The lens was a Russian 1000mm mirror lens. The optics are good, but it is heavy and focus is very critical. It was mounted via a video camera shoe onto a sturdy commercial tripod. The camera at the back was an old manual Fujica with shutter speeds from 1/700 to 1/2 sec. I used a cable release of course.
After careful pre-focussing on the partial phase through a welding glass filter I removed it and glanced through the viewfinder at the first moment of totality...WOW!!... All looked well. I took a series of shots from 1/700 sec to 1/8 sec and had run out of time! Just time to go back to 1/700 to get the diamond ring. The film was ISO200 Fuji slide film. I would have liked a couple of longer exposure shots but it was not to be.
This was my first 'go' with the equipment and my first total eclipse. My biggest problem by far was positioning the image. The attachment of lens to tripod needs to be made more rigid and I need some fine adjustment control positioning the lens to center the image. The modifications will be to the tripod head.
I was delighted with the results and will now try some shots of the moon to try and get all its phases.
Maintained by Michael Oates