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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Getting ready for photographing the next eclipse | |
After surviving my first total eclipse, I came away with some great shots but discovered some issues in my technique. Maybe someone can provide some guidance on doing things better next time.
My gear was a 5D Mk III with a 100-400 zoom, a 2x extender, and a solar filter that screwed onto the lens. I also had a ball head and tripod. These latter items were relatively inexpensive but it was what I had. My biggest issue came from trying to acquire the sun each time I wanted to take some pictures. Usually, the sun had moved out of frame from the last series and I had to find it again. With 800 mm of focal length and using live view, it was awkward to loosen the ball, move the camera around until I found the sun, and then lock the ball again. It took only a small motion to sweep the sun from one side of the image to the other. Further, when I finally got the sun in the frame and locked the ball, the camera would still drop down, pushing the sun out of frame. I ended up having to try and position the sun just out of frame so that, when the lens dropped, it would appear in the field of view. Maybe my ball head wasn't beefy enough to fully support the weight. Post-eclipse, I thought about zooming in to 100 mm (200 with xtender), framing the sun, and then zoom out again without tweaking the positioning. Needs some experimentation.
The second problem I encountered was near the end of the eclipse when the sun was highest in the sky. I found that I couldn't elevate the lens high enough to locate the sun. If I dropped into the notch on the ball head, I'd gain more elevation but then I couldn't swivel the lens in azimuth. Afterwards, I thought that maybe I could shorten one of the tripod legs so the mount was no long level. The problem with that is the the mount is then no longer stable. I haven't tried this yet so maybe it will work. Are there other ways to achieve this higher elevation?
Next time, I need to practice more prior to the event. I did practice this time but it obviously wasn't enough. Coupled with the excitement, it resulted in missing some shots.
Any thoughts from you more seasoned eclipse junkies?
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