What's your planned setup for the Solar Eclipse?

[Paul Haese]

Brian as being a former resident of Cairns I know where Crocs reside. For the most part they stick to the estuaries but will occassionally go onto a beach. However, they tend to be a bit like snakes, they don't really like humans and will shy away from them most of the time in populated areas. Especially when you consider that there will be lots of people about making noise. I don't think there will be much to worry about. Just one of the locals having a little lend of you.

Joe I had thought of the boards a couple of weeks ago, even compact sand will slowly give way and that might not be a good thing during an eclipse.

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

Paul Haese wrote :

Just one of the locals having a little lend of you.

Paul,
No she wasn't, unless you think the Cairns Post is in on it as well.
http://www.cairns.com.au/article/201...ocal-news.html


My old EQ mount had custom cast aluminium legs 40mm wide 800mm long. Yet it sank into the desert sand easily and quite unevenly ie one leg sank more than the others. As it did, more weight was transferred onto it so that the mount kept leaning over more and more. I just had to work with it, keep leveling and and keep correcting the mount pointing position. I was shooting images for a feature story on eclipses for Australian Geographic and hence couldn't afford to fail. The total eclipse from Cameron Corner was only 25s duration so once we were into totality, it didn't have time to move. The problems encountered were during the partial eclipse. By eclipse end, the legs had sunk about 200mm into the sand.

Joe

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

Paul,
The boards for the feet are a good idea. Essential really. I imagine 150mm square boards would be big enough. I will add those to my gear.
My only SE was watching in the desert between Woomera & Tambo in 2002 and mount feet sinking was about the only problem I didn't have.

Joe,
Been over your pages and appreciate the wealth of info you are giving us and the experience that went into accumulating it. I will want to pick your brains later on exposure bracketing for coronal images with my setup.
Took a few test shots of the moon last night and 380mm FL with the full frame 5D is as long a focal length as I would possibly want for corona shots. Best exposure was 1/400 sec @ 800 ISO through the FSQ with reducer.

Looking at the moon size I would want at the very minimum 1000 mm FL for full frame shots of prominences but won't be going down that track.

Thanks for the info, Brian Coote

[gregbradley]

One thing to keep in mind with DSLRs is that maximum dynamic range of these DSLRs is always at base ISO - ie ISO100.

Depending on the brand and model that then falls off fairly quikcly so a doubling of ISO often means a hlaving of dynamic range.

Some of these eclipse shots seem to have extremely large dynamic range (the diamond ring for example).

So it would be a better strategy to use lower shutter speed before you use high ISO.

Up to ISO400-800, again depending on the camera, dynamic range should not be affected too much.

Greg.

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

Hi Greg,
I have never used my Canon 5D for astronomy. The tonal graduations on these new chips are really awesome to me. At ISO 1600 shots taken in Cathedrals (and the Mosque in Cordoba Spain) showed more detail than I was seeing with my naked eye.
Using a Canon D60 in 2002 for solar prominences was the only time I have used a DSLR for Astro use.

If ISO 1600 cut the dynamic range to 1/16 of what is possible you would expect pretty ordinary results I would think. I have always assumed it was a matter of the amplifier factor applied to the basic image. I know if I increased the Canon D60 to ISO-800 I got visible noise but cannot see any apparent noise in the 5D at ISO-1600.

But this was all an assumption on my part and something I will have to resolve before our SE.
For flares etc the ISO can easily stay at 100 but for corona images having the highest clean ISO setting has distinct advantages.

Thanks for the input, I will try and further check this out.
Brian Coote

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

Just looked up a Cnet review
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57...n-sensor-test/
On their tests the Ev drops from 14 at ISO-100 to Ev 10.5 at ISO-1600
I have the Mk: 11 which is slightly worse than this.

Despite this I will still probably go for 400-800 ISO as I feel I am only looking for a limited portion of the data unlike say galaxies where you have everything from no signal to oversaturated in the one image group.
But I am certainly open to correction on this.

Joe Cali would you mind telling us what ISO setting you recommend for corona images?

Brian Coote

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

Originally Posted by bcoote

Just looked up a Cnet review
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57...n-sensor-test/
On their tests the Ev drops from 14 at ISO-100 to Ev 10.5 at ISO-1600
I have the Mk: 11 which is slightly worse than this.

Despite this I will still probably go for 400-800 ISO as I feel I am only looking for a limited portion of the data unlike say galaxies where you have everything from no signal to over-saturated in the one image group.
But I am certainly open to correction on this.

Joe Cali would you mind telling us what ISO setting you recommend for corona images?

Brian Coote

In my film days, I used ISO 400 pro-color neg film. Wedding photographer film because it had a wider exposure latitude. Since going digital, I always use the lowest ISO - either 80 on my new camera or 100 on my older camera.

Optical systems are f6-f8

Shutter speeds :
Every shutter speed in 1 eV increments from 1/1000-1/60 for diamond ring
Every shutter speed in 1 eV increments from 1/4000 - 4s for corona.
Earth shine - 8s

The corona has an enormous dynamic range - much bigger than a galaxy.

My best composites are stacks of all 14 stops or 15 if you include the Earthshine and I still struggle to control the contrast.

The dynamic ranges in eV determined by DxO labs (I imagine the CNET tests are similar) don't translate directly to usable stops of exposure latitude on a camera. They are purely a mechanism for comparing sensors. Don't for a moment think you can get a practical 14 eV dynamic working range out of an image even if the sensor test indicates a 14eV range. The usable range is still probably only 6-8eV.

Joe

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

Gee Joe! Talk about destroy my assumptions. And now is the time to do it not after I get to Cairns.
I want to try and get this straight in my head.
If you would tell me where I am off track for my revised sequence please.

Canon 5D Mk 2 on Tak FSQ106-EDX with Tak Reducer > 385mm @ F 3.64 on EQ6

1: Canon in LiveView with mirror Locked up

2. ISO set to 100

3. This is the falling off the cliff bit. How do I run a full shutter sequence from 1/4000 to 4 secs. Twice if possible.

I have just got a Phottix timer from Hong Kong but as far as I can see the maximum number of bracketed exposures is 7 at one stop steps. If I want a 4 sec longest exposure this would only give me from 1/60 to 4 secs.

Is there a PC program I can run off a laptop to give 1/4000 to 4 secs limited only by the speed of writing to the card?

I assume (again after being wrong every time before) that the shortest exposures are to capture the corona close to the sun, and so on further out from the sun???

I will try and limit myself to no more than 5 questions (and 2 or 3 assumptions) per post.

Thanks Joe,

Brian Coote

[bojan]

Originally Posted by bcoote

Is there a PC program I can run off a laptop to give 1/4000 to 4 secs limited only by the speed of writing to the card?..

There are two of them:
Eclipse Orchestrator and SET'C
http://www.moonglowtech.com/products...or/index.shtml
http://robertnufer.ch/06_computing/setnc/SETnC_page.htm

I wonder if both of them can run on the same computer... (can't try this here where I am at the moment...)

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

I see where Eclipse Orchestrator will run two of some Canon DSLRs simultaneously which is OK if you are running Canon gear.
I could run a ring sequence from the Phottix timer. And the mount is big enough.
Have downloaded both programs and will try them ASAP.
Brian Coote

[Phil Hart]

I am finalising a quote with 'The Moving Group' to freight gear from Melbourne to Cairns for the solar eclipse. So if you have gear you would like shipped to Cairns, please let me know!

A contact has kindly agreed to receive the gear at his work located in North Cairns not far from the airport.

For a telescope, mount, counterweights and a small box of additional gear, I expect the cost to be around $150 each way (ie. $300 total returned to Melbourne). You need to be prepared to contribute a bit more if things don't work out quite as I hope.

Most of your gear should be in sturdy crates to survive the journey and pack efficiently into the truck, but the removalists can wrap up a few things like telescope tripods etc.

Leaving Melbourne on Thursday 25th October, it should all arrive in Cairns on Friday 2nd November or worst case the next delivery on Friday 9th November. Of course, I can't and won't be held responsible for any delays or damage.. you join in at your own risk!

There should be reasonable flexibility with picking up the gear in Cairns.. with hopefully a time available in the afternoon of Saturday 10th or Sunday 11th November. Picking up during business hours either side of the weekend will also be ok. Then everything should be returned during business hours in the day or two after the eclipse.

If you want to join in this scheme, here's what you need to do:

1) Send me an email (via profile link)
2) List exactly what you want shipped, including dimensions and approximate weight
3) Bring the gear to my place in Hawthorn to be ready for collection in the few days before Thursday 25th October

Once I receive your request, I'll reply to arrange payment and a time for dropping off your gear.

cheers
Phil
0438 037 567

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

My original plan of just using a tripod, the 550D and a 300mm lens just went out the window.
I took delivery of a Polarie + clouds last week.
If the clouds ever disappear, I'm hoping to give it a few practice runs before Cairns.

[bojan]

Originally Posted by bcoote

I see where Eclipse Orchestrator will run two of some Canon DSLRs simultaneously which is OK if you are running Canon gear....

This applies for EO pro version ($100 !!! ).
I am trying to avoid that cost ... and free version works with one camera only, and it doesn't support serial cable (pro version does, it seems).
SETnC controls one camera only (including 60D.. and scripting is really easy to do).

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

This applies for EO pro version ($100 !!! ).
I am trying to avoid that cost ... and free version works with one camera only, and it doesn't support serial cable (pro version does, it seems).
SETnC controls one camera only (including 60D.. and scripting is really easy to do).

So you are wanting to run off an old laptop with a DB9 serial COM1 or whatever socket?
I have an old IBM Thinkpad I could probably cart up there for you.

Have found my Phottix Timer is not any use at all for this. The shortest exposure on a 1 stop change sequence is 0.1 sec

Brian Coote

[bcoote (Brian Coote)]

[QUOTE=philiphart;899457]

I am finalising a quote with 'The Moving Group' to freight gear from Melbourne to Cairns for the solar eclipse. So if you have gear you would like shipped to Cairns, please let me know!

A contact has kindly agreed to receive the gear at his work located in North Cairns not far from the airport.

For a telescope, mount, counterweights and a small box of additional gear, I expect the cost to be around $150 each way (ie. $300 total returned to Melbourne). You need to be prepared to contribute a bit more if things don't work out quite as I hope.

Thanks for the offer Phil.
We will be driving to Brisbane and my eldest son will be taking us from there in his 4WD and camper trailer.
Eclipse in 2002 we drove out west of Woomera with C1700 GEM in a trailer with 130mm f8 scope. Found the C1700 was in component parts when we got there and completely unusable. Scope was fine.
Ended up using the Canon D60 with a 400mm Sigma lens on Manfrotto tripod.

Still an unforgettable 20 something sec eclipse.

Thanks, Brian

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

Originally Posted by bcoote

Gee Joe! Talk about destroy my assumptions. And now is the time to do it not after I get to Cairns.
I want to try and get this straight in my head.
If you would tell me where I am off track for my revised sequence please.

Canon 5D Mk 2 on Tak FSQ106-EDX with Tak Reducer > 385mm @ F 3.64 on EQ6

1: Canon in LiveView with mirror Locked up

2. ISO set to 100

3. This is the falling off the cliff bit. How do I run a full shutter sequence from 1/4000 to 4 secs. Twice if possible.

I have just got a Phottix timer from Hong Kong but as far as I can see the maximum number of bracketed exposures is 7 at one stop steps. If I want a 4 sec longest exposure this would only give me from 1/60 to 4 secs.

Is there a PC program I can run off a laptop to give 1/4000 to 4 secs limited only by the speed of writing to the card?

I assume (again after being wrong every time before) that the shortest exposures are to capture the corona close to the sun, and so on further out from the sun???

I will try and limit myself to no more than 5 questions (and 2 or 3 assumptions) per post.

Thanks Joe,

Brian Coote

Brian,

The sequence looks fine and your assumption about short and long exposures for inner outer corona is correct. I edited my previous post to say shoot all shutter speeds in 1 eV increments. If anyone interprets it to shoot every half stop or worse every third stop they'll be there all day. Miloslav Druckmuller even advocates 2eV increments but I prefer 1eV.

My personal preference is not to have a bright glaring live view screen on during totality. So I use live view to focus on the limb through the filter just before totality as I've described then switch it off. My preview function will also be switched off. But if you think you need it on and don't mind the effect on your night vision that's your choice.

Solar Eclipse Ochestrator can only control one camera for the freeware version but Solar Eclipse Maestro can control up to 4 cameras. Maestro is OSx so you'd have to beg or borrow an old Mac Laptop. I have a 2006 Macbook running 10.5 that runs it easily.


Re-14eV dynamic range
The DxO Labs Web Site states : -

"Dynamic range falls rapidly with higher ISO settings, as any analog or digital amplification performed will increase the noise in the darker areas, making it harder to distinguish between fine levels of contrast.

Maximum dynamic range is the greatest possible amplitude between light and dark details a given sensor can record, and is expressed in EVs (exposure values) or f-stops, with each increase of 1 EV (or one stop) corresponding to twice the amount of light.

Dynamic range corresponds to the ratio between the highest brightness a camera can capture (saturation) and the lowest brightness it can capture (typically when noise becomes more important than the signal, i.e., a signal-to-noise ratio below 0 dB).

A value of 12 EV is excellent, with differences below 0.5 EV usually not noticeable."

I know this sounds as though a dynamic range(DR) value of 14eV means you can capture a 14 stop exposure range in one shot. This in turn corresponds to the contrast ratio of the corona.

Pictures on my web site of three total eclipses since 2008 were taken with a 2006 release camera with an 11.6eV DR rating yet they show nothing like an 11 stop DR. A lot of pictures have been taken with 11-12eV cameras like the Canon 5D-same result.

No experienced eclipse photographers I know are abandoning bracketing and shooting single exposures. At 14eV, these new cameras have 2-3 stops less noise and do have more dynamic range than the12eV generation of cameras we've been using since 2007 - Canon 40D, 400D, 5D etc which have ~ 11eV ratings.

This is a welcome improvement but shouldn't abrogate the need for bracketing. I'd recommend you bracket and then see if you can use a single exposure or limited range of exposures to create a masterpiece while having the full bracket set to fall back on.

cheers

Joe
http://joe-cali.com/eclipses

[bojan]

Originally Posted by bcoote

So you are wanting to run off an old laptop with a DB9 serial COM1 or whatever socket?
I have an old IBM Thinkpad I could probably cart up there for you.

Brian, thanks for the offer, but no need - I have USB-serial adapter that works with DSLR_Shutter on Lenovo lap (w7 home premium) without problems.

However, I would like to drive two cameras from one lap, both via USB (so that I can have a full control of both of them).
Here (in Beijing, where I am at the moment) I have only 60D.. so I can't experiment too much.

It is possible to use DSLR_Shutter (or separate timer) with 60d (and possibly other models) provided camera is placed into exposure bracketing and burst mode. Then, if timer exposure time (actually, this is the time activation signal is active) is set to couple of seconds, the camera will take 3 exposures, with programmed exposure +- bracket.

To cover the full required range of exposures, the camera shutter must be operated manually,which is not good, but if necessary, it is possible.

[Becstar (Rebecca)]

I'll just be using my Fuji Finepix S4000 on full 30x zoom with a bit of yellow light solar film blutacked to the lense. I'm on a tight budget so anything fancier is out of reached for me.

It worked beautifully for the Venus transit and I'm hoping it will come out just as well for this eclipse. I'm in Gippsland so the eclipse will be partial only, but I'm still almost jumping out of my skin with excitement about it!

I also have some white light mylar solar film that was a fail with the Venus transit as the brightness obscured Venus. But I'm hoping it will be a good tool for the solar eclipse.

[Becstar (Rebecca)]

That said, I think I'll die of heartbreak if it clouds over that morning. We had torrential rain and flooding the day and night before the Venus transit and I was convinced I was going to miss it. Yet somehow the clouds parted for me the next morning just long enough to see it for a couple of hours before clouding over again.

[bojan]

Originally Posted by Becstar

That said, I think I'll die of heartbreak if it clouds over that morning....

Jocelyn from Elysium Apartments says there is a pub across the road