Harry, Looking through an OPTICAL viewfinder of a digital camera is dangerous. Looking at a DIGITAL viewfinder is not. There is no way that an LED pixel can reproduce a fraction of the brightness of the sun. You’re safe there, but be careful if you are looking through OPTICS at the sun.
Modern Image sensors can handle way more light than the infamous TV camera they burnt out on the moon when the astronauts pointed it accidentally at the sun. (Anyone remember that? First TV pictures from the moon and they blow up their camera!) It’s best to just use an app on the iPhone, but on other digital cameras you can turn down the ISO to a really low number to cut back the sensitivity of the sensor. I would turn it as low as it can go. Even then it might behoove you to add a neutral density filter in front of the lens just in case. Any camera store would have one to fit your camera. Even taping a small one over the lens of your iPhone might be a good idea as well. Here’s a nice PDF on the subject on NASA’s site, that also mentions an add-one telephoto lens, which is also a great idea. https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/Photographing%20the%20Eclipse%20with%20your%20Smartphone.pdf To get the best quality you don’t want to have to use the DIGITAL zoom on the iPhone, or any camera for that matter. A telephoto add-on would greatly increase the quality of the shots. For that matter, you should probably just get a telephoto for your camera if one is available, because you’re likely to use it more than an awkward and wobbly attachment to your phone. A 200mm (35mm equivalent) would be about right. Ask at your local camera store. Oh, and a tripod. Gotta have a tripod. Jonathan > On Jul 20, 2017, at 5:34 PM, Harry Jacobson-Beyer <harr...@me.com> wrote: > > can I use a digital camera or my iPhone camera to take photos of the eclipse > without damaging the camera/iPhone? > > I have eclipse viewing glasses and know not to look at the sun through the > camera without wearing the glasses. > > Thanks. -- Jonathan Fletcher jonat...@fletcherdata.com Kentuckiana FileMaker Developers Group Next Meeting: 7/25/17 _______________________________________________ MacGroup mailing list Posting address: MacGroup@erdos.math.louisville.edu Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/macgroup@erdos.math.louisville.edu/> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>
