Camera Solar Film Filter Holder

thingiverse

With the upcoming total eclipse of the sun in the USA I wanted a quick fit solar filter that was easy to use as you do not have much time to faf about during totality! A friend gave me a sample of the Baader AstroSolar Safety Film 5.0 to mess about with and this is what I came up with. The film holder is in 2 parts. The mount is the bit that connects to the camera and the hood fits over this. The film is trapped between the mount and hood and then pulled tight to give a relatively smooth finish. It doesn't have to be perfect :) I also printed covers to go on both ends as these filters will have to travel around in my case first. The lenses I have designed mounts for are: Panasonic Lumix G Vario 45-200 in Micro 4/3rds fit Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM in Canon fit Super Albinar 500mm f8 in OM fit (£20 from ebay, optics are pretty good) The Lumix and sigma mounts fit to the existing hood bayonet fitting and are a bit of a fiddle to get smooth. The albinar mount is friction fit. The key is this must be a one handed fit and remove as the moment the eclipse reaches totality you want the filter off the camera ASAP. And as the moon moves away that filter must be back on or you are going to cook your sensor and maybe your eye, **DISCLAIMER** I am not responsible for you getting bad photos and in no way responsible if you don't use the filter properly and damage your camera or yourself. You MUST test the filter before use to ensure there is no damage to the film. Hold it up to a light bulb first. Then check with the sun before fitting it to the camera. NEVER EVER look directly at the sun especially if you are using any form of magnification! The correct solar film MUST BE USED! I recommend getting the bundle pack with film and some glasses: http://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/solar-observation/astrosolar-viewers-and-film/bundle-astrosolar-safety-film-and-solar-viewers.html