My Eclipse Rig

Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
That is why I am going to be on an Island in the lower part of Dale Hollow Lake.

I have a question. The kids are afraid to let the grand kids look at the eclipse even though I have NASA approved glasses made by American Paper Optics. I thought about turning on my live view and let the grand kids watch it on the LCD screen. So here is my concern. As you know with live view the mirror is up. Directions say not to point at the sun with the live view functioning or it will damage the sensor. With the filter from Thousand Oaks will that override the possibility of damage to my sensor? Don't want to trash my camera.

I don't use live view too often. I would not use it near and during totality. I want to be sure to get the shots I hope to get.
 
GAD

GAD

Administrator
Staff member
Not letting kids watch the eclipse makes me sad. :( Any ISO-certified solar filters are fine, and if you bought them from a reputable source there should be zero concern. Hell, I bought filters for my binoculars and will be magnifying that right into my eyeballs. The hard part is remembering to look down before taking the filter away. People generally only do that once, though.

Also, if they will be with you during totality, then for those precious two minutes or so then you need to look at the sun/moon directly without filters in order to see the corona and stars which will be visible during the day.

If you want to have fun with kids that aren't allowed to watch directly, you can also have them make their own pinhole viewer. I remember doing this with my dad in 1970 (I would have been six). If you really want to flip people out bring a colander (lots of holes!) :)

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/feature...s-to-safely-watch-eclipse-20170817-story.html

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/9/1...tor-solar-eclipse-cardboard-paper-budget-safe

Most of those are kind of overkill, but they work. This also works and it's super simple: Take two paper plates, punch a pinhole in one and hold it over the other one so that the pinhole is facing the sun - bam - pinhole projector. This uses the camera obscura principle (as does the colander). In fact, so will the space between leaves in the trees! You'll see millions of little eclipses all over the ground near trees. This will be true (assuming no clouds) during the partial phase as well so there's plenty of time to hunt for it. You can simulate the same thing with multiple pinholes in the paper plate.

The foil works better because the "lens" (pinhole) will be smaller and more well-defined than it would be with a paper plate.

Lastly, you can test it out before hand - just try it with the normal sun!

Live view is fine with a 1000-oaks filter because those filters are blocking UV. What the warnings are about is people getting the idea of pointing their camera at the sun without a filter and watching via live-view in order to save their eyes which is kind of smart in the "I don't want to go blind" department. Sadly, while that will save your eyes, it will destroy your camera. I spent two hours outside today with my camera on live-view tethered to my computer while I tracked the sun.

BTW, check your filters for pinholes before you use them!
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
GAD If you are going down early enough get a rental car and drive out to the country. Using the app in your post above find a field where totality will be. Offer the farmer/land owner $100 or so to let you set up on his land. No or limited people is almost priceless.
 
GAD

GAD

Administrator
Staff member
Jeannie said:
GAD If you are going down early enough get a rental car and drive out to the country. Using the app in your post above find a field where totality will be. Offer the farmer/land owner $100 or so to let you set up on his land. No or limited people is almost priceless.
Click to expand...
Thanks, but I don't think we'll have time for that. I'm perfectly happy to set up in the parking lot or lawn at the Marriott. Also, people act funny during the eclipse. It's fun to watch. Lauren says she wants to lounge in the pool with her glasses, too. :)

Here's a test pic from today's automation test. Sunspots!

 
W

wrknnwf

Active member
For the grandkids, we have the glasses, but also taking their homemade pinholes, a colander and a cheese grater, which seem to work well.

But alas, the weather reports are getting more discouraging. Still, it's not going to stop us from having a fun road trip to parts unknown.
 
Angela

Angela

Super Moderator
We had 90% here in Victoria BC, it got colder, very quiet no birds singing, quite dark inside the house and outside shadows like it was about 5pm.
ABC news is giving great coverage across the U.S that we can watch the total eclipse.
 
GAD

GAD

Administrator
Staff member
Gotta run, but a couple of pics from today. It was AWESOME!

These haven't even been processed - they're screen caps of the raws!



 
W

wrknnwf

Active member
OMG!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, GAD! With your tips, and pointing me to the app and other sites, we had the MOST AWESOME viewing today! The app worked perfectly and miraculously (no, really!) the clouds parted about 15 minutes before totality and stayed away for a good 45 minutes. The grand kids got to see it all...shadow bands, Baileys beads, the diamond ring...the whole works. We never saw any animals and forgot to look for the 360 deg sunset, but other than that, it's was just indescribable...thanks to you and some outstanding luck. It's something I won't forget and I'm just thrilled the grand kids could have this rare experience.
 
DAWNMERIE

DAWNMERIE

Active member
AWESOME! I watched what I could here with a welding mask :) Got to see some of it until clouds rolled in! Thanks for sharing!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top