Haven't seen this discussed, so I thought I'd toss it out here. A DSLR with a long lens and a safe solar filter can capture excellent detailed images of the sun. I'll describe how I took this shot in detail:
Equipment used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 70-200 f2.8L IS
Canon EF 2x III Extender
Homemade Baader solar filter
To make the filter, I ordered a sheet of BAADER AstroSolar Safety Film. (About $43 USD for an 8x11 sheet.) Be sure to get the Safety Film, not the Photo Film. The latter is not suitable for visual photography, and you don't want any eye damage while composing your shots!
I then took a Canon 77mm lens cap. (Be sure it's a lens cap that does not have clasps that extend inside the cap. You need to cut out the interior of the cap, leaving a nice, neat round hole.) You're now going to cut as large a diameter hole in the cap as you can, while leaving the clip mechanism that holds it to the lens intact. I found the easiest way to do it was to drill several large diameter holes in close proximity and then use a pair of tin snips to cut the plastic cap. Scoring an outer circle helps as well since you can then break the pieces you cut off at the score line. Be sure to sand the edges smooth when you're done cutting.
Using your lens cap as a guide, draw a circle the size of the lens cap on the Safety Film. Carefully cut the film to size.
Apply a thin layer of plastic modeling glue to the top of the lens cap. Carefully lower the lens cap onto the safety film. Do not stretch the film. You don't want the film to be taught, otherwise it will lose its optical integrity.
Once the glue is dry, you're ready for your first shot! Attach the filter to the lens - the cap should snap in place like any other lens cap - and find the sun.
For the exposure you see above, I shot at ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/250 seconds. It's digital, so feel free to experiment.
Post processing of the image was an important part of bringing out the details. Now, I use PSE 10 with a Topaz Adjust plug-in, but you can use whatever photo editor you like. (GIMP is great and it's free.)
Sharpening the image, and increasing contrast both really help to bring out the subtle details in the sunspots. It also helps to bring out the small squiggly filaments you see on the solar surface. If you used a tripod or have a VERY steady hand, you should be able to crop the image (as I did) such that the sun is enlarged to the greatest extent possible.
Okay, you've taken the shot, you've got some great sunspots, but what are they? Well, here's a site that shows you all of the solar activity for the day: http://www.spaceweather.com/ You can get the sunspot group names from that site and also see if any of them have produced flares or radio emissions.
Have fun! And be sure to post any shots you take. The sun's pretty active right now, so it's a good time to capture some sunspots.
@pschtyckque Hmmm, 2 polarizers and about the equivalent of an ND-12 setup. I do like the true color you get out of it this way. Any of the solar filters I've found give the sun a color cast, or remove color altogether. Seeing "green" suns is somewhat disconcerting. lol
That was a fantastic capture of the Transit. It was cloudy here for both transits, so unless I live to a biblical age, I'll have to settle for viewing other's photos.
@kannafoot really nice idea, first time i thought of this or more like an article I can consider, would you recommend this method for November's solar eclipse? I might put an order for ...AstroSolar Safety Film ... :) thanks for sharing
This method should work very well for a solar eclipse. @eryck I thought the November eclipse only touched the northern tip of Australia, though, and the rest of it was over the ocean. (Not sure where you're located.) In any case, the toughest part of making the filter this way is finding the right style lens cap and then cutting it. That plastic was much harder than I expected.
The partial eclipse in November should be able to be seen from Brissie at around 6:30am. I was planning on taking some shots but figured i would treat it just like any other sunrise shot??? Will I damage my camera doing this without the filter?
@kannafoot What a great shot!! Only seen that kind of thing in astronomy sites before. My camera doesn't take lenses, but it's another good reason to save up for Christmas I'd say!
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Here's the photo:
Here's my method:
That was a fantastic capture of the Transit. It was cloudy here for both transits, so unless I live to a biblical age, I'll have to settle for viewing other's photos.
@pschtyckque looks good
Chris, I don't have all these filters but I have the UV, Polarizing and a ND-400. I will think about it and try this one day :-)