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Telephoto prime for Total Eclipse


rsknapp
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I need a recommendation for a telephoto prime for my NEX 7 to photograph the total eclipse of the Sun on August 21, 2017.

 

I think a prime is better than a zoom because I should get better IQ at a lower cost. Bokeh is not a consideration since there will be nothing in the background. A slow lens (say, even f/8) is OK as the camera will be tripod mounted and the sun's corona will still permit a fast shutter speed.

 

I photographed the partial eclipse of May 20, 2012, and the transit of Venus on June 5, 2012, with my SEL18200 and a Thousand Oaks Optical solar filter. Of course, no filter will be needed during totality. Based on the size of the Sun's disk on those images, I think that I need a longer lens than 200mm - probably 400mm to 500mm.

 

I appreciate your ideas.

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Yali - You never heard of planning ahead? This is a once in a lifetime event for me. I'm not rich enough to travel to Africa or Asia. I intend to be ready well in advance.

 

John - Thank you for the suggestion. I have looked at a lot of lenses that are either super fast sports/action lenses that sell for megabucks or cheap junk like fuzzy mirror lenses. I wish it were a little longer, but the Canon is a reasonable price for excellent performance.

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What I meant with things will change: Sony might actually release a telephoto lens until then. And maybe it will be actually affordable. Who knows. Also they might release a high megapixel APS-C camera with which you could capture that once in a lifetime event with even more resolution. Or you could crop in even tighter. 

 

Just think about it: The whole FE thing is just two years old. In another two years things might look very very different.

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....... Based on the size of the Sun's disk

on those images, I think that I need a longer

lens than 200mm - probably 400mm to 500mm.

 

I appreciate your ideas.

There is no "probably" involved here.

 

A 100mm FL produces a 1mm image of

the sun or the moon. Do the arithmetic.

[Hint: It's linear.]

 

`

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Yali - I see your point.  I fear that a new Sony tele might be a full frame, fast zoom for sports and action shooting with a massive price tag.  You know, one of those lenses that you see at ball games that looks like a Quaker oatmeal can.  Anything well into four figures is wallet busting.

 

Golem - It's about more than the diameter of the sun's disk. During totality, the corona will be visible.  The distance that it extends outward seems to vary between eclipses.  I don't want to go so long that part of it might be cut off.

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OK. So a 1000mm lens projects a 10mm

sun, leaving 7mm above and below, plus

13mm on either side of the disk for your

hoped-for large corona.

 

400 to 500mm just seems kinda short.

 

Don't know to what degree this lens will

hafta serve your terrestrial uses, but an

actual telephoto has more glass in it than

is necessary to image celectial objects. A

true telephoto [nearly all long lenses] is

a design intended to shorten its physical

length for ergonomic reasons. A lens such

as the Leitz 800mm f6.3 Telyt-S is a long

focus non-telephoto, essentially a very

well corrected refracting telescope.

 

Even a Spiratone 500/8 is a true long focus

non-telephoto. It uses front cell focus for

subjects closer than "inf", which admittedly

is an inferior method, but at inf focus and

stopped down to 11 or 16 it's an excellent

lens. It has unfancy lens coatings, but has

very few glass-to-air interfaces and has no

small radius element surfaces. usually has

a long dew cap, but this is sometimes lost.

The tripod collar is NOT removable, and so

it never gets lost :-)

 

You can own/test-drive one for $25 to $50.

There is also its kissin cuzzin 400/6.3, if

you think the corona might get really huge.

 

Oopzzez ... just realized this is the APS-C

zone. So, all my FL suggestions are 50%

too long. But I'm not gonna re-write all of

the above, cuz the ideas are still there :-\

 

P.S.

FWIW the only non-telephoto I can think of

at 200mm is the old Micro Nikkor f/4 [if you

should need to go that short].

 

`

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