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Tricky69

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ok - I am completely new to all this. Ive read up on a few websites before I chose my camera (xmas pressie :) )

Sorry if this is in the wrong section - tell me, and I'll re-post it :)

so - here goes ...

a few questions, if you dont mind :)


1st - how do you take a photo of the sun without going blind :lol:

2nd I tok a few photo's of the sunrise this morning. The sun was just above the horizon and a tree was silhouetted against it. My eye could see the tree, the sun, and the sky. How do I catch that on camera without blowing out the tree or loosing everything to black. I used various setting , right down to the fastest shutter, smallest aperture and lowest ISO to try and stop the sun taking over . what settings are best ? is this where ?bracketting? comes into play ?

3rd - now stop me before I get carried away, but this crop, whilst I was processing, seems to show solar activity ! can this be so ? can my humble 450d capture solar flares ? I'd be very interested if it could :)

solar.jpg
 
dont you have to have a circle that covers the sun perfectly on/infront of the lens so this then lets you see the flares ect?

just stuff i have seen on telly, i dont know anything LOL
 
I have no idea, but that makes sense :)
 
isn't there a pos of that much direct light burning out sensor pixels or do you need a big zooom on?
 
1. You have a 450D so use the live view feature to avoid looking directly at the sun.

2. You could try adding a ND Filter or 2 that will help get the shutter speed down.

3. :thinking: :shake:
 
Im not convinced on how to do this but I would suggest that its going to be hard to do this in the one shot.

eg - if you expose for the tree then the sky/sun will bt too light and if you expose for the sun, you'll get what you've got now (no detail on the tree)

One solution if you're photoshop savvy would be to take 2 shots, expose the first for the tree and the second for the sun then merge the two.

Really need to get the brightness of the sun down though with some filters.

As i said at the start - more a guess than an actual solution.

As for your solar activity are you referring to the top right part at the edge of the sun? That just looks to me like light bleeding around the branches of the tree...
 
:agree: You need several shots I would suggest spot meter near to the sun with an ND filter then do the same for the foreground / background etc.

I also think it's worth remembering that if you magnify the suns image through a telephoto lens for even a fairly short time you could easily cook your camera or your eye :eek:

And yes you could catch Solar flares with your camera if you spend serious ££££,s on the right equipment :) and no the image above is not Solar activity, but looks interesting :D
 
I watched the program "the sky at night" the other night, they talked about taking pictures of the sun using a hydrogen alpha filter so u can see all the burning hydrogen and get some cracking shots, now this was through telescopes but I think it’s running along the same basis for cameras, there was another bit of important info thow, the guy talked about not pointing certain lens types at the sun. The Episode is still on the bbc iplayer so check it out. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to link so just search for the program. it’s about 15 mins in, worth a watch..

Hope this helps,

Ste
 
I'm not a solar expert, but ...

1) You can use Liveview on the 450d, but ... you will run the risk of potentially burning either the sensor, the shutter, both or more.... There's also a risk of heat buildup in the lens and body and given the propensity for plastic components.....

2) Maybe Bracket, Maybe filters... I don't know on that one.

3) You really need a pretty big focal length to get the flares, ok they are huge, but by comparison to the size of that big ball of gas they ain't. Then you will also need some specialist solar filters, I think you can image the flares using the Baader Astro solar film, not expensive, but you have to be really careful, and check before use everytime. If you want to get the granularity of the surface and all sorts of other interesting detail, you need special Ha kit.... and for that you are talking money....

Looking at and imaging the Sun is Dangerous both to you (skin if your liveview turns off and your hand is behind the viewfinder, this will burn), your eyesight and your equipment. I attended an Astro Soc meeting, where one of the countries most renowned Solar Imager was giving a talk and the one point he drove home again and again through all of the presentation and talk, is how dangerous this can be if you are not prepared and protected.
 
jgs001 said:
I'm not a solar expert, but ...

1) You can use Liveview on the 450d, but ... you will run the risk of potentially burning either the sensor, the shutter, both or more.... There's also a risk of heat buildup in the lens and body and given the propensity for plastic components.....

2) Maybe Bracket, Maybe filters... I don't know on that one.

3) You really need a pretty big focal length to get the flares, ok they are huge, but by comparison to the size of that big ball of gas they ain't. Then you will also need some specialist solar filters, I think you can image the flares using the Baader Astro solar film, not expensive, but you have to be really careful, and check before use everytime. If you want to get the granularity of the surface and all sorts of other interesting detail, you need special Ha kit.... and for that you are talking money....

Looking at and imaging the Sun is Dangerous both to you (skin if your liveview turns off and your hand is behind the viewfinder, this will burn), your eyesight and your equipment. I attended an Astro Soc meeting, where one of the countries most renowned Solar Imager was giving a talk and the one point he drove home again and again through all of the presentation and talk, is how dangerous this can be if you are not prepared and protected.
Click to expand...


Good advice John :thumbs: but Baader film will ony really show sunspots and some people claim granular structure but sorry, no flares :)

Steve
 
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