An Eclipse Camera Filter

The great North American eclipse is just around the corner and I'd love to have some quality pictures / video.

1) A pair of certified eclipse glasses or binoculars

2) Some thick paper / card stock / box board

3) Wood glue

4) brush and container

5) pencil + ruler + scissors / hobby knife

I bought four eclipse binoculars for the 2017 eclipse but one of them didn't hold up as well as the others. I knew the 2024 eclipse was coming up so I saved the pieces for this project. So the first thing to do is extract one of the filters from the glasses or binoculars. Take your time as you don't want to damage it. Soak the cardboard in water if need be, as it won't hurt the filter.

*Important: Buy certified eclipse glasses or viewers and do some tests before using them. Blindness is incurable and looking at the sun without proper protection will blind you.

I have a SONY Cyber-shot and I plan on using a tripod. I'm hoping it's a nice clear day so I can get a picture or video of the corona. It is very dark during the total eclipse so I need to be able to put the filter on and take it off easily. It is risky business because if I don't time it right I could easily fry my camera. The filter must be on if any part of the sun is visible but I plan to take some shots without the filter during the totality. The same goes for your eyes. The flash when the sun reappears is the most exhilarating part of the experience but can blind you if your are not using your filter glasses.

- After measuring the camera and doing some math ( circumference = pi * diameter )

- I cut two pieces of heavy paper 2-5/8" by 3-3/8".

- I mix wood glue and water at equal volumes

- Use a brush to coat the outside of the inner piece and the inside of the outer piece

- The water keeps it workable for longer than using straight glue. Elastic bands help pull the whole thing together.

- If you can find something round and close to the same size it can help hold the round shape.

For the front end I cut a big circle and marked out where the cylinder fit. Making cuts from the edge to the mark. Then I cut a circle in the center that matched the size of my filter. After I glued that on I cut a second one and glued that over top. The two layers are light proof but the one layer was letting too much light through around the edge.

Finally you just need to fasten the filter. A round hole that is smaller than the filter will do and use glue and/or tape to make sure it is air-tight and light-tight. You might need to experiment. My binoculars came with a plastic ring that held the filter in place perfectly.

Once it dries you need to try it out. Experiment with the camera to make sure you can get full circle shots of the sun. Of course it has been cloudy here since I built this but this afternoon the sun poked out and I took some free hand shots. I found the quality was best if I zoomed in. The wide angle shots had some reflections from the inside of the carboard tube. I also held the tube up to my eye and looked at the sun to make sure there's no light visible except through the filter. I'll try the tripod tomorrow. Still pretty happy with the results.