• Members 74 posts
    May 17, 2023, 12:29 a.m.

    Back in 2017 we had a solar eclipse here in Oregon. I live about 60 mi. south of getting totality. With my S1 1/2.3 sensor I took about seventy shots, from my front yard. These are with an old welding hood lens taped to the front, on a $10. garage sale tripod and a used $250. dollar camera.

    As it began
    DSCF5526 copy.jpg

    As close to totality as we got. The weirdest thing was how quick and drastic the temperature changed.
    [DSCF5549 copy.jpg]
    (/a/8dmHyFkqmsorVuoHQSBxvDAAi8Eap1fXeAg3P3mpHjrdyyLbnJZD6h49qHAAZ9Bj/8559/?shva=1)

    Not too much detail but was surprised the sun spots showed up, on such a cheap setup.

    DSCF5609 copy.jpg

    I intended to do a short clip but haven't yet.

    DSCF5609 copy.jpg

    JPG, 153.7 KB, uploaded by missedshot on May 17, 2023.

    DSCF5549 copy.jpg

    JPG, 75.6 KB, uploaded by missedshot on May 17, 2023.

    DSCF5526 copy.jpg

    JPG, 116.8 KB, uploaded by missedshot on May 17, 2023.

  • Members 483 posts
    May 22, 2023, 6:43 p.m.

    I notice that A4 sheets of solar filter film are available at a reasonable price and can be easily cut to size to fit any lens. That is probably the cheapest way of getting a solar filter to enable you to take photos of sunspots without cooking your camera.

    I have never photographed sunspots, but I have often looked at them with a pair of good binoculars mounted on a tripod. Don't look through the binoculars, of course, but use them to project an image of the sun onto a sheet of white paper. Use the eyepiece focus knob to adjust focus to suit the distance at which you hold the paper.

    A good pair of binoculars will give a sufficiently sharp image to easily see sunspots. If you have a decent telescope, that will probably give an even better image.

    Currently we are approaching a sunspot maximum (due in 2025), so there are usually several sunspots visible at any time. Today's sunspots are visible on this website.