How to Take Pictures of a Solar Eclipse?

Posted on January 15th, 2010. Written by Rico.

Quick details on a partial solar eclipse slated to last two hours today: it will be visible from 3:49 to 5:51 pm, is the longest since the eclipse of ’92, and will be visible in the Philippines. Question, just how do you take a photo of a solar eclipse?

Before I link to a very useful resource on photographing solar eclipse, a little common sense: Unless the sun is totally eclipsed never ever look at the sun, even indirectly through a camera’s viewfinder or screen, unless you want to go blind. Now that’s out of the way, here’s a little more advice from mreclipse.com:

A solar eclipse may be safely photographed provided that certain precautions are followed. Almost any kind of camera can be used to capture this rare event; however, a lens with a fairly long focal length is recommended to produce as large an image of the Sun as possible. A standard 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera yields a minuscule 0.5mm image, while a 200mm telephoto or zoom produces a 1.9mm image (see: Field of View & Image Size Table). A better choice would be one of the small, compact catadioptic or mirror lenses that have become widely available in the past 20 years. The focal length of 500mm is most common among such mirror lenses and yields a solar image of 4.6mm.

So much more details are available here. Another crucial component for proper solar eclipse photography is a solar filter, which will protect both your camera and eyes. So if you’re lacking that in your photography arsenal, rush to your nearest photography supply store now!

Again, I must remind you dear readers: Unless the sun is totally eclipsed never ever look at the sun, even indirectly through a camera’s viewfinder or screen, unless you want to go blind. As mreclipse.com says: “Staring at the Sun under such circumstances is like using a magnifying glass to focus sunlight onto tinder. The retina [the sensing part of your eye] is delicate and irreplaceable.”