Suitable Bridge Camera For August's Eclipse

[Mikey0368]

I see there's another thread about photographing the eclipse but I'm looking at a bridge camera, not a dslr, so I though I'd start a new thread.

I'm planning on replacing my existing camera anyway but I'd like to get something that'll take good eclipse pictures too. I have a solar filter sheet on order from Amazon and the plan is to make a cap for it that I can use during the partial phase and then remove it during totality.

There are some pretty pricey options out there but I'm hoping to stay at around £250 and I've spotted this one....

https://www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk/catalogue/item/N066276W?from=category&heat=title

Is there any reason not to go for that one and are there any better options at around that price?

Thanks.

[Stub Mandrel]

Check if it has full manual control. I have a Nikon  P520D and it is excellent, the manual control makes it possible to photograph planets (very small) and constellations (DSOs other than M42 & M45 are pretty much out of reach). It does a great job on the moon and sun (I have photographed the sun through even cloud with it) but the manual exposure is essential to success. It also has a 40x optical zoom (1000mm equivalent)  (80x = 2000mm equivalent(!) with digital zoom). The image stabilisation is epic, but I use a tripod for planets.

 

[Mikey0368]

Cheers for that. It does indeed have a manual option.....

Quote

Focusing - Autofocus & manual

Do you use a filter that's available for your camera to take pictures of the sun or did you make your own? They're really good pictures.

[Stub Mandrel]

That was done with dense even cloud early in the morning!

I used a welder's glass to get pictures of the eclipse, but it didn't work very well. I would get a bit of Baader solar film and make a filter holder out of card, then whip it off for totality.

[Mikey0368]

10 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 I would get a bit of Baader solar film and make a filter holder out of card, then whip it off for totality.

That's the plan and this is what I've ordered.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DS7S52W/ref=sxr_pa_click_within_right_1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_p=1217638827&pf_rd_r=AEHDGH0V6W5MKKDCYTND&pd_rd_wg=UbHML&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhs-carousels&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_w=oChBk&pf_rd_i=baader+solar+film&pd_rd_r=1QC0JAV2VXWRBE2AAZ01&psc=1

Thanks again.

[Stub Mandrel]

That will be fine, some users have claimed the Baader film reveals finer detail than the Thousand Oaks one but for an Eclipse that's a bit academic.

[Mikey0368]

Sorry, one more question.

I've attached the Manual Focus instructions. Is there anything missing or does it do the job?

Manual Focus.pdf

[Stub Mandrel]

It looks very similar to my camera.

It is a bit awkward to focus with the wheel, even on a tripod, but because it's always the same lens you can work out exactly where the 'true infinity' point is. Always frame the subject then focus (my camera always switches to 10x zoom for this).

It is more fiddly than turning the barrel of a lens, but should work fine, better than AF for astro objects, rarely if ever better for brighter earth-bound objects or the moon.

[Mikey0368]

Brilliant, thanks.

[Stub Mandrel]

Last bit of advice - get lots of practice ahead of time AND take some test shots before the big event on the day.

I screwed up last night taking 100ISO shots of the moon, then forgetting to switch to 800 ISO for a couple of hours subs of a galaxy

[bejay1957]

There will always be a trade-off of ultimate image quality against zoom range with the smaller-sensor bridges*; but as a long-time Panasonic user/fan with various models (FS, TZ, FZ, and G), I can only put a vote for the brand.

*I now have the FZ1000K, it has less optical zoom but with the 1" sensor I have more scope to crop from the larger image.

[StormAurora]

I use a Sony Cybershot HX300 and it is outstanding for normal photography as well as some astrophotography. It has a 50x zoom on optical and 200x digital, equivalent to 1200mm.

I have taken images of the sun with the Baader solar film, great sharp moon shots and the last partial eclipse. Night sky photography is also very good. It has automatic and full manual control. 

I love it!

Good luck with finding something suitable.

[Stub Mandrel]

It's clear that decent bridge cameras are way past where top end DSLRs were 15-20 years ago.

[Mikey0368]

Cheers folks. I've ordered the Lumix.

[happy-kat]

On 02/04/2017 at 15:04, Stub Mandrel said:

 I used a welder's glass to get pictures of the eclipse, but it didn't work very well. I would get a bit of Baader solar film and make a filter holder out of card, then whip it off for totality.

Just wanted to add in case anyone reads this at a later date as far as I've read never use welder's glass for visual solar observing. (A general thought, just recalled the discussion following the news coverage after the eclipse).

[Stub Mandrel]

Just to finess the point, both Sky and Telescope and NASA say a number 14 or darker welding glass is OK for NAKED EYE observation ONLY. Welders glass is definitely NOT suitable for use with a telescope or binoculars.

It's not much cop even for photography anyway as you get internal reflections.

 

[Mikey0368]

I made myself a solar filter and I'm pretty pleased with the results. These pictures were taken with auto focus but I'll start dabbling with the manual focus through the week.

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Consider a tripod, even with short exposures I found it makes auto focusing much easier.

[Mikey0368]

On 4/2/2017 at 00:43, Stub Mandrel said:

 

I had a crack at photographing Jupiter tonight and I got nowhere near your example. What settings should I be using?

Thanks.

[Stub Mandrel]

Under expose Jupiter, you shouldn't be able to see the moons.

Take several dozen images using a tripod.

Here's the sort of single sub you can aim for(this is Saturn, not Jupiter). In this case I took fifty subs:

It's a bit under-exposed so here's a stretch to show what it contains:

Put through PIPP using a low detection threshold so it crops each image down to a square around with jupiter centred and makes a short avi.

Stack in AS!2 using the 'resample' option. The subs were are4 reasonbably good so i stacked 90% of them

Tweak in your favourite imaging program. This is the final Saturn image:

 

 

[Mikey0368]

Thank you, I'll give that a go when it's clear and not windy!