March 20, 2015 — Total Solar Eclipse.

[Kronos]

I have a Canon EOS 1100D with a choice of 50mm, 18-55, 55-250 lenses to choose from not forgetting a tripod but I am an absolute beginner. Still wading through mu aptly named Dummies book for my camera.

Would love to take a photo or two, clouds permitting but do not have a clue how to go about this. So simple and I do mean simple advice needed on settings, whether I need any sort of filter ETC on how to do this.

[Mike Buckley]

See this.

I found that by Googling how to photograph a total eclipse. Do the same and you'll find lots of information. The most important information is the first paragraph in the above tutorial: "Whereas lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye, solar eclipses are not. You must take the necessary precautions to keep from harming your eyesight. In fact, you also need to use a 'solar filter' to keep from harming your camera’s imaging sensor as well as for correct exposure."

[Kronos]

See this.

I found that by Googling how to photograph a total eclipse. Do the same and you'll find lots of information. The most important information is the first paragraph in the above tutorial: "Whereas lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye, solar eclipses are not. You must take the necessary precautions to keep from harming your eyesight. In fact, you also need to use a 'solar filter' to keep from harming your camera’s imaging sensor as well as for correct exposure."

I did try a search but not quite those words, thanks.

[Shadowman]

I used LiveView and a cpl filter to capture one recently. LiveView to protect your eyes, rather than looking directly at sun through viewfinder and the cpl helped cut down on the intensity of the sun.

[Kronos]

Thanks but was hoping for help with settings also.

[JR1]

250th at f8 iso 250, 250mm, but bracket

You can shoot the totality and the diamond ring with NO filters and look at them NOT through the camera, shutter release, tripod, continuous

[IzzieK]

A friend of mine uses his sunglasses as a filter and it works very well too. Never look directly at the sun...even when it is not doing its dance.

[jcuknz]

When I took my solar eclipse shot I worked on the mistaken assumption that an infra-red filter passes no visible light and looked at the sun through the EVF of my bridge camera. The camera sort of thought for a moment and then gave me a very bright image and took the shot.
Earlier in life when I was working for TV our cameraman gallantly and foolishly looked at the eclipse through the naked viewfinder of his camera and tracking it for some time nearly lost his sight and was off work for two weeks ... he was lucky.
After I took my shot I visited my computer Guru who was also into sky things and showed him my picture and we compared it to that in the morning's paper which had been taken at the local observatory by photographing a projected image from the telescope. My IR filter had obviously got a different view of things like sunspots to the straight view the paper had got.
My camera [ Nikon 5700 in 2003 closed down are far as it could f/7.4 and shutter was 1/3800 .. and the file is over exposed despite the filter stopping all visible light. ]


My IR filter is a proper one not the 'like-IR' filters that give a reddish colour to the shot.