Eclipse Gear & How to Safely Photograph Totality

A total solar eclipse is one of the few sights that genuinely lives up to the hype — and one of the easiest to get badly wrong if you're not prepared. Here's the gear that matters and how to photograph totality safely.

First, your eyes: certified glasses only

For the entire partial phase — and that's the whole event if you're outside the path of totality — you need eclipse glasses that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard. Ordinary sunglasses, no matter how dark, do not protect you. Buy from a reputable supplier, check the glasses for scratches or pinholes before the day, and supervise kids closely.

Protecting your camera and binoculars

Anything with a lens that concentrates light — binoculars, a telescope, a camera with a zoom — needs a proper solar filter fitted over the front of the lens during the partial phases. Pointing an unfiltered telephoto at the Sun can destroy the sensor in seconds, and looking through unfiltered optics can cause permanent eye damage almost instantly. The filter goes on the front, never the eyepiece.

The one rule of eclipse photography

During the partial phases, keep the filter on. In the brief window of totality — and only if you are inside the path — you can safely remove the filter to capture the corona, then you must put it back the instant the Sun's edge reappears. That's when the light returns suddenly and dangerously.

Don't forget to actually look

The most common regret among eclipse photographers is spending the whole of totality fiddling with settings and missing the experience itself. Set your camera up in advance, use a simple plan, and then — for at least part of those precious minutes — put the gear down and just watch. Totality is short. Give yourself the memory, not just the file.