Eclipse 4-15-14 tips and tricks

[Kirscovitch]

Just a few days left until the eclipse. I know a lot of members here on SGL won't be able to see it so I would like to make the most of this opportunity to get the best images I can so I have a few questions that I hope the answers will help me get the best shots I can.

1. Normally when I do my imaging I set the white balance to automatic. Should I be setting this to something else?

2. The VX has a few different modes of tracking. On a normal night for visual and possible imaging work I leave it on the default sidereal tracking. But for the eclipse should I set it for Lunar? How much of a difference is there in the tracking rates?

I've been looking forward to this since I got my first scope last November and I heard about the full eclipse. Forecast is looking pretty good. Snow flurries and rain showers during the day and afternoon but mostly clear skies around 11pm.

Any other tips or advice to capture the moment would be appreciated and I hope I can get some good images to share with those that will not be able to see it.

[Vanilla]

I'll be trying the same scenario.

I plan to use no filters

I'll take several shots at different settings, (nobody really knows if the moon will be light, dark, more or less red or what)

I'll use Lunar settings.

Whatever you do, don't assume I fully know what I'm doing. This is my first time.

Gook Skies!

[ejwwest]

Here's some examples from the 2007 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejwwest/sets/72157594571245814/ ) and 2008 (very cloudy: 

) that I took using the Canon 100-400mm lens and 2x extender (so 800mm f/11). I typically took 10-20s shots mid eclipse and had it piggy back mounted on a scope tracking Lunar (though in 2007 I discovered I hadn't locked the drive so many shots came out blurred).

I'd try different exposures and would suggest shooting in RAW so you can adjust the white balance later if necessary.

For lunar eclipses you should have, weather permitting, plenty of time to try out different settings - unlike a solar eclipse during totality. Oh, I'd take off all UV filters (definitely do that in a solar eclipse should you be planning ahead for 2017) so you don't find reflections from bright areas on the final images.