How to Capture A SOLAR ECLIPSE with an ACTION CAMERA
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- Having the right planning, tools, and settings will help set you up for success with capturing a solar eclipse with your action camera. This video outlines some considerations to make when planning your filming as well as the settings I recommend you use on the GoPro Hero 12, DJI Osmo Action 4, Insta360 Ace Pro, and the DJI Osmo Pocket 3.
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Table of Contents:
0:00 - Foundational elements
0:32 - When and how long to film
1:40 - Expectations with an action camera
2:15 - Camera alignment
2:50 - Tripod
3:38 - Framing your time lapse
4:14 - Power considerations
4:54 - If you own ND filters
5:35 - If you own multiple cameras
5:55 - Why static values?
6:42 - GoPro best settings
13:56 - DJI Osmo Action 4 best settings
17:37 - Insta360 Ace Pro best settings
20:04 - DJI Osmo Pocket 3 best settings
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Thanks for the settings, worked great here in Ohio!
That’s exciting to hear! I had all four cameras out today capturing this eclipse with a time lapse and so far the previews look like they nicely captured the progression of light to darkness to light. I was in an area that only got about 90% max coverage of the sun but even with that 90% the darkness progression was noticeable and the cameras seemed to have captured this nicely.
Thank you. I was waiting for this.
You’re welcome
Good tips!
Thanks!
Thank you for the good tips and advice!
You’re welcome!
Amazing content , thanks !
Appreciate it!
Thanks very much. Excellent info!!
You’re welcome!
Great effort! Thanks for sharing bro 👍
Thank you!
Exactly what I needed .
Glad this was helpful.
Extremely helpful for me even though I am using an Insta360 OneRS....similar setting. I had to pause and rewind a couple of times for the settings as a newbie but very straightforward.
Appreciate it and glad you found this helpful. Have fun!
Sounds like me!
Thumps up for the information! Anybody with an insta360!!
You’re welcome!
Me! Hope it all worked out for you and everyone else.
🍺 gracias !.❤
You’re welcome!
This is incredibly helpful for a beginner on the Osmo Pocket 3. Thank you so much. I became a member just so I could thank you properly!
Thank you. I really appreciate your feedback and support!
Here’s what I captured. I took to heart your point about framing in another subject (the tree) but in doing so I screwed up the most important framing consideration - the path of the sun! I lined up with what I thought was the path of the line of totality, but it’s the SUN that is the main thing to track!
Ah well, I’m happy with what I’ve got. I’ll just have to try again in Spain in 2026! 😂
ua-cam.com/video/yyK8W9clMtI/v-deo.htmlsi=SXI-yOiww0xgBEYO
I actually really like this and I think you did well! You actually captured the sun being completely eclipsed too which is way cool. The transformation of light to darkness is very apparent and well done!
Amazing video. The best I saw on UA-cam for the eclipse in 2024. Answered all the questions that I couldn’t find anywhere else. Thank you very much! Just subscribed!
Thank you. I appreciate your support and I hope you enjoy the eclipse!
Thanks for you time and your information. What ND you recommend for Pocket 3?
I recommend either ND32 or ND64 if it is sunny. This should enable you to have an ISO of 100 and a shutter speed of about 1/200 in order to yield an EV value of about -0.3.
Awesome video thanks . I have a GOPRO HERO 9 BLACK . What ND filter would you suggest , as in what number and would it change my setting in your first video you did for GOPRO 12 . I will be in video mode and in time lapse .
Thanks. If it’s a sunny day I’d recommend ND32. If it’s an overcast day probably ND16 or ND8.
I have a question regarding settings if you have a solar filter? Great content!!! Thank you for the information.
Same question. Should I change filters during the timelapse?
If you have a true solar filter that blocks nearly all sunlight this would impact the settings significantly and I would probably recommend a shutter speed of Auto so that the camera you are using can adjust the shutter speed as needed.
No I would not recommend changing filters during the time lapse. This will change your lighting and will also result in the camera getting disturbed in the middle of a time lapse.
Thank you so much for the great technical advice! I've been watching your channel for about 3 months! I'm new to photography, the DJI Pocket 3 and the ND filters in general.
I ordered the NEEWER Magnetic filters for DJI OSMO Pocket 3, both Polarizing and Neutral Density Filters
It contains a six pack of: UV CPL ND16/PL ND32/PL ND64/PL ND256/PL. I know you suggested the ND32. Is that the best or would you use a different value for the upcoming solar eclipse? Thanks in advance!
You’re welcome and great question! So it will largely depend on how bright the sky is where you are and what time of day the eclipse will be occurring. If it is bright then you’ll like need the ND32 or even ND64 in order to get a proper exposure and a lower shutter speed (around 1/100 - 1/200 range for SS). If it is somewhat cloudy then you may only ND16.
Usually I aim to use ND32 on a bright day and get the exposure to balance based upon that with my ISO and shutter speed.
Great! Thanks a million! If I may indulge you one more time. Where these filters have adjustable polarizing dials on them, does that make a difference how they're set?@@GreatDayForAHike
@user-ws3vg9rn5p You can get good results with or without but I recommend enabling the polarizer function as this will help eliminate some light pollution and give richer colors.
You're the BEST! Thanks@@GreatDayForAHike
@user-ws3vg9rn5p You’re welcome!
Thank you! What would be your suggestions for Gopro 11 if not wanting to edit?
I would recommend the video mode settings for the GoPro that I show on here and use 16:9 for the aspect ratio. Let me know if you have questions about any of the other specific settings.
@GreatDayForAHike Thank you so much. Yes if you could tell me basic settings, since yours were for editing? I have some nd filters, what strength would be best? Or using the film from solar sunglasses, would that be a good idea?
@lorilopez6806 Use video mode, highest resolution of 5.3K, wide lens, EV Comp 0, ISO Min and Max both at 100. Shutter will be Auto. Color natural. Sharpness of medium. If it’s bright and sunny use ND32. If it’s cloudier you should be able to use ND16.
@@GreatDayForAHike Thank you, i really appreciate it. I learned how to use my Gopro 11 from your videos, as i had never used one before. Always good advice and ideas, and product info. Appreciate you, thanks again
@lorilopez6806 You’re welcome!
thank you I do appreciate you sharing the settings. only thing is that I feel like the ND filter you mentioned ND32 is in no way appropriate as it blew out all detail in the sun during the eclipse. any instructions on how to fix it, Im not sure details can now be restored as its blown out. I spent a lot of time filming the eclipse using these instructions and it's all a big loss. I think you give good advice but you missed on the ND filter recommendation or lack of.
Thanks for sharing your feedback. If your goal was to get the sun itself properly exposed vs the whole frame that would require a really high shutter speed and/or probably an ND256 or maybe even ND1000 filter on your action camera. That is because you cannot adjust the aperture on these cameras and because the sun is a very bright object. In this video I specifically mentioned that these four cameras are good for providing a wide-angle landscape scene, but are not good for a close-up or much detail of the sun.
As an example, I captured this eclipse video with the DJI Osmo Action 4 and most of the time in this time lapse the sun is overexposed but the rest of the frame is properly exposed. The only time the sun is reasonably well exposed is when it is mostly eclipsed and with several layers of clouds going over it but during that time the rest of my frame is underexposed because I set the exposure to not change during the time lapse in order to really capture that progression from light to darkness to light. ua-cam.com/video/rm_1CvB2ndU/v-deo.htmlsi=leJQYd1lKZwG4ugB
Thanks! No need for a solar filter or film on the GoPro?
Nope, no need for a solar filter or film on an action camera. ND filters or a polarizer can help enhance certain aspects of the scene being captured but are not necessary.
Great video. I’m new to time lapse using GoPro. I have a GoPro11 and plan to use it for the solar eclipse using the settings you mentioned. Do I leave the battery inside the GoPro while using an external power source?
Do you plan on using an nd filter?
No. I don’t plan to use a filter.
It is up to you if you leave the battery inside the GoPro while using an external power source. For time lapses I usually do leave the battery inside the GoPro while it is connected to an external power source.
Thank you.
@coryvargas556 You’re welcome.
Awesome video, so I just got finished recording it. But I left my the Color on GoPro and I adjusted it to -0.5. Will I still be able to edit it?
Yes, neither of these settings should pose a problem for the final result. You likely won’t need to edit the color saturation, but you may need to bring up the exposure slightly. Or it might be good for the exposure depending upon your sky.
@@GreatDayForAHike okay so I see that my Camera is set to 5500. So this is too
High. Is there a way this can be adjusted
In DaVinci Resolve? Also I see the zoom
Is at 1.2 which accidentally was adjusted.
@MarcsPhotosVideos Yes, you can adjust the white balance while video editing.
GoPro 12 user, how would an ND filter help? Which ND filter 8,16, etc? Would any of the settings need to change with an ND filter? Thanks
The ND filter simply limits the amount of light hitting the camera’s sensor and forces the camera to use a slower shutter speed to balance the exposure. A slower shutter speed gives smoother, more appealing motion in the time lapse.
What ND filter would you recommend for the GoPro? I have the NEEWER ND set. Thanks
I own the Freewell set linked in the description but the filters you own should work great as well. If it is a bright day you’ll probably want ND32 to get a slower shutter speed in the sweet spot. If it’s a cloudier day you may only need ND16 to get a balanced exposure and a slower shutter speed.
Thanks I was about to ask this too.
With the OA4 would the sandisk extreme plus work for video+raw? What about a Samsung EVO select?
I haven’t officially tested either of those so I cannot say for certain, but if the write speeds are faster than the SanDisk Extreme card then chances are those might work.
Thank you. It was a great informative video. Looking forward to what I get captured of the eclipse.
@darrelkordie-ub5ff You’re welcome and have fun!
Does anyone have thoughts on using the regular lens vs the Max lens mod for a Hero 11?
I recommend sticking with the regular lens for maximum quality.
@@GreatDayForAHike thank you for replying!
Where I am during the eclipse they are calling for it to be cloudy. I believe the whole sky may be covered with clouds. Do I do the same settings on my Ace Pro? Also the footage looks very dark after adjusting the settings. What is the reason for this? Thanks.
Yes, you’ll still want to make sure your camera is properly exposed before the start of the eclipse when you start your time lapse (about 1 hour and 15 minutes before the maximum eclipse occurs). Having the camera properly exposed before the eclipse will ensure your time lapse shows the full progression from light to dark to light again.
If your footage still looks dark after adjusting the settings I would say make sure you are at a balanced exposure and that you are not underexposed. Also, make sure your screen brightness on your camera is 100% so you can accurately see the exposure as it’s going to need to be a bit of a guess since the Ace Pro does not have an EV meter to reference.
Thanks for sharing. I do have a question tho. Why would the eclipse not ruin these cameras, but you mention that if you use other cameras, the eclipse could ruin the lens/camera? Thanks
Thanks and good question. Taking a time lapse of the eclipse with an action camera would be the same taking a time lapse of a sunrise or sunset. The camera is pointed directly at the sun for these situations as well. Due to the wide angle lens and how the camera is designed, capturing a time lapse of an eclipse should not cause any damage to the camera sensor. Additionally, many of these companies have weighed in on this as well and stated their cameras will work for a time lapse of an eclipse and not harm the sensor.
With a telephoto lens the energy from the sun gets magnified and focused more directly into the sensor in a small, intense area. This is why using a telephoto can damage the camera sensor on a larger camera without the proper filter.
@@GreatDayForAHike Perfect! Thanks for answering. I am planning on taking time lapse of the eclipse with the Pocket 3, Action 4, and Ace Pro. Weather calls for a very sunny day with no clouds and very low wind. I'm directly in the path of the eclipse so should be a good show. Thanks again.
@tommycote1550 Nice! Enjoy it and I hope you get some great time lapses.
Should I change filters during the timelapse?
No, I would or recommend changing filters in the middle of a time lapse. This will disturb your camera and will abruptly change lighting in a way that isn’t naturally occurring.
You saved me! Thank you. My eclipse footage looks good so far. (insta360 one R)
This is great to hear!
Should I set my GoPro Hero 11 Black to “Night Lapse” ? Another video said to do that.
You could if you want to. If you do though, you’ll want to ensure the shutter speed is kept at Auto (if it shows as an option). Otherwise your shutter speed could be too slow and result in blown out footage that looks almost entirely white.
I tried your settings on my Pocket 3 today, ND 32 installed. -3.0 achieved. With the sun in the frame , there was a huge bloom around the sun. My other ND goes from 6 to 9 stops. Dark now. Any suggestions for morning test?
You want to aim to achieve -0.3. -3.0 would be too underexposed. I recommend ND32, ISO 100, and then adjust your shutter speed pre-eclipse so that the EV value is at -0.3. Then when the sun heads toward maximum eclipse you will get the darkness happening without the camera re-adjusting the exposure and missing the dramatic transformation.
@@GreatDayForAHike Thanks for the prompt and clear reply. I can do the adjustment you suggest. But, since you didn’t say any thing about the blooming with the sun in frame, can you say a bit more? And, I have auto OFF.
@EdwardKilner By “blooming” do you mean lens flare, bright overexposed light directly around the sun, or something else? In this video I mentioned that I do not recommend trying to get a close up of the eclipse with any of these cameras as they simply are not designed to be able to capture this well. These cameras will do better with a wide angle landscape shot that includes some of the ground and some of the sky with the sun.
That being said if the sun is part of your landscape shot and the frame is exposed at about -0.3 this means the sun is still likely to be overexposed within the broader frame. This is because in order to expose the sun itself properly you’d have to basically made the rest of your frame so dark nothing else will be visible. I recommend exposing the frame as a whole to the -0.3 level prior to the eclipse starting and not properly exposing the sun itself.
Hope that helps.
@@GreatDayForAHike I’m just west of Toronto. Backyard at 2-4 has full exposure of sun and Pocket 3 has its standard lens. So, sun is not a large part of frame. But at the settings discussed, in today’s blue sky, the sun was not a crisp circle, it was a fully diffuse area at least a third of the frame. Again huge thanks for your interest. There was no evidence of a circa marking the exact location of the sun so, no way of auto tracking. Would be willing to use higher ND value then interrupt and back down. Is that what I should do?
@EdwardKilner Yes, a stronger ND filter or a slightly different angle for the camera might also help. Enjoy it!
I can’t find how to get the raw photos in the Mimo app. I tried a test and have the Timelapse but no raw photos. Using OA4.
I believe the DJI Mimo app will not allow handling RAW photos.
Hii I just saw your video, my configuration was the same for hero 12 black, but when I saw the time lapse videos in my computer, I can not see the eclipse :( I just capture the sun as if there were no eclipse :( could you explain me this please?
First of all, if you chose these settings, you chose the best ones for capturing an eclipse. Even with the best settings though an eclipse is very challenging to capture on an action camera and expectations of what you will capture are important. With an action camera what you’ll primarily capture is the transition of light to darkness to light. The sun itself is not really going to show the eclipse with a wide angle lens like that of the GoPro (you would need a telephoto lens with a special solar filter to show the sun close up). However, that transition from light to darkness to light should be noticeable, especially if you speed up the time lapse.
The EV setting did not move, still says -3.0 you said make sure its -0.3, thanks.
Correct, it did not move because I am indoors where there is not enough light to get it to -0.3 without drastically slowing down the shutter speed. This is why I mentioned you want to aim for -0.3. I had to film this video indoors at the time I did it due to several days of rain and bad weather. Was unable to film it outdoors where I could have easily gotten the EV setting to -0.3.
Very last minute...what level and should I use on GoPro?
Are you asking about ND filters or something else? Want to make sure I understand your question. Thanks.
Did you ever capture an exclipse with these settings? I'd have loved to see a "... and this is what it will look like!" video!
Also, I have the Insta360 X3 - a lot of these settings can be found on it. Going to try and sync it up as best as possible and hope it looks good!
No, because the last solar eclipse like this that I was near was in 2017 and I wasn’t using my action cameras for neat things like capturing eclipses then 😂
To a camera, an eclipse is simply a transformation of more light (pre-eclipse) to less light (maximum eclipse) back to more light (post eclipse). The key is to set your camera so that it does not automatically adjust to the lighting changes as this would minimize or offset the intensity of the changes in lighting. The camera being set to static exposure triangle values will provide the best results and capture the maximum intensity of the change in lighting.
These settings won't eliminate the chorona right? I really want totality to show a ring, even if some of the lapse is overexposed a bit.
I'm using the Insta360 X3. I dont expect high resolution of it, but a lot of action cams videos I've gone through can see it pretty well. Most didn't have all settings posted unfortunately to confirm.
Sorry for the long, super last second comment!
@Alabar3000 I’m not sure if an action camera will capture the chorona due to it being a wide angle perspective and not telephoto. It may be possible to show that with a lot of cropping but I would not expect it. If it does, then great, a bonus for you.
Did I hear you right, you don't need ND filters for the cameras? I will use a DJI Pocket 2, I suppose it's close to the one you're using but I don't have ND filters for it like you did in the video.
Yes you heard this correctly. The benefit of ND filters is these will allow for a slower shutter speed which means smoother time lapse motion with less sharp frames. Without ND filters you’ll simply need a faster shutter speed to get a balanced exposure.
Thanks. What will be the best settings on GoPro 11 mounted outside the plane, flying at 5000 ft for eclipse totality in Vermont? Thanks again.
First, that sounds like an incredible way to capture an eclipse. These settings as shown in the video for the Hero 12 should work great on the Hero 11 for either video or photo (whichever you choose).
Hi, I created my own preset, but when I am trying to rename from custom to my prefered name, it just doesnt respond, I tried clicking harder, softer, I touched the screen and kept pressing, nothing helped. Not sure what might be the issue. Should I reset it?
Are you using a GoPro? If you are, try connecting your GoPro to your phone via the Quik app and then rename it there.
@@GreatDayForAHike thank you so much for such a quick reply, truly appreciate it.
@Richy1anita You’re welcome.
@@GreatDayForAHike I tried to change the present name in the GoPro app, but I don’t see an option to edit the name there either. It is currently named custom, if I create another preset it would be named as custom 1, and because of this I wouldn’t know what’s the kind of preset it has, and hence it wouldn’t serve the purpose of creating a new preset.
@Richy1anita Hero 12? If so, make sure you’re on the latest firmware. That being said, I have seen the renaming of presets function to be a bit buggy at times.
Used these settings on my pocket 3 and it wouldnt focus on the sun at all.
Yes, in this video at the beginning I mentioned that using any of these four cameras will not give you a close up of the sun and that these will be for wider angle views that show the landscape and how the lighting changes as the eclipse progresses. Action cameras are not designed for close up views of the sun. A camera with a telephoto lens would be needed for that.
Wow....used the exact settings recommend in this video for OA4 (no filter, and shutter speed to -3.0...etc)....and the video was garbage . All you see in the video is a glowing ball of light. Guess I'll wait another 20 years.👎
In this video, I stated that I recommend getting the EV value to -0.3, not -3.0. I also typed this out in that part of the video to make sure there was emphasis on this aspect of getting the EV value properly set.