Quote:
Originally Posted by pluto
I was very careful to make sure there was no gap (it snapped into the internal thread so it was very secure and was a snug fit) and I never looked through the viewfinder, only at the screen, so the worst that could happen was the camera would be damaged.
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My comments were aimed more at anyone who might copy your method than they were at yourself!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pluto
I made it that way as I wanted a filter that could be removed quickly and precisely during totality and then be replaced as totality ended.
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I was thinking that you (or someone copying your method) could still achieve that using multiple short pieces of masking tape all the way around the perimeter of the filter frame, leaving the thread clear to allow installation / removal without running any risk of light leakage due to handling etc.
I got some reasonable shots of the transit of Venus in June 2012, and the Cairns solar eclipse in November 2012 (in the few minutes when the sun wasn't obscured by clouds
!) using a Variable ND400 Filter (i.e. a coupled pair of polarising filters) on my 300 mm telephoto on my Canon DLSR (500 mm / 35 mm equivalent), but I hesitate to recommend this to others because polarised filters need to be very good quality to achieve the block-out (when crossed) which is necessary for safe solar viewing - and you need to be VERY careful not to accidentally rotate the front element during viewing. The solar film method is generally much safer.