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ffuturesToday's eclipse went reasonably well - mostly clear sky apart from a couple of intervals of light cloud. I ended up testing two lenses on two cameras - a Sigma 175-500mm f5.6 zoom on a Nikon body, and a Tamron 500mm f8 on a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless body. I had to rule out the 28-300mm Tamron early, it just wasn't giving anything like as good results. This left me juggling two cameras and two lenses, both of which need the only 82mm eclipse filter I had, which led to a few problems as I repeatedly swapped them - fortunately I didn't quite point a lens without an eclipse filter directly at the sun, but I came pretty bloody close. There were a couple of problems with the Sony - I'm a lot less used to it than I am to Nikon and I was using it on a tripod, with the rear screen folded out, rather than at eye level, and I'd made a couple of idiot mistakes - I forgot to check that the clock was right (it wasn't) which is annoying for anyone who wants to check the timing of the eclipse, and there was a bit of grunge on the sensor that was visible in a couple of the photos. I was hand-holding the Nikon, mostly because I'm a lot more used to that and I only have one big tripod.
Results for both cameras were pretty good - the Sun looks bigger on the Nikon if I use the whole image, because of its smaller sensor, overall I think the Sony and mirror lens were slightly sharper but there really isn't much in it. Photos below are from the Nikon:
Just after the start
Maximum (some cloud)
Just before the end
Rest of the photos here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/150868539@N02/albums/72177720324741686/
I think that if I do go to Spain for the total eclipse next year the Sony and mirror lens might be the best choice, but I could get either camera and lens and a tripod into cabin luggage if I don't take too much clothing. If I go by a route that lets me take more than cabin luggage I'd take both cameras and lenses, a couple of sturdy tripods, and remote controls so I can use the cameras hands-off as much as possible.
Results for both cameras were pretty good - the Sun looks bigger on the Nikon if I use the whole image, because of its smaller sensor, overall I think the Sony and mirror lens were slightly sharper but there really isn't much in it. Photos below are from the Nikon:
Just after the start
Maximum (some cloud)
Just before the end
Rest of the photos here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/150868539@N02/albums/72177720324741686/
I think that if I do go to Spain for the total eclipse next year the Sony and mirror lens might be the best choice, but I could get either camera and lens and a tripod into cabin luggage if I don't take too much clothing. If I go by a route that lets me take more than cabin luggage I'd take both cameras and lenses, a couple of sturdy tripods, and remote controls so I can use the cameras hands-off as much as possible.
