Recommendation for a good lens for 2017 Eclipse

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Jymm

New member
Hi. I would like to purchase a lens for the 2017 eclipse in August. I'm flying to where I'll be seeing it so I won't be able to use a telescope rig, but will have a decent tripod. What I'm looking for is a good long-focal-length zoom lens that can be fitted with a Marumi DHG ND-100000 Solid Neutral Density 5.0 Solar Eclipse Filter (58mm or 77mm) directly or via an adapter-ring. Funds are not unlimited so hopefully under $900 is (semi)realistic.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance!
 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
This is the first time I've ever seen someone ask for a recommendation for a $1000.00 lens to fit a $100 filter... Most folks usually go the other way... :)
 
Dawg Pics

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
Do you plan on getting a close crop or a landscape? I saw an image with an eclipse as part of a landscape, which is way more interesting than just a corona shot.

.... and looking at the next eclipse date , I am happy to say I will be easy driving distance to be in the path of the next total eclipse in 2024. It will also be visible from my house for over a minute. I will be well prepared (I hope).
 
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R

RobV

Senior Member
480sparky said:
My suggestion is to not bother trying to photograph it. But that's just me.
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Sparky, that is my conundrum. I have a nice enough rig, D300, 300mm f4 AF (old, screw-focus), Lensmaster gimbal, and an iffy tripod - Dolica GX650B204.

I figure, I can sit back and enjoy the show without worrying if I am getting my settings right, blah blah blah.

Any photos I might take, would pale in comparison to anything else I will find on the internet. I might set up my rig for full corona.

I already have Mon. and Tues. off work, and The Path is about a 3-4 hour drive from home.

But I thought, with the lens I have, I could just buy a 39mm ND filter to slide into my drop-in filter slot, which would make for quick switchouts. Just put a piece of electrical tape over the opening during totality.



 
B

Bikerbrent_RIP

Senior Member
No activity from the OP since July 7 so I would guess they have moved on. There have been a rash of new posters of late with strange problems or questions who post and never reply to requests for additional information and you never hear from them again.
 
R

RobV

Senior Member
Bikerbrent said:
No activity from the OP since July 7 so I would guess they have moved on. There have been a rash of new posters of late with strange problems or questions who post and never reply to requests for additional information and you never hear from them again.
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That's OK, I was directing my comments at Sparky.

Mostly thinking out loud without starting a new thread.
 
S

spb_stan

Senior Member
Any decent 300mm lens is probably higher in resolving power than that thermals in the atmosphere permits, so a slow zoom is probably fine as long as the tripod is steady, the lens will not be the limiting factor. Not enough information to judge why or if his current gear needs a new lens added. With the ND filter he was planning on, speed of the lens become a non-issue and in fact slower lenses at f/8-10 are not much different than higher end fast exotics at the same aperture. A low cost zoom is easier to travel with also.
I have no long lenses past 200 mm be even there, when stopped down to f/8, my 2.8 lens is really no better than a cheap plastic zoom at f/8...small apertures cure a lot of ills. You invest in quality glass for their wide open performance which varies greatly from slow zooms
 
J

Jymm

New member
Bikerbrent said:
No activity from the OP since July 7 so I would guess they have moved on. There have been a rash of new posters of late with strange problems or questions who post and never reply to requests for additional information and you never hear from them again.
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...or until they get back! Sorry, I was on travel with "limited" (usually no) internet access. My camera is a Nikon D3100 (per the sub-forum :)) and my only lens is the stock nikkor 18-55mm that the camera came with. I would like to take a landscape shot over a just-the-sun shot, but will take both if totality-time permits. As you can tell, I'm really new to this. Thanks for your help...and your patience.
 
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