What should you pay attention to when shooting a solar eclipse with Sony W300?

What are the preparations for photographing a solar eclipse with an ordinary digital camera?

July 22 this year will be a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse. Friends who do not have professional equipment can use ordinary digital cameras to capture this eclipse. A rare souvenir. In order to take better photos, adequate preparation is indispensable. ?

The camera I use is a Kodak 7430, which is an older camera with 4 million pixels, focal length 34-102 mm, 3-light 4-digit zoom, and no manual function. ?

1. Lens filter?

①Is the filter essential?

A friend said that cameras with manual functions can use low-sensitivity High speed, small aperture, and high speed to control exposure without using filters. I think this method is not advisable. The energy of the sun is very strong. Even if you are not taking pictures, it is easy to damage the camera by pointing the lens directly at the sun! Filters must be used to block most of the sunlight to ensure safety. ?

②What material are the lens filters made of?

There are two types of lens filters: plastic and glass. In the past, photosensitive films were used for plastic sheets, but now it is difficult to find them. I used medical X-ray films. , choose the one with a colorless base. ?

The easiest thing to get is the welding filter made of glass. Available in hardware and electrical accessories stores. The price of the welding filter I purchased in Shenyang is 1 yuan per piece (retail price), for reference. ?

The advantage of glass filters is that the sunlight that passes through is basically parallel rays, so the clarity of the sun captured is high. The disadvantage is that the welding pad is dark green instead of black, so the photos taken are greenish and have a large color difference. ?

Plastic sheets will produce a certain degree of diffusion and reduce the clarity of photos. The advantage is that the color difference is small. ?

③What is the transmittance of the lens filter?

The soldering pads I can buy here range from No. 7 (lightest) to No. 12 (darkest)?

A friend said that using the lightest color for welding is enough, but I experimented and found that even the darkest color was not enough! ?

Obviously we should have an objective standard to select the transmittance of the filter. ?

Open the test photos in Photoshop and look at their "histograms". ?

Figure 1 is the sun taken with the "8+8" filter, Figure 2 is its histogram, ?

Figure 3 is the sun taken with the "12" filter , Figure 4 is its histogram,?

Figure 5 is the sun taken with the "4X" filter, Figure 6 is its histogram,?

Figure 7 is taken with the "3X" filter "The sun photographed by the filter, Figure 8 is its histogram'?

The above "8+8" filter refers to the overlapping use of two No. 8 welding plates;?

The "12" filter refers to a piece of No. 12 welding film;?

The "4X" filter refers to the overlapping use of 4 X-films. The first picture is a fully exposed pure black, the second picture is dark gray, the third picture is light gray, and the fourth picture is an unexposed film;?

The "3X" filter is the above-mentioned "4X" without the third 4 pictures are unexposed pictures. ?

The dense part on the left side of the histogram is the sky; some vertical lines on the right side are the brightness of the sun. ?

The brightness line representing the sun in Figures 2 and 6 is not close to the right line of the histogram, which is a relatively "normal" exposure. ?

In Figures 4 and 8, the vertical line representing the sun is close to the right line of the histogram. It is actually beyond the range of the histogram, indicating overexposure. ?

However, from the photos, the "normal" exposure looks a bit like the moon, lacking the brightness and dazzling feeling that the sun should have. I think it is better to shoot the sun with appropriate overexposure. In fact, Figure 8 only has one less layer of unexposed "transparent" X-ray film than Figure 6, but the effect is very different. ?

The color difference between the soldering pads in Figures 1 and 3 is unpleasant. ?

After comprehensive comparison and many tests, we finally recommend 3X film, which is a slightly overexposed filter composed of X-ray films. ?

If the concentration of your X-ray film is appropriate, of course "2X" will be better than my "3X". ?

In order to ensure success, it is recommended that friends also try shooting several times. There may be some differences between different cameras, and the light transmittance of X-rays cannot be quantified. ?

④ Lens filter sleeve?

For ease of use, I made a sleeve out of paper to put on the lens, and glued the cut 3X film to the top with paper. . This makes it easier to use and prevents stray light from the side. ?

2. Rangefinder viewfinder filter?

If it is not a SLR camera, you also need to add a filter to the viewfinder. The light transmittance can ensure that you do not look dazzling. Of course, it is more convenient to use plastic sheets as the material. ?

I used the completely photosensitive black part of the medical X-ray film. I cut out a small piece and stuck it on the camera with stickers to cover the viewfinder window. ?

3. Focal length?

In order to make the sun appear as big as possible, the maximum focal length must be used. My camera has 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom. ?

Some friends think digital zoom is useless. I specifically conducted a comparative test: comparing the text in the newspaper with 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom to the one shot with only optical zoom and enlarged with PS, the former has higher definition. Therefore, I believe that digital zoom should not be rejected but should be fully utilized.

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The diameter of the sun taken at this focal length is about 1/10 of the length of the photo. Figures 1, 3, 5, and 7 are all direct shots of the entire photo without cropping. ?

4. Shooting mode?

Use landscape (distant view) mode and turn off the flash. ?

5. Tripod?

The focal length of 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom is equivalent to more than 400 mm! When shooting with a handheld camera, it is easy to shake, causing the sun's surroundings to be blurred or distorted. A tripod should be used. ?

Friends who don’t have a tripod can place the camera close to a corner, pillar, railing, etc. to reduce shaking, but avoid light poles because lights may be turned on during a solar eclipse! ?

6. Date and time calibration?

In order to leave accurate time on the photos, you should pay attention to calibrating the time of the digital camera. Based on the standard time of the National Time Service Center on the National Astronomical Website, the URL is: / 

The specific operation method is: adjust the time of the digital camera to one or two minutes after the current time, and wait for the standard time to reach this Press the "Confirm" button at any time to start synchronizing the time. The time error of the digital camera after calibration should be within 0.1 seconds. ?

The last time calibration work should be carried out on the evening of July 21. ?

Of course, your watch should also be calibrated to accurately time the eclipse. ?

7. The battery should be sufficient?

Not much to say, of course the battery should be sufficient. ?

8. What else can you watch? ?

Watching a total solar eclipse is not only about watching the waxing and waning changes of the sun, but there are also some things worth seeing: ?

① Bailey's beads: Like a beautiful diamond ring, only It can be seen for two very brief moments at the beginning and end of a total solar eclipse. ?

②Mercury: Mercury, which many people have seen in their lifetime, is to the east of the sun. It may be photographed in the area of ??total solar eclipse, so don’t miss it! Venus, Mars, Jupiter and the brightest star Sirius are also in the sky. Figure 9 is a star chart of the whole sky during a total solar eclipse. It is not difficult to identify according to this star chart.

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Everyone is welcome to put forward different opinions and discuss with each other, so as to make better preparations for taking pictures of the solar eclipse! ?

I hope there will be good weather! ?

(A Lone Boat and a Coat Hat? Finalized on 2009-5-26)