Shooting The Eclipse

Finchy

Hi,
I'm looking for advice on shooting the upcoming eclipse. I have a Canon T2i with lenses 18mm-55mm and 55mm-250mm. Nothing special there. What lens would work best? Should I buy a new lens? What filter do I need to get? What tip Sheet would work best for what I want to do?

Moose

Hi @finchy - The 55-250mm will be your best lens. You'll also need a solar filter to protect your camera/eyes (looking through the viewfinder), along with a tripod to keep things steady.

Additionally, I would opt to shoot in "Live View" mode, using the LCD screen to compose the photo. With live view enabled, you can enable manual mode, set your aperture to f/8 and your ISO to 100. The shutter speed will fluctuate during the eclipse. So you will need to look at the LCD screen and modify the shutter speed in real time to dial in the right amount of brightness. Since the LCD screen gives you a live look at the final photo, adjusting the shutter speed in the moment is super easy.

Additionally, I would pre-focus on the horizon and then disable autofocus entirely. This will allow you to take shot after shot without having to autofocus each time.

During the eclipse phase, take a moment to review one of the images to make sure the focus and exposure and spot on and then proceed with taking more photos to choose from at a later time/date.

jessicawitters

Would using a welding glass 8 shade work as a diy solar eclipse lense?