SgtHowie
Standard Member
As you may know, there is a total eclipse of the Sun in a few weeks time. Since I am likely buying a Sony HC1 camcorder soon, I wondered if it is possible to get any good shots of the eclipse with it?
I know very little about cameras, but my instinct is that pointing a camcorder at the Sun is a very bad thing to do! Would it burn out the capture device, even just a small part of the direct Sun being too much to handle? Is there a filter strong enough to shoot the Sun, which could then slip off quickly for the darkness of totality?
Or is shooting a (very direct!) daylight scene which then becomes a night scene in the space of a few seconds not really feasible? I intend to be watching the sky and fiddling with a camera as little as I can. Would it be safe for the cam to start shooting the Sun once it is totally obscured, and stop before it starts to reappear (since that is safe for the naked eye)?
Would hate to spend a grand on a cam and fry it on its first outing so any hints welcomed!
I know very little about cameras, but my instinct is that pointing a camcorder at the Sun is a very bad thing to do! Would it burn out the capture device, even just a small part of the direct Sun being too much to handle? Is there a filter strong enough to shoot the Sun, which could then slip off quickly for the darkness of totality?
Or is shooting a (very direct!) daylight scene which then becomes a night scene in the space of a few seconds not really feasible? I intend to be watching the sky and fiddling with a camera as little as I can. Would it be safe for the cam to start shooting the Sun once it is totally obscured, and stop before it starts to reappear (since that is safe for the naked eye)?
Would hate to spend a grand on a cam and fry it on its first outing so any hints welcomed!