Saturday 15 February 2014

Sunspots

A couple of days ago I attempted to shoot some video of the Sun. With the 70D 3x digital zoom and the 100-400mm lens it was possible to have the Sun fill the frame. I guess the equivalent focal length used would have been 900-1000mm. That bit worked out well. Unfortunately, in spite of the sturdy tripod, the gusty wind gave enough vibration to make the video unwatchable. On the other hand when I grabbed a still from the video it was clear enough to use:

Still video grab Sun 001
This still shot showing a line of Sunspots is as grabbed from the video with no processing or cropping.


For anyone who hasn't seen the previous post on photographing the Sun please note that the only safe way to keep your eyesight and an unfried camera is to use a solar filter designed for that job.


6 comments:

  1. Great still from the video and amazing that you didn't have to crop or process it! Very impressive.

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  2. This is getting interesting. I looked into this a year or so ago.
    You need a still day.
    I also read that focus is a problem. I seem to recall that there is a cheap filter to aid focus....,Bahtinov I think it's called. I don't know whether it would work on the sun.
    I'm waiting to see the flaming gas on the edge.

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    Replies
    1. Adrian. Auto spot focus works well when shooting stills. I use manual for video to stop it hunting.
      I think it needs a different light wavelength to show up flares. They are so short lived I would be very lucky to be in the right place at the right time anyway!

      You can, with a bit of patience, make your own filter with Baader AstroSolar Safety Film. It is sold in A4 sheets. I think that gives b/w photos.

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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