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My gear: Sony Alpha A6400 (1.5x crop) Mirrorless Camera, Sony 70-200mm f2.8 G lens @ 200mm (300mm after crop), Marumi ND 100,000 Filter.

The mirrorless camera does not have a mirror in front of its sensor, exposing the sensor to the SUN 100% of the time through the ND filter while shooting the entire eclipse, which is roughly 3 hours.

Annular Eclipse starts at 8AM and goes on till 11AM

I could not find a Solar filter, so I got myself an ND100000. This filter is specialized for solar shooting according to the provider here

I'm going to practice taking some shots, and build a timeline on how to take the shots, at what intervals etc,. I will be wearing a solar eclipse glass the entire time, unless I want to see the Live view on the camera.

Question 1: Will I damage my sensor or lens(rented lens) even after using a ND100000 filter? I'm thinking of closing or covering the front element of the lens of the camera after ever shot, so the sensor is not exposed the entire time, as it is a mirrorless camera.

Question 2: removed

Question 3: I will have to open the shutter up for like a few minutes to get the focus on point initially, will this damage the sensor or lens? Can I focus on the SUN while the ND filter is on the lens? (I mean is there any other way?)

Positive reviews by the people who had actually shot using the ND100000 and DSLR, not a mirrorless camera.

Thanks...

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    \$\begingroup\$ Looking at this, the damage may not be on your sensor... \$\endgroup\$
    – xenoid
    Commented Dec 10, 2019 at 14:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ @xenoid The damage to that aperture diaphragm was because the filter was placed in a "drop-in" slot behind most of the lens, rather than on the front of the lens. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Dec 11, 2019 at 9:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ I strongly reccomend that you use this instead: thousandoaksoptical.com "Used by NASA aboard the Space Shuttle. Other professional users include: ABC, BBC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NOVA, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and most major universities and observatories throughout the world." I use and endorse thier product. I had no damage to my Nikon D800 sensor or otherwise in the August 21, 2017 eclipse here in the USA. \$\endgroup\$
    – chili555
    Commented Dec 11, 2019 at 16:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thousand Oaks film is also what I made my solar filters with to capture the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:28
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    \$\begingroup\$ Third user of Thousand Oaks solar filter film here. \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Commented Dec 13, 2019 at 3:02

1 Answer 1

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To protect your camera from damage while shooting an eclipse, one needs a filter that attenuates infrared energy as well as visible light. Standard neutral density filters do not necessarily attenuate IR at all. It's not totally clear to me from the link for your filter that it is a proper solar filter or not. Before using a filter on your camera to take pictures of the sun, you need to positively confirm that the filter is effective against UV and infrared wavelengths as well as visible light.

It should go without saying that the filter needs to be placed in front of the front element of the lens. For larger telephoto lenses with "drop in" filter holders near the back of the lens, most of the glass and other parts of the lens will not be protected.

enter image description here

You will need the solar filter in place anytime the camera is pointed directly at the sun with any kind of telephoto lens attached. The sun will be bright enough that you will still be able to see it to focus using magnified Live View. I would recommend making some kind of shade to allow you to look at the camera's LCD screen and controls without exposing your eyes directly to the sun. I use foam board with a hole cut just large enough to fit the barrel of my lens through.

enter image description here

For a more about solar filters, please see this answer to What kind of filter do I need for safe sun photography?
How do I photograph the sunset without damaging my camera?
Can the sun damage the camera sensor? Under what conditions?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I understand ND filters won't remove UV and IR, how is this going to affect my sensor? Does UV and IR get magnified over a lens? My camera does not have a live viewfinder(as it is a mirrorless, so it is electronic), so I will not burn my eyes hopefully. I was thinking of using a piece of cardboard in front of my lens, as my sensor will be open all the time, whenever I take the picture, i will quickly take the cardboard away and put it back.The sun will appear around 40-70 degree in the sky, I will be looking down as i can turn my view screen up. This is all I have sadly, I need to make it work \$\endgroup\$
    – Niveth Kumar
    Commented Dec 11, 2019 at 11:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ Found this on one of the reviews. Bought for my camera for the solar eclipse in August. Was given a refund, even though I didn't request. Was told to NOT return it, but throw it away and don't use. I can only assume due to safety issues. It doesn't block UV, so it wouldn't be save to look through. I used Live View on my camera and put a UV filter in front of it. No issues with my camera or my vision. Just don't look through it with your eyes...ONLY LIVE VIEW. \$\endgroup\$
    – Niveth Kumar
    Commented Dec 11, 2019 at 12:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ Another review. under short periods of time live-view mode is perfectly safe to use. Longer durations of 5min or more should be avoided as the sensor is going to get warmed by the IR heat (particularly if amplified by a long lens which you will be using) and by minimizing the length of time it is going to avoid any harm to your equipment. all Modern cameras have a built in IR filter mounted to the sensor to assist with cutting IR light, and reducing heat for sharper images (more heat more noise). This built in filter also blocks a portion of IR light as well. \$\endgroup\$
    – Niveth Kumar
    Commented Dec 11, 2019 at 12:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ IR damage is dependent upon the strength of the lens. The longer the focal length and the wider the maximum aperture, the faster the lens and camera will be heated by the sun's energy. It took only a single minute to do this to a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III with a 600mm f/4 lens \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:22
  • \$\begingroup\$ The large shade not in the optical path of the lens is recommended to prevent you from looking directly into the sun with your unaided naked eyes while attempting to look at the screen on the back of your camera, since the sun will be directly past your camera when the camera is pointed at the sun and you are looking at the camera from behind. It will also allow you to see your screen more easily with the screen shaded from the sun if you have flipped your screen up so you can look down at it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:25

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