For anybody interested, I have attached a copy of my current Eclipse Orchestrator script and the resulting exposure sequence. 85 exposures in about 2min 35secs but working ok so far. I still can't get the RELEASE command to work reliably so am sticking to TAKEPIC which effectively functions the same way for me when the gap between shots is short (since it fires via the serial cable whatever state the camera is in).
Interested to hear any comments/questions and also to see scripts from experienced others!
I can certainly support what Paul and Greg have said, and knowing your gear and keeping it simple is advice I give often as well. But I guess with an eclipse, you have to balance several factors and each individual has to make their own choice about that.
Automated scripting is not for beginners, but if you want to image at multiple focal lengths I don't really see any alternative. It also provides a degree of optimisation of exposures at each eclipse stage that is very difficult otherwise, particularly with fine-tuning of mirror-lockup delays.
The automated approach is an all-or-nothing bet, but I plan to ignore the camera during totality and if the computer control is a wipe out then I won't have lost out on the visual experience. Of course, I'm very painfully aware that all this preparation and practice could be for nothing more than a beautiful image of some nice puffy cumulus clouds!
Phil