How To Build A Solar Filter For My Camera

If you're excited to shoot the eclipse but you don't take a solar filter to protect your camera, here are some directions for a handy DIY solar filter that will allow you lot to get some shots.

I am a rank amateur in photography, simply I exercise have a Macgyver streak, and was actually born in Kentucky, then I accept some leeway lest you lot judge me too harshly as beingness overly Bubba.

The procedure is simple:

get a cardboard mailing tube (the beefier the ameliorate) that fits over your lens (barely) … anywhere shipping stuff is sold
cut two sections of the tube (more on this afterward)…cut the film to fit the outer bore of the tube (or practice it after as I did)
glue the film to one section of tube
glue the other section of the tube to the assembly
shoot!

I purchased the Thousand Oaks sheets from Amazon, two 4X4" squares. You lot simply need one sheet, but I have two lenses I desire to make a filter for. Prices are going crazy on this stuff, so check around on Amazon and find some inexpensive but expert quality film. You'll need to measure the size of your tubes to get film to cover the tube. That was my only cost every bit I had the tube on manus.

I cut i department of tube long plenty so that the picture show can't touch the lens (depending on your lens, yous may want to create a temporary "terminate" around the circumference of your lens out of safe bands or whatever works for y'all…stainless steel hose clamps might do the trick on the inexpensive besides).

I cut the second section of tube about an inch in length.

To wit:

Cut the tube (measure twice rule!):

Hither's the long department on the 70-300mm AF-S Nikkor. The lens is fully extended to the 300mm length, and note the lens can't touch the top of the tube, upon which I'll mountain the film:

Paint it black (optional, apologies to the Stones):

Get your materials prepare. I opted for rubber cement (that's the filter pic abreast it):

Put mucilage on the tube, then the film, put glue on the other tube piece, and so clamp the assembly as the glue dries (I used my camera).You may want to test the mucilage on a corner to brand sure it doesn't dissolve the film. Then trim the filter film:

I used gaffer's tape, blackness, to finish the outside and add some forcefulness to the associates. The hillbilly in me wanted to use plain duct tape:

And here we are, all mounted up:

The budding photographer in me would not leave you without something of a reveal:

Some clouds, merely my very first sun pic can be seen (cropped) at the peak of this post. My settings were Nikon D80, at 300mm, 1/160s, f/5.6, ISO 1250.