like to add that you can use the Sun to do an initial horizontal alignment of the mount, provided it has a declination ruler and you already figured out latitude adjustment. You can pick Sun's declination on that day on any app and fix that dec on the mount, then rotate your mount and the R.A. movement to get the Sun in the center. I do this with my telescope mount when it's full moon or a day before and I want to point the telescope to where it will rise before it rises and I have no other stars (other than the Sun) in the sky to use. I don't know if all star trackers have a dec ruler. Anyway, I hope this idea will be useful to you and others who are watching.

[@jabruzek]

I like to use the camera's self timer instead of a cable release. On my Nikon, it allows for a relatively long delay before the first shot to minimize shake, and it can be programmed for a sequence of exposures if bracketing is being used (with a separate programmable delay between shots for shake reduction).

[@JohnFoley1701]

My dad had one of those slip over solar filters for his giant meade telescope. You could look at sunspots with that thing.

[@gjinksjinks8594]

Great Video! Looks like you really know what's what. Question: I will be using two cameras for the April 8, 2024 Eclipse, both with 55-300 zoom lens. Your video is based on a 600mm lens. I did not understand the part of adjusting for whatever lens we use part. I'm not from the "Show Me State" but close enough. PLEASE, tell me the camera settings, start to finish, for a 300mm lens. Thank You!

[@Stelios-Photography]

Excellent explanation! Thanks. Now I need to check and see if my MSM has the capability to track the sun movement.

[@ehmaycrazy]

Can you share the make and model of your tripod?? Love this video btw!

[@v3rlon]

Wolverine and Freewell both make magnetic options. You can use either 'base' which screws onto your filter ring. As far as I know, only Wolverine makes an 'adaptor' which you can screw onto any filter and then just attach magnetically to your base.

[@SonoranAstro]

lmao perfect timing, just picked up a skyguider pro, a solar filter and a 2x teleconverter for my 70-200

[@mv52525]

Thank you for the insights. What is the Star Tracker that you have used?

[@chrisalmanza3773]

Another thing you can do to try to minimize impacts of a poor polar alignment is "drift alignment". It can be pretty complicated, but it will really help with polar alignment during the day or night!

[@NatarajanGanesan]

If you can get geared up an hour or so before the start of the first contact then a quick drift alignment can be done to get it in place

[@ThomasStafford-e7t]

Did anyone else see the sunspots today in the shape of the number 26

[@jmfoty4280]

To get the best focus on the sun, I focus on sunspots. Getting perfect focus on sunspots will guaranteed focus on the sun.

[@johns.earljr.3631]

I ran into a problem yesterday while practicing for the October annular eclipse. At about noon my tripod hit a stop and I could not track the sun any farther. I figured a solution is a ball head mount that allows the camera to lay over 90 degrees. Got one on order.

[@TheMje1963]

Thanks for the video, What are your thoughts on the LEE Solar Filter 100mmx100mm

[@donnabrennan6271]

Very informative video. How many stops was your solar filter? I plan to be shooting April 8th"s total eclipse with the 180-600 Z lens attached to a Z9. What settings would you recommend for this setup? Thank you again for such a great video :-)

[@DarrellBaldwin-nm7re]

Peter, I used your videos to be able to have a really good experience with the October 2023 annular eclipse, thank you. I am now preparing the final set up for the April 8 total solar eclipse and I have one question that I have not been able to find an answer to. What is the best way to make small mid eclipse framing adjustments if I am using a canon rf100-500 lens. I know you said don't use a ball head for a large telephoto lens, but what do you do???

[@MannyG32968]

Excellent video! Q: what's your recommendation for the star-tracker? Thanks!

[@pureblood5903]

Hi, Thanks for the info! What do you think would be the lowest zoom that wouldn't be a waist of time for a quality picture? Why do people with Hundreds of dollars in cameras and lenses get twisted over spending $150 on a decent filter?

[@flutesofmontereypeninsula4169]

Maybe in a subsequent video, explain how to orientate the camera, getting the sun in live view if one is using a a long local length prime lens or a telescope. For myself, I first look at the shadow of the camera and then use a special guide mounted on the camera hot shoe. One can buy one but I now use a 3D printed one. Also to view the live view in the beginning to fine tune the focus, I use a bath or beach towel over my head and camera to block sun light. I really like Peter's astro videos being down to earth (no pun intended) but yet being detailed.

[@Rubi747HVY]

Great informative presentation. I’m getting to my site 2 days early to pre-position everything and practice onsite. No tracker just fiddling for this event. My biggest concern is focus drift as the day warms up.

[@carlmcneill1139]

Do you have a recommendation for a star tracker? I've watched videos on the 3 main brands. If I was only shooting the milky way I'd probably go with the move shoot move but I'll be using my 180-600mm. That leaves 2 brands to consider that use a counter balance.

[@hotflashfoto]

Very good stuff! And very good comments from your peeps, too. This video is now 3 months old and I was able to find a GLASS solar filter from B&H Photo. I took over a dozen photos with it on my D500 (crop sensor) and 200-500 f/5.6, both with and without my 1.4 TC, and was still able to auto-focus through the filter! I wasn't sure it would be able to, but it did. I also have my camera set to use back button focus so I can leave my focus in AF at all times, using the BBF only when needed/wanted. It saves flipping the AF/MF switch all the time, or forgetting to set it back to AF like has happened before, too. Additionally, I have my camera set to allow me to release the shutter even if the focus is not locked, which means it'll take a picture when I press the shutter release and not wait for what IT thinks is a good focus.

[@Skidoo22]

How about a similar tutorial for the Total solar eclipse?

[@suzannebeers6238]

Thanks Peter! I had the same experience photographing the solar eclipse in 2017!! So am going to use my tracker and go to mount this time, and next year for the total eclipse. Have you produced your go to mount video yet? What is the name of the app you showed for daytime polar alignment? Is there an Android version? Thank you!

[@jameshermann1143]

Great video to explain mechanics of getting good images of the sun. Any recommendations or tips on how to include foreground objects into the pictures? Obviously exposure will be an issue so we will probably only be able to catch silhouettes.

[@elmachodeyewtewb]

Great video, but how would I take good pictures and videos of the annular solar eclipse with a smartphone camera? I have the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

[@rsegaloff2642]

How about those screw in nd filters?

[@AnnTam-i9q]

Can you attach the solarlite filter to a telephoto lens?

[@ujjwaldatta6713]

Peter, can you please share the link for the eclipse sunglasses you got from Amazon? Thanks

[@luanpham7469]

May I use window film ?

[@ryanmiskin]

I taped half of a free pair of eclipse glasses on the back of my cellphone and took a picture that way.

[@directaviation2044]

both solar filters from thousand oaks are sold out whats the next best one I can get, I use the canon 70-300 usm II

[@NASA-Shill]

What star tracker do you recommend?

[@geraldjefferson7306]

Will a ND filter work with taking shots of the solar eclipse ?

[@jmfoty4280]

Thank you, Peter for the information on photographing an annular eclipse. I have three questions for you. After getting some good bracketed images of the ring of fire, should I turn off the tracker, refocus on the foreground, get separate images of the foreground, and blend them in Photoshop? Should I bracket long exposures of the foreground with the filter? If not, how would I get the annular eclipse with a properly exposed foreground?

[@karltenney]

What brand of star tracker is this?

[@nitrousblast1]

So standard nd filters are not good enough for the eclipse?

[@jamesgjurovich7893]

I just bought it

[@AshManXP]

What kind of METERING and WHITE BALANCE should I be using?

[@mduoba]

“Live View”? What year is it?

[@americandronecompanyllc4268]

So for folks with no star tracker we are screwed? 😢😢😢

[@hotcoffeeamericano]

Anyone know if ND 10 stop filter will work?

[@DurulDalkanat]

Hey Peter, Quick question, I have a plan the use ICE 95mm ND100000 Optical Glass Filter Neutral Density 16.5 Stop ND 100000. Can I have your point of view about the comparison with Threaded Camera Filters 95-T and ICE 95mm ND100000 Optical Glass Filter Neutral Density 16.5 Stop ND 100000? Is there a big difference between them? Thanks

[@rickgalloway201]

I have the IOptron SkyGuider Pro. If I polar alignment at night, do I need to leave the tracker on all night, or can I turn it off after polar alignment and just turn it back on the next day for the eclipse shots?

[@johns.earljr.3631]

Gotta leave it on.

[@johns.earljr.3631]

I am practicing now with my equipment and I set up my skyguider early morning while I could see the North Star. It kept the sun right in the middle of the viewfinder until I shut it off about 1 pm.

[@frandwight]

I purchased a Firecrest Eclipse Filter ND5.4 18-stops for the 2017 eclipse, but didn't really use it. And it WAS difficult to remove in the excitement of the moment. If anyone reading this knows the answer to this question, please chime in: Is this filter a good fit for the annular eclipse? Will it let in the color of the sky and sun?

[@MarcoLivioArauz]

Pointing up to the sun (or moon) i have a problem with lens creep. Any idea to avoid that? A rubber band, a velcro band?

[@b2gun6s]

Gaffers Tape. It removes without residue...

[@Dan_P.]

Hi Peter! Have you considered attempting to increase exposure time just at mid-eclipse (when the moon is perfectly centered on the sun) to get some detail of the lunar surface? I have seen a photo that did that, and it was very dramatic (I don't know if it was a composite, though). Since this would be impossible to practice before the eclipse, what exposure do you think would do it? I normally use my Star Adventurer with a 560mm lens, 400iso, ~1/30th sec exposure. I've thought about trying a 1 second exposure. I'd try this after getting "the money shot" of a perfectly centered moon (I have to drive 90 away to get to the center line). Thanks for the excellent video!

[@1dgram]

I would practice with the moon at twilight when the moon isn't full. The settings should be the same as what you want during the eclipae. Keep in mind that on the day of, those settings will result in a totally blown out sun. You'll need to combine shots in post.

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

NPC is not true north it is a few degrees off.

[@davidletz9123]

Anyone out there using a threaded filter have such a case of nerves that they could not unscrew it in time to photograph the total eclipse?

[@ogrefcf]

Bro I got card board eclipse glasses cardboard glasses are better