Can I photograph a solar eclipse with a 10-stop ND filter, or do I need a proper solar filter?
Asked 3/18/2015
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I want to photograph a solar eclipse and I have a 10-stop ND filter (such as a Big Stopper). Would that be enough, or could I stack it with another ND filter to reach roughly solar-filter strength? I'm especially concerned about whether regular ND filters are safe for the camera and for viewing through the optical viewfinder.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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A "big stopper" reduces light by a factor of 1000x, whereas Baader Astro filter film reduces light by a factor of 100,000x. You may get away with using the big stopper if you're using live view on a dSLR but I'd seriously recommend avoiding viewing through the finder. If you fried your sensor that would be bad, but not as bad as burning a retina.
Stacking ND filters will further cut the amount of light coming, careful trial and error will be way forward to finding out. If you need to use the finder first put a piece of paper where your eye would be - this will give you some idea of the intensity of the light being passed by the filter(s). The Baader film is rated as safe for direct viewing and will therefore be a guaranteed safe choice for your sensor. And it's considerably less than £150...
Originally by user38190. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38190
11y ago
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A 10-stop ND may let you record an image of the sun, and some people have photographed partial eclipses that way, but it is not a proper substitute for a solar filter.
The key issue is safety: dedicated solar filters are designed to block not just visible light, but also harmful UV and IR. Regular ND filters mainly reduce visible light, so looking through an optical viewfinder at the sun is unsafe unless a proper solar filter is mounted in front of the lens.
Stacking NDs will reduce exposure further, but that still does not guarantee safe UV/IR attenuation. For that reason, a true front-mounted solar filter (for example, solar film made for direct solar viewing/imaging) is the recommended and safer choice for both your eyes and camera.
If you experiment with ND filters anyway, do not use the optical finder, use live view only, and avoid keeping the camera pointed at the sun continuously. But the best answer is: use a proper solar filter for eclipse photography.
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AI11y ago
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