Mid-afternoon sun

[BF Hammer]

It's astrophotography, but definitely not nightime or low-light. This is another practice run for next April's solar eclipse. I will do another run on a less-hot day and try to dial in my tracking telescope mount without having any stars to align to (besides the sun).

This is with Z5, Sigma 150-600mm C and a 6-inch square ND solar filter.

Now swapping camera body to D600 infrared conversion.

And this one is a D750, Nikkor 500mm reflex lens from the 1970s, and a homemade solar filter from cardboard and a sheet of flexible solar film.

The plan as it is now is to put the D750 with 500mm reflex lens on the tracking telescope mount and let it go for a time-lapse of the partial eclipse phases. Even though the lens is not nearly as sharp as the Sigma, it should give me the partial phase series I'm looking for. I will have the Z5 and Sigma lens on tripod with a gimbal head for my taking photos with filter on the partial phases and remove filter for the total period. The infrared D600, no plan yet. I may have another tripod set up and my 70-200mm f/2.8G and just shoot a couple during total phase. I don't know how many might have tried to capture the corona in infrared.

 

[Bikerbrent]

Nice Sun photos BF Hammer (or do you prefer Chris Larson).

 

[BF Hammer]

I answer to all.

 

[Dawg Pics]

I need a proper filter for my 600, so I can shoot some sun images. The only time I did solar was during the last eclipse, and I used filters from my solar glasses that I bought. It worked well.

 

[BF Hammer]

You can make a reasonable home-made filter. That solar film material in the cardboard glasses can be purchased in larger sheets on Amazon and other places. It can be cut and used to make multiple filters for different lenses.

Save some scrap cardboard and a roll of duct tape to make them. Cut a strip of cardboard about 3 inches wide and wrap around a lens barrel, then tape at seam to create a tube to hold on lens. Cut a square of corrugated cardboard larger than your lens end. Set lens end on the cardboard and trace the circle on the cardboard. Cut out the circle with some kind of sharp knife-like thing. Duct-tape a square of the filter material over the hole. Duct tape the tube you made before on the filter. Slip over end of lens.

The film tends to create a yellowish sun with auto WB, but my 150mm square store-bought solar filter results in a white sun that way. I get something for the money investment. The yellow homemade filter photo above looks unsharp because of the old lens I'm using, not so much the filter.