CRAZY FAST; You'll Miss Them! Solar Eclipse Baily's Beads - Solar Eclipse Timer 

Great! if you go to 2024 you will do better!

Hi, thanks for your comment and support. It's appreciated! With eclipse photography timing is everything, so now you get it and understand why I developed the app. Great!!

You are welcome! Beads are all about timing. Follow watch I taught in this video and use my app and you will do great!!

Thank you! Glad you found it useful. I have other helpful video on the channel. Check them out.

Thanks for your nice comment Bill. I appreciate the support. I am glad you are preparing! Remember to use two of the app's unique features. The Eclipse Video Practice Session is used by setting up your gear in your house and then running through your imaging plan under the time pressure of having a fixed two minute totality in the session. If you are not going to use an intervalometer for your partial phase images use the Partial Phase Image Sequence Calculator in the app which will give you 10 clock times to take images before and after totality to get a perfectly equal sequence. Please share my website on your social media. Thanks again!

Thanks for your comment. Yep, just the technique I outline and you will get them. You of course need my Solar eclipse Timer app.

Hi Ken, thanks for stopping back and leaving a comment! I am glad the video and the app helped you out.

Great! Thanks for you your comment. I have other really good videos about enjoying the solar eclipse on my RU-vid channel; Solar Eclipse Timer. Watch some of the other ones.

You are welcome, happy to help!

Thanks for your support! Glad you used it.

Hi, thank you so much for that nice comment! It means a lot to mean! I am passionate about trying to help people have the best eclipse day experience they can.

Great! I am glad it helped you.

Hi Randall, that you for your comment and your support to my work, I appreciate it! Sounds like you are planning ahead and that is great. Since you are really into this you should consider getting a copy of my book, either digital or print. (if you haven't already). It is the best eclipse prep resource out there. Go to my main website for information about it. The link is in the description of the beads video.

Thanks for the reminder about setting U1 to 1/250 then U2 to 1/2000 then U3 back to 1/250 etc.

@@afryhover Yes, that is VERY important to remember to switch! Use the Eclipse Practice Video Session in my app to practice in your house. My son and I were practicing last night to the app. And we are still not smooth! We have a new camera and I am trying some other things with video. We need to practice more.

FreeForAll, thanks for your comment about the video. I am glad you liked it. You are correct, eclipses are all about a balance between seeing the eclipse enough with your eyes versus trying to get images (if you enjoy the challenges of imaging eclipses.) I am just glad we had good weather in 2019. That low altitude eclipse was beautiful!

You are welcome. So happy it was helpful!

I do have a question however. You mention going to 1/2000 sec for the Diamond ring effect and the beads, but you suggest that you may try going a stop or two slower for the Diamond Ring. Won’t the Diamond Ring be brighter than the beads and therefore require a faster shutter?

@@johnt.hemming5354 I did not say a "stop or two slower", I said a couple of shutter speeds slower. Meaning 1/3 or 2/3 of a stops slower. There are two ways to Get a more brilliant diamond ring with flares, a slightly longer shutter speed or start imaging it earlier, maybe 35 to 30 seconds before C2.

@@solareclipsetimer sorry for my misuse of photographic terminology. You did say shutter speeds. I plan to learn as much as I can in the time remaining. I’m just now discovering your videos.

@@johnt.hemming5354 No problem. There is a lot to learn. I hope you have my book? Go to my main website for the links.

Thanks for your nice comment and getting my app! I appreciate your support. Yep, it takes a little gear to do this. But you can enjoy the eclipse without doing photography. Do the simple partial phase experiments I talk about in the video. They are fun!

You are welcome. Happy I could help you out.

Sure. But don't think of Baily's beads as a separate thing. It's part of the smooth continuum from diamond ring, into Baily's beads, into chromosphere/prominences before you are fully into totality. It all happens progressively starting at about 25 seconds before C2 and then in the opposite order after C3.

Hi David, glad you found this video useful. Thanks for commenting!

@@solareclipsetimer gladly. And, I find your app helpful, too. I enjoyed it in 2017, and just got the 2024 data set up, too. :) My house is in the path of totality this time, so I'm looking forward to a relaxed day of enjoyment. Hopefully the weather cooperates. :)

@@DavidLindesGreat, have fun and have a great eclipse!

Yes Tim, the way I teach it, is that you use the same shutter speed for the diamond rings, beads, into chromosphere. The trick it picking the shutter speed and that depends on your gear. I explain the details in depth in my eBook. The link is on my main website. Gordon

Sure, but what I am using may NOT be what you need depending on your setup. For 2024 I will be working at f10, ISO 200, and a shutter speed of 1/200s0. We will set Continuous Low shutter release at 3fps and take images beginning at 30 seconds before C2 until about 10 seconds after C2 to get good shots of the chromosphere and prominences. Then switch to do manual shutter sped bracket for totality trying to do the bracket around the time of max eclipse. Then go back to 1/2000s to get ready for C3. Start imaging when my app says 10 seconds (before C3) and image for about 25 seconds. Replace solar filter for the second set of partial phases. I hope you have my app and my book? Go to my website for more information.

Thank you!

You are only going to have 4-9 seconds, and it progresses very fast. Bracketing during totality is definitely the way to go.

@@afryhover You can bracket for both. I did it for the 2017 eclipse and got great shots of the beads and diamond. You just need 1 exposure value for BB bracketing and 1 exposure value for totality bracketing.

Good to hear, I'll be using Eclipse Orchestrator for two cameras, and I'll be manually working a third. I'll certainly be bracketing with the third camera. I hope to do a quick sky mosiac with a 50mm prime lens.@@nazukeoya

@@afryhoverI hadn't heard of Eclipse Orchestrator before but it looks pretty solid. I just use a wireless remote shutter and internal bracket settings for my camera. That way I just have to press the wireless shutter once and it does the first set of bracketed images, then automatically does the next bracketing of images until I press the wireless shutter again.

On my Fuji XT5 I can set the 9 bracketing exposures to continuously repeat using the intervalometer (once triggered). I only have to manually change the shutter dial from BB base timing to Totality timing and back again while the camera is firing off shots.

With the camera, I will be using for the 2024 eclipse, I will not be pushing the shutter button as I teach in this video. My new camera has a fast processor and writes to an express memory card so I am not worried about buffer time. So this camera is set to shoot 3 frames per second (that is fast enough, you don't need 5fps) and I will just hold the remote shutter release button down starting 25 to 30 seconds before C2 and let it take images all the way into totality.

@@solareclipsetimer I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I was wondering what kind of camera you have(or had) where you had to push shuttle release button fast. I can set my camera at 3fps. Thank you!!!

@@roberthigaki2282 Yeah, with my previous camera, a Nikon D5000 I did not trust the buffer time writing to a regular SD card. If your camera's buffer fills up and then takes seconds to clear, lets say 2, 3, or 4 seconds, that is a huge problem during beads. You will have missed half of the progression.

@@solareclipsetimer Thanks for the follow through. I bought the app today; looking forward to use it on April 8th

Hi, for ISO 100 and f8, my opinion is that 1/4000 and 1/6400 are too fast. But that is my opinion based on my experience. With my setup at f/10 and ISO 200, I shoot the diamond ring and Baily's beads both at 1/2000. I believe those are the settings used in this video. At different eclipses and even at different place on the path the beads can be VERY pinpoint and VERY bright. So, to image them a a clear distinct point may require a very fast shutter speed. But you can't worry just about those pinpoint ones. Everything is a balance at this stage of imaging an eclipse. This all happens over about 25 seconds and you have to realize the Moon is doing all the work for you my moving, constantly changing the light and the shape of the ring and beads. You can't just worry about bead, because you will mess up your ring. Unless of course you are scripting a sequence with a computer and can have the compute change shutter speed instantly. If you are doing it manually like I teach in this video you have to pick one shutter speed and go with it. Do you have my book? I highly recommend it if you are serious about eclipse photography. At $9.99 for a digital version for over 500 pages of material it is well worth it. Go to my website, listed in the description.

Hi, it's really difficult to give exposure settings for different gear. The best way to do it is to take your F/stop, and your ISO and compare it to other images published, and match the exposure to your gear by counting stops up or down as needed. On my main website Solar Eclipse Timer I have a free PDF download of my Custom Stop Chart which makes counting stops much easier. My timer is key because it tells you the exact timing you need. And I have a digital download book that will teach you everything you need to know.

Richard, IMPORTANT question! We remove our CAMERA filters MUCH earlier because the diamond ring and Baily's beads are photographic entities only. For visual observing with your eyes, the rule is you do not remove your solar glasses until the time of C2. My app makes an announcement for "glasses off" at C2 (also reminds you to put them on at C3). This is especially true for novices and kids. Having said that, photographers who are concentrating on exact timing, in the last 10 to 15 seconds before C2, can take very quick naked-eye peeks at the finish of the ring into beads.

It is tough to answer, but if I do comparable stop counting, your settings, 1/1000s, ISO 500, F/8, are a very comparable exposure to when I shoot C1 at 1/200, ISO 200, F/10. So I would stick to my normal recommendation for you, the ring and beads should be letting in 2 stops less light. So, I would shoot ring and beads at 1/4000s.

@@solareclipsetimer Thank you Sir, with your app, proper settings and hopefully a clear sky here in NE Ohio, we will come away with a few great photos.

Good comment. This video is mostly about timing for beads. Everyone's settings are going to be different. The gear determines the f/stop. They choose an ISO depending on their gear and the exposure and they need of the full solar disk image to be balanced. Then based on the above and some preferences, they choose a shutter speed for this portion of the eclipse. Knowing my settings doesn't help the concept of this video, which is about timing and changing your specific shutter speed.

@@solareclipsetimer thank you.

If shooting through high clouds but the eclipse is still visible, you need to compensate for the decrease in light and slow all of your shutter speeds by 1/3 or 2/3 stop.

Thank you so much!!!!!

The images in this video were with a Nikon D5000. This year I will be using a Nikon Z6II.

Everyone's gear is a little different, but what you have listed sounds like it will work. I am doing my partial phases at F10, ISO 200, and 1/200s. We will switch to 1/2000s for ring and beads. Remember one other nuance about imaging the partial phases, the crescent image you take within about 5 minutes of C2 and the first one after C3, again within about 5 minutes, is so narrow it emits less light, so for those two crescents, slow your shutter speed by 1/3 to 2/3 stop. So for you, I would take those two crescents at 1/400s.

@@solareclipsetimer I'm new to photography, so 1/400 can work besides 1/2000th?

@@JP-eu2dc No, 1/400 will be too slow. The rings and beads are too bright, you will not get nicely defined beads.

@@solareclipsetimer I understand. so 1/2000 it is.

Exposure bracket won't cover the difference from 1/250 - 1/2000. Bracket during totality.

@@afryhoverYes it will, you can set your exposure bracketing to different levels of exposure values. For instance, I can set mine to 0.3, 0.5, or 1 EV . I did this for the 2017 eclipse and the 2023 eclipse, and it worked great. During the 2017 eclipse, I was able to capture several exposure versions of Baily's Beads and the diamond. The best solution is to set exposure bracketing with an EV for Baily's Beads, and then when totality hits, change your EV to a different value to match less sunlight.

Merrill, thanks for your comment. Regarding how I have done video in the past. In 2001 I did the drift method and it did great and in 2002 I the video camera on a clock drive and it did great. The problem was that back then the camera (SONY) technology was Hi8 with a vertical resolution of only 480 lines. In 2006 I did video with one of the first Hi Def cameras, a JVC that did 720p that wrote to tape. But I observed that eclipse on a cruise ship so there was constant motion which hurt the potential quality of the 720p. For 2017 I bought a Panasonic 4K camera that had a native optical zoom with a focal length equivalent of 600mm, but I forgot to zoom it in. I kick myself every day over that! But to answer your other question: with today's video cameras you can pull nice still images off of video, although not as nice as a DSLR. But I would consider getting a a clock drive device like the Sky Watcher. You're a photographer, you would enjoy it for sky stuff. It's very easy to use. I recommended it to 2 of my friends who used it at the eclipse (not with me) and it worked great for them. I don't have one myself right now, but I am going to buy one because it is so easy to setup to do camera testing on the Sun. Check it out amzn.to/2FNmhvH and you would need the Latitude Base amzn.to/2FKz9CL . You put these on your most sturdy regular camera tripod and you have a great clock drive system.

Solar Eclipse Timer Thanks for the links. I watched several RU-vid videos on them. I didn’t realize something like this existed. Looks like a great idea. I’ll start saving up get these. I have a JVC HD camcorder. That would have worked good the Sky Watcher for the last eclipse. I sure like your Baily’s beads photos. Have you thought about where we will go to view the 2024 eclipse, Texas or Arkansas??

Great, I am glad I taught you about small photography clock drives. You would have fun with one of them. The beads photos are pretty good from this eclipse, but not perfect. Those images were from a setup working at a focal length of about 850mm because that setup also had to have enough FOV for full corona. That makes the beads small in relation to the number of pixels they cover so I can't blow the images up a lot. Also, the focus may have been just a hair off. I will try to do better at the next eclipse. If you are really going after good beads pictures you use a focal length of around 1800mm to 2000mm and a camera with a lot of megapixels. Also, you get off of the centerline a fair amount, that increases the time you see beads. I haven't thought too much about 2024 yet. I am set to go to Argentina for 2019. Also, look up the nice annular eclipse that is crossing the western USA on 10-14-23. I've never gone to an annular, but I will go to that one.

Craig, you can do it, but you don't really need to because the motion of the Moon is doing the bracketing for you; in a way. About 20 seconds before C2 you pull your solar filter and the Moon is moving so fast that 10 to12 seconds later you are out of the diamond ring phase and going to Baily's beads. The lighting changes every split second because of the Moon moving. Before C2 it's getting dimmer and after C3 it's getting brighter. So, if you bracket with your camera you are kind of double bracketing. But you could do it, maybe a 3 shot or a five-shot bracket, but you still need to be taking as many as you can in that 20 seconds. But I have found a single shutter speed works fine because I don't want to deal with going in and out of camera program modes with my camera during this incredibly exciting time. Does that explain it better.

Yes, it does. Thank you SO MUCH!@@solareclipsetimer

@@solareclipsetimer- My camera does auto exposure bracketing, and can shoot 10 images per second.

@@Parallax-3D Hi, as I explained in the reply above, it is not really necessary to bracket the diamond ring into Baily's beads. In a way, the Moons motion is doing the bracketing for you by changing the light every split second. The entire time lasts about 25 seconds. My app reminds you to deal with your solar filters with two callouts at 30s and 20s before C2. So, you need to start imaging at least 25s before C2. At 10fps you are going to have 250 images. That is a lot to sort through and the images directly adjacent to one another won't be much different. Make sure your camera can buffer at 10fps for 25 seconds straight. I plan to use 3fps, I think that is fast enough for me and my camera can do it.

BTW… I just purchased the app and I’m going through it tonight to get myself familiar with it.

Jimmy, it is hard to tell people what to use since all gear is a little different. But over several eclipses, I have shot beads at F10, ISO 200, and 1/1,200s shutter speed. But a little slower would be fine too. 1/1600s. Exposure variables are interchangeable. Go to my main website, the link is in the description and print out the four PDF files I have on the home page. One of those is my Custom Master Stop Chart. It makes it easy to count stops up and down. You can then figure out how to match my exposure on your gear.

@@solareclipsetimer This is really great and it will get me very close. Thank you very much. I’ll make some quick changes at that moment although the moment is quite brief. What I still don’t understand is that somewhere you mentioned taking the filter off 20 seconds before totality and start shootings at these settings but the sun must still be quite bright at that time. I’d love to be in that field with you and all of those people where you said that.

@@Jimmy_Cavallo Yes the Sun is still VERY bright then. But this is when you image the diamond ring (before Baily's beads). It gets dimmer every second as the Moon moves.

@@solareclipsetimer So then F10, ISO 200, 1/1200 or 1/1600 and start firing away at that time.?? I’m on it, thank you.

Tommy, it's a bit more complicated than that because remember I STRESS that my procedure works only if you are using a GLASS solar filter because I know how much light they transmit. From the exposure numbers you gave me, I am guessing that you are using AstroSolar Baader film. That passes about 2 1/3 stops more light than glass. That is why you need to have such a fast shutter speed for your partial phases. (Although, if you went to ISO 200 you could be use 1/500s which could be close to glass. Especially the new Seymour glass) . Remember the relationship I teach is from your full solar disk setting (exposure) you will know where you will be for exposing the corona when your solar filter is off. Don't confuse the two things (because your solar filter material is different). One thing is with GLASS, it lets you know where you are with the inner/mid corona, to then know where you need to be with ring and beads. The second thing is for you, to forget that in your case, and just count stops to match what you see in my book. I generally work at F10, ISO 200, and ~1/200 for the partial phases, and shoot the ring and beads at 1/1000s (2 1/3 stop less light enters for beads Chapter 14). So now you have to count stops to match me. So, for partial phases, your ISO 400 is one stop more light than me and your shutter speed at 1/1000s is 2 1/3 stops less light than me (when I am at 1/200). So, your system is already letting in 1 1/3 stops less light than me when set up for the partial phases. So your shutter speed has to be 1 stop less light in shutter speed than your 1/1000s (to match me). So, if you use 1/2000 we should be equivalent. (For beads I am f10, ISO 200, 1/1000; that should equal f10, ISO 400, 1/2000s). Also, note that a 1/3 stop difference is not a big deal. Start imaging at 30 seconds before C2. In the Appendix chapter Simplifying Solar Eclipse Photography toward the back, there is a section called Solar Filters That Are Not Glass: read that. Exposure can be counted up and down and matched between the three variables. Did you download my Master Stop Chart? It makes it easy to count stops. The link is on the front page of my website, download it.

@@solareclipsetimer thanks for the fast response! Sorry i forgot to mention i am using the HELIOS glass screw in solar filter from Seymour Solar, which i built a slip over lens cover for it so i dont have to waste time unscrewing the filter from the threads and can just pull off/on my filter. I like the middle to be slightly brighter as it accentuates the limb darkening without blowing out the sun spots, so thats the reason for the bump in ISO to 400. I can drop this to ISO 200 and would get an image of more uniformity on the full sun, but i found 1/1000 to be a safe number with this iso 400. My filter is definitely a GLASS from Seymour Solar, and it seemed actually like i needed a faster shutter speed than the original Thousand Oaks Solarlite Polymer that I originally was using

@@tommydaynjer5334 Okay that makes perfect sense to me now. The SolarlIte film passes about 2 1/3 to 3 stops less light than glass so that is why you found you had to go to a faster shutter speed. I don't know what glass Seymour is putting in their screw on filters, but their slip-on filters use a new titanium coating that passes about 1 1/3 stop more light than their old chromium coatings. I suspect your screw on filter is titanium. So you shutter speed make perfect sense to me now. So, you are doing great! You are figuring it all out with your testing. What I said in the pervious reply is still valid, just count stops up and down to match exposures you see in my book. Stops across the three variables of exposure are interchangeable. Download the Custom Master Stop Chart form my website because I designed it in a way to make courting stops easy.

@@solareclipsetimer thank you! So you would agree just to do something like 1/2000 or 1/3000 for Diamond/Baileys and start early like at 30 sec?

@@tommydaynjer5334 I think 1/2000s and start at 30 seconds before C2 and at C3 continue afterward for about 25 seconds. I will be shooting these on low continuous mode at 3fps.

Scott, the diamond ring and Baily's beads can have different goals for exposure depending on what you are trying to achieve with the image. Yes the diamond ring is brighter, because there is more photosphere visible, but it is also more diffuse, or spread out. Some people like the look of an over exposed diamond ring, where you can get that brilliant single sided "star burst" look. When I have taken my shots at 1/1000 or 1/2000 my diamond rings are very "tight". Especially when I am starting at about 20 seconds before C2. I tend not to get a really spread out diamond ring. To get a spread out ring, I think I should be at 1/500, maybe 1/250, because I would like to achieve a big over exposed diamond ring image. The other option would be to start my imaging at 30 or 35 seconds before C2 when there is even more photosphere. Both are ways to achieve a brilliant wide bursting diamond ring image. Remember the Moon is moving, so it is changing the light for you, so some image in the group of images you take is going to be perfect (depending on your tastes). Your first images maybe a "blowout" but the images a few second later maybe perfect. Remember, you are not taking a single diamond ring image. The diamond ring phase is a progression, just like beads are. You just have to take many images rapidly. But Baily's beads are a different issue, because their brightness area is small and becomes super-well defined bright points that get tighter and tighter. To get the final set of beads clearly defined to the limb of the Moon you do not want over exposure. So at this point the faster shutter speed is better. My goal is to make this exciting and rapidly progressing portion of the eclipse photography easy, so using a single shutter speed that is a "happy compromise" is what I teach.

@@solareclipsetimer Excellent elaboration! That makes total sense. I will be using Sony A9 body with 600mm x 1.4 teleconversion to get 840mm. Also the sony A9 can do interval shooting set to every one second so all I will need to focus on is changing my shutter speed at the appropriate instants. As you recommend I plan on practicing with the app in demo mode. Thanks! I wish it were next year!

@@sporter555 I like the effective focal length of 840mm. That will work well for eclipse photography. I have some concerns about setting your camera to take an image every second. I think that is too slow. If you start imaging when my app gives the cue, 20 seconds before C2, that is only 20 images from diamond ring to C2. Then you may miss one during a manual shutter speed change. Then when you touch your gear you will start vibrations that will probably make the next image blurry, maybe the next two images blurry at that focal length; depending on the dampening ability of your set-up. In 2017 my son took 67 images in this 20 second period, from diamond ring to chromosphere before C2. In 2019 we had 23 images just in the period of Baily's beads to chromosphere before C2; in about 9 of 10 seconds. We take images with a remote manual shutter release as fast as we can push the button and fast as the camera will buffer. So I would re-think that part of your plan.

I am assuming the program announcements can be a few seconds off plus or minus depending on limb profile and accuracy of the GPS coord's. Any suggestions on how to ensure the best accuracy possible?

That depends on two things. 1. whether or not you want to do a lot of post-processing, then you must have RAW 2. How fast can your camera buffer, because it is nice to write both JPG-fine and RAW simultaneously to two different cards if your camera has two SD slots. I write to two cards and save both simultaneously. You never want your camera to decide it has to buffer in the middle of beads! You will miss precious seconds of the progression.

@@solareclipsetimer Good info, thanks. I've got a 70D, so only 1 SD card slot. I think for the non-burst requirements at C! and after I'll go with RAW, then switch over to JPG for bursts in and around C2. One thing I forgot to ask - what about white balance? Of course it wouldn't matter for RAW, but I am assuming a daylight setting for the JPG? Boy, I need to write a script and practice!

@@philf4086 yes use Sun/Daylight. Do you have my app/ Use the synchronized built-in video practice session to practice under pressure. That is what it is for.

@@solareclipsetimer Yes, I've got the app and I'm building up the coordinates for 3 possible logical locations. Weather may dictate which one I use. Then I'll run a practice! Thanks for this great tool!

@@philf4086 Ok, have fun!

Yes, you are correct, no diamond ring and no Baily's beads at the annular in 2023. Because these are photographic entities that require removing the solar filter to image and also depend on the fact that the Moon will continue to move over the Sun to completely obscure it. During an this annular eclipse this doesn't happen. With some extremely high magnitude annular eclipses you can expose a ring of beads, but NOT this one.

@@solareclipsetimer Then there will be no opportunity for a corona image with an annular eclipse. Is that correct?

@@jmfoty4280 That is correct, no totality. Think of an annular eclipse as a partial eclipse that is centered. The angular diameter of the Moon in the sky is smaller than the Sun. So the Sun is never completely obscured. You should consider buying my eclipse book to preopare for 2024. Go to my website www.solareclipsetimer.com for more information. It will teach you everything you need to know.

@@solareclipsetimer I was quite successful photographing the August 21, 2017 total eclipse in Casper, Wyoming. I missed Bailey's beads and diamond ring due to being so excited. I even forgot to remove the solar filter on one of my two cameras recording the eclipse. I knew what time (to the second) the eclipse was going to go into totality. I assume I should remove the filter about 15 seconds before and after totality.

You just need to get educated and with added new vocabulary and concepts you will understand what he is saying and actually benefit from his advice. But if you are neither here to learn about the phases of a solar eclipse or the mechanics of photographing it then maybe this channel isn't for you and that's okay. But I assure you he is speaking English very well.