Quote:
Originally Posted by mishku
Are you talking about taking a HEQ5 up for the eclipse? Correct me if I'm wrong, please, someone, but you shouldn't need a mount, a tripod will suffice?
|
The EG mount will allow me not to continually reframe the eclipse.
I also plan to run the Eclipse Orchestrator software so that the photography side of things is automated and I am not fusing around trying to get the shot and miss out on enjoying the eclipse. If it does not seem to work, I can always take over, but I suspect that once things are in motion, I will either forget about the camera or make mistakes as I would have to work quickly. I normally shoot landscapes so I am used to taking my time.
I guess it is pretty extreme and I could get OK results with my current gear, but I think the tracking ability of an EG mount and the stiffness I would get out of the HEQ5 setup would handle my camera gear which will weigh about 4.5kgs. (300/2.8+2x+7D)
With a focal length around 960mm , reducing shutter vibration is a priority as well as for longer exposures, the movement of the earth blurring things.
My current tripod, Really Right Stuff TVC-33 is stiff but with such a long focal length I think I will want something more sturdy.
I have being using this exposure chart as a guide to what settings I will need to run for what features I want to photograph.
http://mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html
For my focal length I will have about 1.5 Solar radii either side of the total eclipse, so I will need to run shutter speeds down to the Corona 2.0Rs rows.
As the eclipse is at only 14degs above the horizon, I may have to run lower shutter speeds due to the atmosphere.
Stopping the lens down 1 stop to improve image quality, I can run f8. At 100 ISO, this means I will have 8 pixels worth of blur without a EQ mount, if my calcs are correct.
Considering I will do some astrophotography as well, I may as well buy one decent mount to begin with. In terms of camera tripods, I am on my 4th tripod as my equipment became heavier and my need for sharper images became a lot higher. So I want to avoid this as much as possible.
I am open to suggestions though.