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Shooting the sun

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Unda Covalava

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How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
 
I heard that the sun can damage the sensor.

Mike
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
--
300D Gallery:
http://tkis.com/mike/

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift. -- Albert Einstein

 
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
I assume you mean at sunset/rise? at those times you can look at the sun and not fry anything. if you can look at the sun without the camera then you can look at it with the camera too.

if you are talking about other times of the day...why would you want to?
 
If the sun is very low (like sunset) you still should not stare at sun, but can look at it. Always err on the cautious side.

A low and dim sun (no worries):



A low but bright sun (don't stare at it):



Or a higher sun (don't look at it):



Al
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
 
You can always open a zoom up wide, take a shot in the general direction and look at the result on the LCD without ever looking through the viewfinder. Adjust until you have the sun where you want it. Zoom in if you want. Take another test shot. Look at result and adjust. Take your picture. It really isn't that hard and you never need to look at it directly.

Do be aware that if you do this at other than sunset or sundown, you could ruin your equipment if you leave it pointed there very long. You might want to cover the lens for all but the second it takes to make a shot. Magnifying glasses start wonderful fires in leaves, etc. You don't want to be ruining something important like your eyes or camera equipment.

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http://www.marius.org/eos300dfaq.php

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See my profile for my equipment
 
coty41 said:
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
I assume you mean at sunset/rise? at those times you can look at
the sun and not fry anything. if you can look at the sun without
the camera then you can look at it with the camera too.

if you are talking about other times of the day...why would you
want to?
Click to expand...
You need a solar filter. Get one from an astronomy supplier. I use one all the time, sometimes I get some great sun spots. I just started using my new Drebal with a Tamron 500 mirror and a home made filter made with solar filter material that you can get to make custom sizes. I used it on my Leica R4 in Mexico in '91 to shoot the total eclipse of the sun.
 
Noisebeam,

Your 2nd and 3rd shots, how did you got them without being worried about your sensor ???

I was thinking the same question for days...
noisebeam said:
A low and dim sun (no worries):



A low but bright sun (don't stare at it):



Or a higher sun (don't look at it):



Al
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
At 14hrs, I was shooting for the newest sunspots using a good polarizing filter on my 50-500. Suddenly a stange smell ! Look around... Anyhow, someone whould be smoking. Take the shot.. Huh.. A black area in the middle of the picture ?? What it could be ???

I tried a few animal shots with the bigma but the big spot was still there, Hmmm probably a really big dust particle ! Or a small fly run in to the camera when I was installing the bigma !

Anyhow, I prepared the Eclipse and Pec-Pads, cleaning mode !! Oh no !! A small circle in the middle of the sensor, impossible to clean with pec-pads... It more looks like a hole of some kind. So I am sending it in for cleaning !

Ok ok... kidding... But it may happen. We got so stressed to clean the sensor ! No need to burn it !
 
I've never tried it, but since you'll probably be stopping down from wide open if your taking a pic of the sun, you could try hitting the DoF button to close down while you compose.

Obviously, if it's too bright, stop looking

I take no responsibility if you burn out your retina or sensor.
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
 
You're 2nd and especially 3rd shot are what I'm referring to. How did you get those shots without looking through the eyepiece?
noisebeam said:
A low and dim sun (no worries):



A low but bright sun (don't stare at it):



Or a higher sun (don't look at it):



Al
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I don't have the answers. All I know is that if the sun is too bright to look at with naked eye that I won't look at it with the camera. I'll err on the cautious side and I guess its human experience to know when the sun is too bright (pretty much all the time except the very low sun. Even then one shouldn't stare at it.)

The 3rd shot is a 15mm fisheye (at 1/500s) so that helps because the sun is only a tiny spot in the scene. Without the camera I can look in the same direction and not be looking at the sun. I this image I did not look thru the viewfinder, but have taken very similar ones where I did. (I held the camera INSIDE the cactus branches in this case)

I do care about my eyes of course, but less so about my camera - that is only $. I am prepared that it could damage the sensor - and so I learn and lose money. But I also know that the camera will either be stopped down when the sensor is exposed or have a very short shutter speed.

The second image (100mm lens) was perhaps just not as bright as it seems. F4.5 1/2400 sec. I could have used a higher fstop, but wanted to have a smeared sun without aperture blade points. I looked at this scene thru the viewfinder for much less time that I did without camera.

Al
Unda Covalava said:
noisebeam said:
If the sun is very low (like sunset) you still should not stare at
sun, but can look at it. Always err on the cautious side.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Unda Covalava said:
Unda Covalava said:
Al
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, and those are some incredible pictures.
noisebeam said:
The 3rd shot is a 15mm fisheye (at 1/500s) so that helps because
the sun is only a tiny spot in the scene. Without the camera I can
look in the same direction and not be looking at the sun. I this
image I did not look thru the viewfinder, but have taken very
similar ones where I did. (I held the camera INSIDE the cactus
branches in this case)

I do care about my eyes of course, but less so about my camera -
that is only $. I am prepared that it could damage the sensor -
and so I learn and lose money. But I also know that the camera
will either be stopped down when the sensor is exposed or have a
very short shutter speed.

The second image (100mm lens) was perhaps just not as bright as it
seems. F4.5 1/2400 sec. I could have used a higher fstop, but
wanted to have a smeared sun without aperture blade points. I
looked at this scene thru the viewfinder for much less time that I
did without camera.

Al
Unda Covalava said:
noisebeam said:
If the sun is very low (like sunset) you still should not stare at
sun, but can look at it. Always err on the cautious side.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
noisebeam said:
noisebeam said:
Al
Unda Covalava said:
How do you shoot into the sun with a DSLR without frying your retina?

With a Point and Shoot it's easy, just use the LCD to frame. With
a DSLR, obviously, you'd be looking through the lens at the sun.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I studied yoga a long ...long ...time ago. One of the things they mentioned was that you "could" stare at the sun 10 minutes before sunset and up to 10 minutes after sunrise.

That is because of the amount of atmosphere that you are looking through masks the damaging rays of the sun.

I did it (foolishly) and I can still see!

Regards,
Mike

--
300D Gallery:
http://tkis.com/mike/

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift. -- Albert Einstein

 
...I find if I look as far away from the sun as I can, I am fine (I am into home theater, and am VERY anal about my eyesight), just generally compose your picture (you should know what it will look like before looking thru the camera!) and shoot.

Think of all the times you have the sun in your peripheral vision. Just don't spend lots of time.

Oh, I would not do this with a telephoto, that could get messy.
 
A perfect example of "blind" faith!
Wild-Mike said:
I studied yoga a long ...long ...time ago. One of the things they
mentioned was that you "could" stare at the sun 10 minutes before
sunset and up to 10 minutes after sunrise.

That is because of the amount of atmosphere that you are looking
through masks the damaging rays of the sun.

I did it (foolishly) and I can still see!

Regards,
Mike
Click to expand...
 
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