Construct a solar filter for your camera or telescope with solar mylar film and a steel can. I also experimented with different commonly available mylar wrappers . Part 1 video link: • DIY Solar Filter for C...
Thanks Eric. I love experimenting like you do and this video really helped me make a decision in purchasing a piece of solar film and thanks to your video I didn't have to buy a huge sheet like I was originally going to do.
Thanks for the video. I just started researching solar camera filters today. I especially appreciate that you illustrated how a double layer of mylar works. Your video is one of the best I've watched because it covers the effects of using different materials. That is especially helpful. I'll try painting the can with flat black - especially the inside - hoping the reduced reflections will cut down on the amount of reflected light getting to the sensor. I'll also try making the hole (f-stop) in the can smaller hoping to get better contrast.
You're da man! I was wondering about this! I would not use any of these mylars where you looked through it with your eye because of the inconsistent quality. I would like to have seen "wrapping mylar" tried. along with the mylar from a "Stax potato chip" can. But I suspect that it will be lowgrade like the others!
The viewfinder on my camera is digital; so no risk of eye damage. There are lots of different mylars available, but yes, since they are not designed for optics their quality varies. I will put those on my list if I give it a go in the future.
Before I watched this video I loosely held a Stax peel off lid to my camcorder. It's pretty thick, but surprisingly I did see light on my view screen. I may have got a better result if I had taped it down. I'll try that later and if it works good comment here again. By now you likely have something working.
to Eric Nutsch: As promised here's my report. I tried 3 or 4 materials on my Canon HF R400 camcorder. The STAX top was thickest but didn't work good because the camera didn't focus. The STAX gave a white color. Other materials I tried gave the same color as the color of the ink on the various wrappers. I also tried a layer of Werther's candy wrapping paper. It was the most promising because the thinness allowed a good representation of the shape of the Sun (unlike all the other materials) and the Werther's wrapper might have yielded focus if the camera had more focus range, but the camera showed every wrinkle of the wrapper. I painted the inside of my filter material holder black so it would have less chance of unwanted reflections inside the holder. I made and posted a series of videos showing the build process and the result of each material used.
Not good telling people to use anything other than what is approved for solar viewing. I do like your ideas on how to build your own filter using the solar film.
It's for a camera, not direct viewing. You can't damage your eyes if the camera is recording the eclipse and you're not directly looking at it yourself.
