12 replies to this topic

[BillB]

Asking the much more experienced observers here for advice about recording video of totality...just totality...in April.

 

At my age this is probably my one and only chance to experience a total eclipse. I'm all set for pre and post totalilty viewing. What I would love to have is a decent video record of totality. I plan to pretty much just use my eyes to view totality. Sear the view into my brain. I don't want to be spending time doing much of anything else when totality starts. 

 

Soooo...my thought was I'd set up a phone or video camera and start recording when totality begins. Since there's not much of a way to practice this with an eclipse ahead of time, I'm seeking any suggestions fellow observers might have.

   Thx!

     BillB

[timelapser]

What kind of a view are you thinking - a wide angle showing the sun in the sky?  A view with people too?

 

The sun'll be pretty high from Texas so you may not get people/foreground unless you've got a really wide-angle lens.

 

Sound is deffnitely cool to have for a record of the hollering during totality!

[CreatorsHand]

Asking the much more experienced observers here for advice about recording video of totality...just totality...in April.

 

At my age this is probably my one and only chance to experience a total eclipse. I'm all set for pre and post totalilty viewing. What I would love to have is a decent video record of totality. I plan to pretty much just use my eyes to view totality. Sear the view into my brain. I don't want to be spending time doing much of anything else when totality starts. 

 

Soooo...my thought was I'd set up a phone or video camera and start recording when totality begins. Since there's not much of a way to practice this with an eclipse ahead of time, I'm seeking any suggestions fellow observers might have.

   Thx!

     BillB

I would love to have a video of totality myself, but I don't know how much of the corona a video camera will capture. The dynamic range of the corona far exceeds the dynamic range of a single digital image, and I assume that a video camera would have similar limitations.

 

Paul

[BillB]

timelapser:  Just a medium wide shot to show the corona. Understood about the altitude. No people. 

 

CreatorsHand: The wide dynaic range might be the deal killer.

Edited by BillB, 31 January 2024 - 07:46 PM.

[kfiscus]

I can't help you with video / photography advice but I can recommend that you record your voices and the voices of others.  Do a play-by-play of the things you see like stars and planets, the colors you see, the sharpness of the shadows, the approach of the moon's shadow, the temp drop, the sounds of wildlife, etc.  I was responsible for 400 peoples' experiences at an observing site in Nebraska in 2017.  One person who attended in the group recently shared his video that did many of the things I listed above.  I now treasure that video as better than any photograph or video that I could have done myself.  The feelings and memories it evokes are fresh and vivid.

 

He gave me permission to share the video that he had already posted on YouTube.  The terrible wind noise at the beginning drastically improves a couple of minutes into the video.  His video even captured shadow bands at around 15:00 which we used to be told were impossible to record.

 

Good luck.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=c66ycj6-O5c

Edited by kfiscus, 31 January 2024 - 08:43 PM.

[CreatorsHand]

CreatorsHand: The wide dynaic range might be the deal killer.

To create this HDR image of totality from 2017, I captured 7 images 2 stops apart between 1/2000 second and 2 seconds, which covers 12 stops in addition to the dynamic range of a single image, possibly another 10 stops, with a total dynamic range of 20 stops or more. When a friend of mine saw this image, he said it was exactly like what he remembered seeing that day. Our eyes can see that wide a range of light, but finding a movie camera that hase that wide a dynamic range would be a challenge.

 

Paul

 

[MEE]

Do you have 2 cameras? One wide angle to record rapid darkening, people reactions. One telephoto to zoom in a bit.
If so, have each on a tripod (or something sturdy) start recording a few min before totality
Of course, filter for the one aimed at the sun for partial phases, filter off for total

My video of 2017 eclipse: https://shorturl.at/flsD3

Eclipse part starts at abt 3:08

[winbag4]

Bill,

 

Here's a good video about an easy way to video totality. Dr. Telepun makes frequent appearances on this forum, going by the name of FoxwoodAstronomy.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=fmg01KYfjc0

[foxwoodastronomy]

Hi everyone, thanks for mentioning my work.

I think a long focal length video of the corona is good to do, but if you are not guiding you will need to move the camera during totality, especially with a 4 minute plus totality.

The exposure settings I teach for video are the same things that I teach for DSLR cameras. Use manual exposure and when using a GLASS solar filter on your video camera figure out an exposure that gives a balanced full solar disk image exposure that preserves the natural  limb darkening,  Remove the solar filter 20 to 30 seconds before C2, my app will make the time announcements and say remove filters at 20 seconds, but you can safely do it a bit earlier.  Getting a video of going through the phases of diamond ring, into beads, then chromosphere before the corona is almost better that corona itself.  With my exposure techniques discussed above you will be exposed for inner corona, so you will have to touch you camera to increase the exposure of the corona.  Then my app will begin announcing the times to C3.  Continue to video without the filter for 20 to 30 seconds after C3.  My app makes an announcement to replace solar filters at C3 plus 20 seconds.

 

But the other way to do it is setting up a drift technique as I discuss in the video with Destin. 

 

Here is a great way to video your observing site  I love doing this. https://youtu.be/PF0wS2JPcNA

 

Here is one of the interactive 360 videos where you can drag around the video with you mouse  https://youtu.be/WzC4aGE6heI

 

Here is a fisheye view of the umbra  https://youtu.be/jBEnt632IXk

 

Another 360 interactive video from 2019 with a different camera https://youtu.be/or8vYbemWJo

 

Another fun thing to try https://youtu.be/g9bc7k--x7E

 

I have an entire chapter in my eclipse preparation book devoted to video.

 

A image from my video chapter with a trick to have a solar filter on a camcorder with a flat front

 

Gordon

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Edited by foxwoodastronomy, 01 February 2024 - 04:34 PM.

[Dangerdan]

To create this HDR image of totality from 2017, I captured 7 images 2 stops apart between 1/2000 second and 2 seconds, which covers 12 stops in addition to the dynamic range of a single image, possibly another 10 stops, with a total dynamic range of 20 stops or more. When a friend of mine saw this image, he said it was exactly like what he remembered seeing that day. Our eyes can see that wide a range of light, but finding a movie camera that hase that wide a dynamic range would be a challenge.

 

Paul

 

2017 Solar Eclipse.jpg

Very nice - well done.

[BillB]

Lots of great info! Thx everyone. 

 

Currently thinking that my original thought of recording totality in a medium wide shot is probably impracticle due to the wide dynamic range.

 

Plan B may be a simple wide shot time lapse of the area where I'll be viewing...even if it doesn't show the sun.

  Thx all!

[CreatorsHand]

Very nice - well done.

Thank you Dangerdan!

[Cajundaddy]

A wide video of totality on a fixed tripod can be an interesting shot.  You can practice this on the moon to get the shot framing you like and it will be a similar exposure.  Forget about those outer corona streamers as they require a tracking mount, a LOT more dynamic range and complex exposure bracketing.  

Also a landscape shot to capture the reactions of people as the sky darkens.  This was one of my favorites from both 1999 and 2017.

Edited by Cajundaddy, 03 February 2024 - 02:06 PM.