Trying to plan ahead for the solar eclipses coming up.

Question - what solar filters do you guys recommend, brand wise?

And what else do I need?

Already have glasses purchased.

FTAG 2000 said:

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Trying to plan ahead for the solar eclipses coming up.

Question - what solar filters do you guys recommend, brand wise?

And what else do I need?

Already have glasses purchased.

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Hoya, DayStar, Haiya, MyStarGuy are all reputable and quality filters.

StinkyPinky said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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Trying to plan ahead for the solar eclipses coming up.

Question - what solar filters do you guys recommend, brand wise?

And what else do I need?

Already have glasses purchased.

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Hoya, DayStar, Haiya, MyStarGuy are all reputable and quality filters.

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I was just wondering this, too. Thanks! I want a Hoya screw on filter but those are all backordered.

Anyone have the Canon R7? My 7D died while I was on vacation in Utah. That was horrible timing, but I am amazed at the advancements that have happened since 2010, LOL. I enjoyed the improved ISO performance at my son's baseball game last night. I thought I would hate the EVF, but given how nice everything else is, I will get over it. And before my next trip I will probably buy a small camera that has manual settings as backup.

FTAG 2000 said:

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Trying to plan ahead for the solar eclipses coming up.

Question - what solar filters do you guys recommend, brand wise?

And what else do I need?

Already have glasses purchased.

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What are you planning on putting the filter on? Telescope? Camera lens? For visual or photo use?

For my telescope, I use a film filter specifically for photography from Baader Planetarium. It is not designed for visual use, as it lets in much more light for fast shutter speeds on a camera. They do make one for safe visual use as well. You can get the film in sheets of various sizes if you care to make your own. High Point Scientific also has some good filters, with an assortment of sizes.

https://www.highpointscientific.com/solar-filters-telescopes/white-light-solar-filters

Sort of tangentially related, I was out in Marathon, Texas at the Marathon Motel and they have an incredible array of astrophotography going on out there on a nightly basis. It's free and everybody can join in, observe etc... Some of those guys must be spending tens of thousands of dollars if not hundreds of thousands on telescopes, but others just have regular Canon cameras mounted on tripods. They had a guy named Bill who had a laser pointer and put on about an hour show that my kids really enjoyed and now my nine year-old wants a telescope. I love those dark skies out there.

labmansid said:

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FTAG 2000 said:

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Trying to plan ahead for the solar eclipses coming up.

Question - what solar filters do you guys recommend, brand wise?

And what else do I need?

Already have glasses purchased.

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What are you planning on putting the filter on? Telescope? Camera lens? For visual or photo use?

For my telescope, I use a film filter specifically for photography from Baader Planetarium. It is not designed for visual use, as it lets in much more light for fast shutter speeds on a camera. They do make one for safe visual use as well. You can get the film in sheets of various sizes if you care to make your own. High Point Scientific also has some good filters, with an assortment of sizes.

https://www.highpointscientific.com/solar-filters-telescopes/white-light-solar-filters

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Photo use, Nikon D750.

Also debating a longer lens or an astrophotography type lens, as my current longest lens is a 70-300.

I have a friend who wants a camera for the rifle range that has a really good zoom so he can see the far off targets. I read back thru this thread and found the SX70 was recommended. Is this still the best choice for a long zoom with a very affordable price?

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS Digital Camera
Link

Key Features

• 20.3MP CMOS Sensor
• DIGIC 8 Image Processor
• 65x Zoom Lens
• 21-1365mm (35mm Equivalent)
• 2.36m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
• UHD 4K Video Recording, 4K Time-Lapse
• Image Stabilization
• Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Continuous Shooting up to 10 fps
• Zoom Framing Assist

Just made my first order off MPB.com.

Bonus, they had a no-limit 5% off for students, so that almost covered tax. Almost.

One Z9 is just never enough. Such an amazing camera.

That would be fun to try out for a day or two. I ran in to a fellow the other day that had a Sony A1 with a 300 mm lens he was using to photograph the feral horses that live in the desert near here. That one was small and light enough to make me wish I could afford one. That z9 looks as if it would get heavy after while.

That is what the Z8 is for, the Z9 Lite

That price tag ain't light! Maybe when I get to where I can sell some photos, I can take a look at one.

My wife asked a question during the SEC baseball tourney last week, and I'm not sure of the answer. There were some photographers sitting in an aisle shooting pictures through the netting. She asked if the net would show up in the pictures, and with my limited and largely unused photography knowledge, I told her I thought they were using a depth of field that would mostly render the netting unseen. Is that the right answer, or is it something else? Thanks in advance.

lurker76 said:

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My wife asked a question during the SEC baseball tourney last week, and I'm not sure of the answer. There were some photographers sitting in an aisle shooting pictures through the netting. She asked if the net would show up in the pictures, and with my limited and largely unused photography knowledge, I told her I thought they were using a depth of field that would mostly render the netting unseen. Is that the right answer, or is it something else? Thanks in advance.

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Long lens and big aperture, sometimes you can, but usually you can't.

Here's a gallery I shot from up high a long time ago. The big thing is that you can get a really clean background of grass/dirt rather than a cluttery background of the dugout fans.

https://imagn.com/sports/mlb-chicago-white-sox-at-houston-astros/153100

Thank you for the quick response. I guess they were willing to live with the slightly obscured view. Nice pics you linked to, also.

I just got a bonus from work and am considering upgrading some equipment. I bought a Nikon d5600 a few years back, and am looking to possibly upgrade to a d850 body. Thoughts? Any other camera around that price range I should consider? I'd like to stay in the Nikon ecosystem as I have a handful of Nikon lenses already. I also will be looking at an adding a new lens too but haven't decided that part yet.

I need a recommendation for a respectable quality speedlight. I'm using a m 4/3 system. Are there brands to avoid?

marcel ledbetter said:

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I need a recommendation for a respectable quality speedlight. I'm using a m 4/3 system. Are there brands to avoid?

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Either the brand you have or if Godox makes one for your system.

FightinTexasAg15 said:

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I just got a bonus from work and am considering upgrading some equipment. I bought a Nikon d5600 a few years back, and am looking to possibly upgrade to a d850 body. Thoughts? Any other camera around that price range I should consider? I'd like to stay in the Nikon ecosystem as I have a handful of Nikon lenses already. I also will be looking at an adding a new lens too but haven't decided that part yet.

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So now I'm considering either the d850 and staying DSLR or moving mirrorless and going with a z7 II. Seems like both are great. The smaller size of the z7 would be nice. Any opinions on either?

Any recommendations for a camera to take detailed shots (not macro) for product pics for web and print? A few manual settings would be cool, but I don't think they need anything complicated.

FightinTexasAg15 said:

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FightinTexasAg15 said:

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I just got a bonus from work and am considering upgrading some equipment. I bought a Nikon d5600 a few years back, and am looking to possibly upgrade to a d850 body. Thoughts? Any other camera around that price range I should consider? I'd like to stay in the Nikon ecosystem as I have a handful of Nikon lenses already. I also will be looking at an adding a new lens too but haven't decided that part yet.

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So now I'm considering either the d850 and staying DSLR or moving mirrorless and going with a z7 II. Seems like both are great. The smaller size of the z7 would be nice. Any opinions on either?

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I have a D850 (and D750). Great camera, easily one of the best DSLR's on the market. If I was to start over again, I would go mirrorless purely for the size/weight savings. Biggest downside to the D850 and lenses is the weight. Can be a pain in the arse traveling with when also carrying multiple lenses.

Aren't the lenses for the mirrors cameras quite a bit larger and heavier, though? That's what I don't understand.

Jabin said:

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Aren't the lenses for the mirrors cameras quite a bit larger and heavier, though? That's what I don't understand.

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It depends on the camera and lens

Jabin said:

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Aren't the lenses for the mirrors cameras quite a bit larger and heavier, though? That's what I don't understand.

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For example, some of the Canon RF lenses are much lighter than my old EF lenses.

Jabin said:

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Aren't the lenses for the mirrors cameras quite a bit larger and heavier, though? That's what I don't understand.

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For lenses this is correct (currently). But with the right lens selection you can still have a considerably lighter camera bag when traveling (as long as you aren't wanting to carry fast telephoto primes). The lens technology will catch up to mirrorless bodies soon and will be lighter/smaller. There is considerable benefit of the mirrorless lens being closer to the sensor so the R&D engineers are working to take advantage of this form factor. Unfortunately the reality is DSLR will eventually be phased out in it's entirety eventually (but the big OEMs won't admit to that yet until they a little past the technology development curve).

Any thoughts on the discoloration in the top left corner of the LCD? My cheek rests there and it is moist a lot when out on the hot, summer days.

I ended up trading in the d5600 and 2 lenses for a z7ii and some new z lenses. Excited for the new stuff

I'm shooting with a D5 and 850. I mainly use 70-200 2.8 and 200-500 5.6.

Heavy doesn't begin to describe my bag, especially for soccer tournaments or long baseball/basketball weekends.

BMo said:

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Any thoughts on the discoloration in the top left corner of the LCD? My cheek rests there and it is moist a lot when out on the hot, summer days.

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I had something similar on an older iPhone. They ended up replacing the entire phone, vs just the screen. It looks like heat from the touchscreen sensors has left a burn mark in that corner, at least that's what I was told about my old phone.

I need camera advice. Photography was a hobby when my kids were younger but I got a little board and havent touched it in more than a few years. I am getting the itch to get back into it and am willing to spend a little money to upgrade my bag. I have a trip in 2 months to Yellowstone and am planning on going to Africa in 2, possibly 3 years. I expect to be shooting wildlife and landscapes in some low light situations, so I want a better low light and higher mp sensor than I have now. My kids are getting serious about HS sports (lacrosse & tennis), so I also want the versatility of a fast AF system for sports.

I currently have a D7000, 16-80 f2.8-4, Tamron 28-75 f2.8, 70-200 f/4. (I am kicking myself for selling a 70-200 f2.8 in favor of the f/4 to lighten the load.)

Selling everything and going mirrorless is probably more than I want to spend, but it isnt totally out of the question. I think I would rather upgrade to a full frame DSLR and pick up a lens or two. First, it will be cheaper, and secondly, I am comfortable with DSLR and am concerned that switching to mirrorless might involve a steeper learning curve.

Right now I am thinking of getting a D850 or D500, along with a Sigma/Tamron 150-600 f/5-6.3. Going this route, my Yellowstone kit would probably be D850, 16-80 f/2.8-4, and the 150-600 f/5-6.3.

So, with all that information, what would you recommend I do?

It all really depends on how much you are comfortable spending at this point.

Unless it isn't in the budget to go forward with mirrorless, I wouldn't make huge investments in DSLRs. I don't think any manufacturer is supporting DSLRs long term and are moving everything over to mirrorless.

That said, I am in the process of moving most (if not all) my stuff over to Nikon mirrorless, so will probably be posting my DSLR stuff (at least most of it, probably not moving my 400mm 2.8 or 200mm f2.0 just yet) for sale pretty soon.

There is a EF to FTZ adapter for the mirrorless cameras you can buy so you can use the older lenses with your newer mirrorless cameras.

I need to send my D500 into Nikon, but the rest of my stuff is in good working order, but probably won't be the prettiest gear you ever see.

Bodies to sell:
D800 (~125k shutter clicks) $400
D4 (~700-800k shutter clicks) $500
D500 (need to send to Nikon first, so price unknown)
Z6 (I have the Z9 and want to upgrade this, have box and everything) $1000

Lenses to sell:
Nikon 14-24 2.8 $750
Nikon 24-120 f4 $350
Nikon 28-300 3.5-5.6 $500
Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR2 $800
Nikon 105 2.8 Micro $400
Nikon 35mm 1.4G $650
Nikon 85mm 1.5G $850
Nikon 50mm 1.8G $100

So depressing to see what these sell for now, compared to what I paid. The D4 was like $7500 or 8k when I bought it. Pretty sure I still have all the boxes and everything for all this, except maybe the 28-300 and 50 1.8.

I still have some Canon stuff as well, but I need to go through that again.

D4 would be your best value camera possible for the HS sports. The sensor is fantastic and my D4 bodies are what I used this year for all my XFL pictures for the XFL.

But yea, I love my Z9 so much, I am ready to move it all over.

If you are open to buying used you can get a whole lot more for less.

A like new d850 on MPB or KEH is $1600-$1800. The 850 is essentially the top of the line as far as DSLR go. It is also large and bulky compared to the Z6/Z7.

A d500 will run you even less, but still a great camera.

Mirrorless aren't that much more, unless you jump to the top of the line Z8/Z9.

A used like new z6ii would run $1200-$1400, and a z7ii around $2000. With mirrorless you can use F Mount lenses as well as the new Z Mount mirrorless lenses which are some of the best lenses ever made. The mirrorless come with in body image stabilization which will help with some of what you mentioned, and they also have faster continuous shoot speeds. The electronic viewfinders and option to show the scene in the viewfinder as it's going to take is nice.

The d850 and d500 will have the edge over the z6ii and z7ii in the autofocus department. The mirrorless autofocus isn't bad, it's just not quite as fast for fast moving subjects. The z6ii performs very well in low light situations, the z7ii has 45MP and is a landscape king.


For the lenses you mentioned, I rented a Tamron 150-600 G2 and took it to Yellowstone and got some really great shots. So I can say that will work for your needs.

If you do choose to go mirrorless, with say a z6ii, you could instead look at adding the new Nikon 180-600 z lens.

Mirrorless does seem to be the way the market is moving, but DSLR still provide a lot of value.