Aiming your camera at the sun is inherently difficult due to the brightness of the sun—especially with long focal length telephoto lenses. The longer the focal length, the narrower the camera’s field of view and the more difficult it is to target the sun.
One of our Explora readers, Chris Haecker, came up with an easy homemade solution that he was generous enough to share with us. Haecker is a retired engineering manager who did stints at the Los Alamos and Hanford nuclear labs, as well as running management of several large industrial automation projects over the years. He and his wife of 52 years, Peggy, now travel the country in an RV with their dog. Haecker will be viewing the eclipse from Lime, Oregon.
Before you try it out, let’s remind everyone: SAFETY FIRST!
NEVER look at the sun with your naked eye. Always use certified solar viewing glasses.
DO NOT point your camera and lens at the sun unless the lens is outfitted with a solar photography filter.
DO NOT look through the optical viewfinder of a camera while it is pointed at the sun unless you are using a metal or Mylar-type solar filter. Heavy ND filters will not protect your eyes from the harsh UV and IR radiation of the sun.
Photographs © Chris Haecker
Here is Haecker’s comment from the How to Photograph the Sun article.
Newbie to lunar/solar scene. Looked for ideas/hardware to help align long lens (300mm with 2x on Nikon 5100) to sun. Even with a high-quality tripod and head, wasn't having much success in getting the sun to hold still. So, need is mother of invention, especially when you're traveling for several weeks through National Park/Forest Service campgrounds, and nowhere near cities large enough to have good photo stores.
Materials required: Two (2) 3" x 5" cards, two (2) plastic filter “wrenches,” two (2) heavy duty rubber bands, one (1) pen or pencil, and one tool that will make a small, but clean, hole in one of the cards. Punch, drill, whatever it takes to make the hole in the approximate center of one of the cards. Use the pen or pencil to make an “x” (or “+” if you prefer) in the center of the other card. Use the rubber bands to "clamp" the filter wrenches on to the lens, one with the hole on the solar lens (which needs to come off during totality), the other as close to the camera body as possible. Use electrical or gaffer tape to hold the cards onto the filter wrenches (doesn't matter which side, just don't let the tape overlap the business part of the whole system—that little hole and the marked “x” or “+”.
Set up your camera on the tripod and start swiveling until the white sun dot is reasonably near the x or + mark you’ve made on the rear card. First time I used it, it took me about 10 sec. to get the sunbeam alignment. Viola[sic], on the swivel screen, the sun was nearly centered in the frame. You may need to make some minor adjustments, but that's pretty easy since it’s only a rubber band holding the filter wrench in place.
Minor details omitted, but you should be able to figure it out. Basically, it’s the old pin-hole box camera without the box. Even if you have invested in the high-end positioning and tracking equipment, this might be a decent emergency substitute. Although it works best with a long lens, you might be able to improvise, using the same principles, for a short lens, or even try the cell phone selfie stick.
The Explora team at B&H Photo would like to thank Chris Haecker for his contribution to our discussion, and permission to share his project with you all. If you have other ideas on how to best aim your camera at the bright sun, please share it in the Comments section, below!
