The 2027 total eclipse
Photographing the 2027 eclipse in Egypt
Photographing this eclipse from Egypt has two special problems: the sun is 82° up in Luxor, almost overhead, so many tripods cannot point at it, and the heat can shut cameras and phones down. Use a solar filter on the lens for the partial phases, take it off only for the 6m 20s of totality, bracket your exposures widely, and keep everything in the shade until you need it. With a phone, a wide shot of the scene in the half-light is usually better than a zoomed shot of the sun.
No special kit
With a phone
- 1Shoot the scene, not the sun. The sun is tiny on a phone. The strange light on the temples, the sunset glow all round and people's faces make the better pictures.
- 2Filter for the partial phase. Hold an eclipse-glasses lens or a solar filter sheet over the phone's lens. It protects the sensor and gives you the crescent.
- 3Remove the filter for totality. Lock focus and exposure on the eclipsed sun, and try 2x or 3x zoom at most. Digital zoom beyond that is mush.
- 4Start a video before second contact. Prop the phone on something pointing at the horizon and let it record the darkness arrive, the cheers and the light coming back.
- 5Keep it cool. Keep the phone in a bag in the shade until you need it. In direct sun at these temperatures it may stop working.
Lenses and filters
With a camera and a long lens
The sun's image on the sensor is roughly the focal length divided by 110: about 4.5 mm with a 500 mm lens. For a frame filled with the corona, use about 300 to 600 mm on a full-frame camera, less on a smaller sensor. A wide lens on a second camera, set to shoot automatically, records the landscape and the people.
A proper solar filter goes on the front of the lens, never between the lens and your eye, and stays on until the diamond ring. It comes off for totality and goes back on at third contact.
| What | Filter | Shutter speed |
|---|---|---|
| Partial phases | On | About 1/500 to 1/1000 s; check the histogram |
| Baily's beads and diamond ring | Off | About 1/1000 to 1/2000 s |
| Prominences | Off | About 1/500 to 1/1000 s |
| Inner corona | Off | About 1/60 to 1/250 s |
| Outer corona | Off | About 1/8 to 1 s |
The outer corona is far fainter than the inner, which is why one exposure cannot show both. Use your camera's bracketing to fire a sequence of speeds in one go, and blend them later.
The Luxor problem
Pointing a camera almost straight up
At 82° many ball heads and video heads cannot tilt far enough, and a long lens on a tripod can tip over. Test your setup at the same time of day, a few days before.
An L-bracket lets the camera turn on its side, a gimbal head or an equatorial or alt-azimuth mount handles the steep angle, and weighting the tripod keeps it upright. The sun is in almost the same place at the same clock time for several days either side of 2 August, so rehearse at about 13:02 on 30 or 31 July: framing, focus, the filter coming off and going back on. Mark focus with tape.
Keeping gear working
Heat and dust
Eclipse climatologist Jay Anderson notes that cameras often warn at about 45°C, and Luxor has reached 46°C on 2 August. Shade the camera under a white cloth (dampen it if you can), carry spare batteries, which drain quicker in heat, and keep lenses capped against blown sand. Do not change lenses in the open on a windy day.
The rules
Drones, tripods and temple rules
Drones need a permit arranged in advance in Egypt and may be held at customs, and tripods and professional filming at the temples also need permits. No special eclipse-day rules had been announced when we checked. See photography on a Nile cruise and photography and drone rules in Egypt.
Asked often
Photographing the eclipse, answered
- Can I photograph the 2027 eclipse with my phone?
- Yes. Use a solar filter over the lens for the partial phases, remove it for totality, lock focus and exposure on the sun, and keep zoom to 2x or 3x. A wide shot or video of the scene often works best.
- What lens do I need to photograph the corona?
- About 300 to 600 mm on a full-frame camera. The sun's image is roughly the focal length divided by 110, so a 500 mm lens gives a sun about 4.5 mm across, leaving room for the corona.
- What settings should I use for totality?
- As starting points at ISO 100 and f/8: about 1/1000 s for the diamond ring and prominences, 1/60 to 1/250 s for the inner corona and 1/8 to 1 s for the outer corona. Bracket widely.
- Can I fly a drone during the eclipse in Egypt?
- Only with a permit arranged in advance. Drones are restricted in Egypt and may be held at customs on arrival.
- Do I need a solar filter during totality?
- No. The filter comes off once the sun is completely covered and must go back on as soon as the first bead of sunlight returns.
