Transit of Venus, anyone?

So I only just read about it on the bbc website, that there's going to be a Transit of Venus tomorrow, and then not again for over 100 years, so it's the last chance any of us will get.
This and this are useful to figure out if you can see at least some of it (basically, as long as you're not in West Africa or Brazil, you'll get something).

So, now I'm thinking about gear.
I've got a Jupiter 250mm f/3.5, with two 2x TCs, makes 1000mm f/14. On top of that I've got a Hoya ND400, and a Canon ND8. If I stop down the lens I can get anywhere up to f/16, so f/64 with the TCs. Add on a Kenko 1.4x if I have to. (the Jupiter might not be the best lens, bright copper blades to uncoated optics, i'll pack the 70-300L as well although i already know from experience that gives flare pointing at the sun).
I'll take the 7D and the EOS3 with a roll of ISO50 Velvia (because it's that or Tmax400 B+W film) and decide when I get there (probably take a few shots with both).

Is that going to be dark enough? I shot the eclipse in Europe a year and a bit ago, that was fine even at f/16. But this is pointing straight at the sun with a fly in front of it blocking light, do I need darker? (only other ways to go darker would be with CPLs, i've got a reversal adapter for DIY-Vari-ND, but the one time i used it everything went purple)
And should I put in a UV filter if i'm going to be shooting with film? (I can get the B+W MRC off my 70-300L if I have to).

So, am I going to cook my sensor, go blind, melt film, should I stop past a camera shop on the way to work and buy an ND10,000 (seeing as I have to work tomorrow, this will probably be a quick lunch-break shot), or should I just accept that it's probably going to be cloudy anyway?

Anyone else shooting it?

Oh yeah, and i'm just remembered them, so I'm also packing an f/177 pinhole, f/91 zone sieve, f/55 zone plate (at 42mm), and about a meter worth of extension tubes and bellows. That should do it...

The forecast for this afternoon (when it will occur here in New England) is cloudy to rainy, so I will likely miss it. If I see an opening at all, I will give it a shot.

Be mindful of eye safety. When I was researching how to shoot the solar eclipse, I found several references stating that ND filters weren't good enough because they blocked visible light and not enough UV or IR. I ended up with solar (Baader) film which was equivalent to 16 stops for visible light but blocks UV/IR. Enro got a great shot and I believe he used a 10-stop ND filter but only shot in Live View. Bob got his through welders glass. So, if you don't have something specifically designed for direct observation of the sun (or #14 welders glass), my recommendation would be to never look through your eye piece and use live view only (so if you fry something, it is your sensor and not your eye).

Look forward to the shots. I am disappointed that it doesn't look like it will work out for me here.

links to the discussion for the eclipse:

http://community.the-digital-picture...hlight=eclipse

Yeah, i was reading that when the eclipse was on, but this one's going to be much much more powerful, so i'd probably need even darker.

Come to think of it now that you mention it, I'm sure there's a few welders around work, i'll see what I can do about handholding some welding masks in front of the lens (if the clouds move, no chance of anything right now)

Not being into the whole astro photography thing was not a deal breaker for me. I invested a bit of money and a bit of time and captured this vision of the transit.

In Australia we get a slightly diffferent perspective of the transit, so i present my image of the transit.


Attachment 1138

Thanks for viewing.

Dr. Thought you had been following. Just wanted to be sure.

So, I got lucky. It has been raining hear long enough that I know people working on Arks. The forecast was for most rain and certainly clouds during the transit. But, things parted just long enough. I've only processed these two, but, hopefully they tell the story.

Both shot through the Baader film.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/7...984f72f6_b.jpg
Venus Transit-5267 by kayaker72, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7...45432ce4_b.jpg
Venus Transit-5351 by kayaker72, on Flickr

Thanks
Brant

EDIT---just saw Steve's post. Excellent capture. :)
So, my wife was with me and to give me a few more minutes of shooting, I tried to get her excited about it. So, she looked through the lens and looked back at me and we had the follow conversation:
Her "So, it's a little dot"
Me "No, it is Venus, and it is between us and the sun. It is a whole planet and this is the last time you will see this in your lifetime!"
Her "So, it's a little dot"
Me "Ummmm..yeah...but the little dot is a planet??!"
Her "I'll wait in the car"

Yours a nice but a little bit fake Brant.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve U

Yours a nice but a little bit fake Brant.

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I know, but do you have to call me out so quick? It took me weeks to prepare....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kayaker72

So, I got lucky. It has been raining hear long enough that I know people working on Arks. The forecast was for most rain and certainly clouds during the transit. But, things parted just long enough. I've only processed these two, but, hopefully they tell the story.
...
EDIT---just saw Steve's post. Excellent capture. :)
So, my wife was with me and to give me a few more minutes of shooting, I tried to get her excited about it. So, she looked through the lens and looked back at me and we had the follow conversation:
Her "So, it's a little dot"
Me "No, it is Venus, and it is between us and the sun. It is a whole planet and this is the last time you will see this in your lifetime!"
Her "So, it's a little dot"
Me "Ummmm..yeah...but the little dot is a planet??!"
Her "I'll wait in the car"

---

Great images. Love the story. Girls just don't understand our dots. :-)

Great story Brant. :rolleyes:

I can't take any credit for this shot of venus's transit.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...00/transit.jpg

:D did you wear eye protection?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ham

I can't take any credit for this shot of venus's transit.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O...00/transit.jpg

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I must admit....this made me laugh for a good 10 seconds straight. Well done. :-)

+1.

+2

Ok...while others have proven that my idea of the "transit of Venus" is a tad narrow, I processed the rest of my photos last night and came up with two more.

I keep seeing a slight blue color above the sun and a slight yellow/orange color below the sun. Anyone know why?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7092/7...ae6e0ef3_b.jpg
Venus Transit 2012-5277 by kayaker72, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8018/7...1ef49591_b.jpg
Transit of Venus 2012-5254 by kayaker72, on Flickr

thanks for viewing,
Brant

Great shots Brant!
Totally Cool Pics also has a nice line-up of photos of the Transit of Venus if you are interested. I thought it was worth a look :cool:

Thanks Jan. Nice link. People got some great captures of the event. Of course, NASA has some amazing shots with their fancy toys.

Kayaker72, great photos. I live in Maine and the clouds didn't let up here unfortunatley- it seems like that always happens on rare events like this. Can you link me to the filter that you used? I'd like to try this out for myself... thanks!

Photog82, thanks. Glad you liked them. It's too bad the weather didn't work out for you, I was just lucky to have a window where things cleared up.

I used Baader film (Baader AstroSolar Safety Film) and made my own filter at home (instructions come with the kit). There are several other solar filters you can purchase.

Info on Baader film can be found here:
http://www.baader-planetarium.com/so.../details_e.htm

I bought mine from here:
http://www.astro-physics.com/

The light that comes through the filter is pretty white. I haven't played with it yet, but apparently you can add filters to look at specific wavelengths and increase the detail on the sun surface. If interested, the tech people at astro-physics were very helpful. I'd just give them a call.

Good luck...look forward to your shots.
Brant

Cool Shots Brant! You've captured the moment really well! Now, you'll be ready for the next one!

Rich