Mavic and a solar eclipse

Fishstiq · May 15, 2017

Greetings all,

I will be traveling to see the solar eclipse in August of this year, and I am hoping to have a good, clear view of the event from where I will be going. I will be taking a GoPro with me for filming the event, but I was also planning on taking my Mavic with me. Since the Mavic can't look up at the sky where the sun is, how would you use the Mav in this situation? I don't know if I should try filming the shadow as it moves across the ground, or the horizon, or is there a better idea I haven't heard of yet?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance .

Michaelangelo · May 15, 2017

Good question. I'll be taking the day off from work to enjoy the solar eclipse as I live in the best location to view it the longest. Never thought about filming or photographing it. But now that you've mentioned it, I'm curious. Will be following this thread.

ckl · May 15, 2017

Filming the sun would be of little value as it is just too small with the wide angle camera.
Your idea of the moving shadow is excellent. I remember the total eclipse I saw in northern France in '99 and one of the most striking thing was the move of the shadow over the fields.
I'm impatient to see your shots

Fishstiq · May 15, 2017

ckl said:
Filming the sun would be of little value as it is just too small with the wide angle camera.
Your idea of the moving shadow is excellent. I remember the total eclipse I saw in northern France in '99 and one of the most striking thing was the move of the shadow over the fields.
I'm impatient to see your shots

This is good to know about the shadow movement, I have never seen a total eclipse so I wasn't sure.

I also wonder about filter use, but I think just letting the Mav autofocus will be better with the changing light conditions.

BlakPhoenix · May 15, 2017

The shadow moving across the land will be great to shoot from a height. It moves fast mind you, so be ready for it! Another cool thing you can shoot is that shadows become skewed. Say you hold up a ball, usually it casts a round shadow, well after the eclipse starts it'll cast a round shadow with a hole hunched out of it! So things like leaves from trees, etc all start casting very strange shapes on the ground. Heres a good example: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cc/2a/8c/cc2a8cae7a3b193739953649c13ee4c5.jpg

mavic6611 · May 16, 2017

Fishstiq said:
Greetings all,

I will be traveling to see the solar eclipse in August of this year, and I am hoping to have a good, clear view of the event from where I will be going. I will be taking a GoPro with me for filming the event, but I was also planning on taking my Mavic with me. Since the Mavic can't look up at the sky where the sun is, how would you use the Mav in this situation? I don't know if I should try filming the shadow as it moves across the ground, or the horizon, or is there a better idea I haven't heard of yet?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance .

If you go into the gimbal settings on the app,you're set the gimbal to look upwards by another 30%

tcope · May 16, 2017

Take the Mavic, turn it on without props. Hold it in your hand and point it at the sun.

I fail to see how the Mavic would capture this even any different then any land camera.

Fishstiq · May 16, 2017

mavic6611 said:
If you go into the gimbal settings on the app,you're set the gimbal to look upwards by another 30%

I thought about this, but with an eclipse around 11:00 am, the sun will be almost straight up. I don't think the 30% will be high enough, and if it is, the props are likely to mess with the shot during the changing light conditions. I could be wrong though, was just asking to see if anyone had tried it or something similar.

Arahigihs · Jun 5, 2017

I also live near 100% totality and have thought about filming the event with my Mavic. I like the idea of filming the shadow as it crosses the terrain. I also wonder about cooperative filming. Any of you going to be in the Idaho Falls area for the eclipse?

WEOTN · Jun 5, 2017

I've been tempted to go to Jackson Hole Wy atop the mountain (chair lift likely running for tourists) and film what can be seen from that elevation. Add 400' above the highest peak and it may be impressive. I have not verified extent of occlusion but believe it's nearly complete there.

Kilrah · Jun 5, 2017

tcope said:
I fail to see how the Mavic would capture this even any different then any land camera.

Precisely by going up, probably as high as (reasonably) possible and filming the light changes happening over a large stretch of ground.

erkme73 · Jun 10, 2017

I am in the path of totality in TN. I plan on flying to 400' and aiming back at my location with enough of an angle to catch the horizon. With the shadow moving at nearly 1500 mph, it ought to provide a very noticeable moving target. I'll also be on the ground aiming up with 20-2000mm lenses to capture the various phases of the sun. They say if it's your first, you should really stop taking pictures and enjoy the phenomenon. This will be my first total - so I'm torn on what to do.

Ah, who am I kidding. With my luck, the day will be a washout with complete cloud cover and rain.

BTW, for anyone curious about where the path will go, here's a fantastic map that shows precisely how the eclipse will unfold...

USA - 2017 August 21 Total Solar Eclipse - Interactive Google Map - Xavier Jubier

ETA: Ok, after watching this video of totality from a commercial airline (warning, mute this if you want to retain your sanity), I'm thinking 400' might not be enough to capture the shadow...

Kestrel · Jun 10, 2017

erkme73 said:
I am in the path of totality in TN. I plan on flying to 400' and aiming back at my location with enough of an angle to catch the horizon. With the shadow moving at nearly 1500 mph, it ought to provide a very noticeable moving target. I'll also be on the ground aiming up with 20-2000mm lenses to capture the various phases of the sun. They say if it's your first, you should really stop taking pictures and enjoy the phenomenon. This will be my first total - so I'm torn on what to do.

Ah, who am I kidding. With my luck, the day will be a washout with complete cloud cover and rain.

BTW, for anyone curious about where the path will go, here's a fantastic map that shows precisely how the eclipse will unfold...

USA - 2017 August 21 Total Solar Eclipse - Interactive Google Map - Xavier Jubier

ETA: Ok, after watching this video of totality from a commercial airline (warning, mute this if you want to retain your sanity), I'm thinking 400' might not be enough to capture the shadow...

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I hate when people clap for something like this.

Marko9219 · Jun 11, 2017

WEOTN said:
I've been tempted to go to Jackson Hole Wy atop the mountain (chair lift likely running for tourists) and film what can be seen from that elevation. Add 400' above the highest peak and it may be impressive. I have not verified extent of occlusion but believe it's nearly complete there.

Good luck getting anywhere near Jackson that day!

erkme73 · Jun 11, 2017

MarkNix said:
Good luck getting anywhere near Jackson that day!

When the LaQuinta hotels in towns along the path of totality are charging $800+ per night for the evening leading up to the event, you know it might be a high-demand thing.

niallxd · Jun 11, 2017

Fishstiq said:
Greetings all,

I will be traveling to see the solar eclipse in August of this year, and I am hoping to have a good, clear view of the event from where I will be going. I will be taking a GoPro with me for filming the event, but I was also planning on taking my Mavic with me. Since the Mavic can't look up at the sky where the sun is, how would you use the Mav in this situation? I don't know if I should try filming the shadow as it moves across the ground, or the horizon, or is there a better idea I haven't heard of yet?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance .

A little late to this one!

My first price of advise is “don’t miss the event” it’s surprisingly fast. All the video in the world won’t beat seeing it first hand.

Without a telephoto lens you aren’t going to see anything of use.

Best thing would be to film the shadows as a few have mentioned.

Keep your eye out for an interesting effect that resembles snakes on the floor all wriggling around. This is a product of the shadows that lasts about 20 seconds just after C2 and just before C3.

Super super interesting!

Niall

ceirsik · Jun 11, 2017

I'm in kansas and Hutchinson will be real close to black out. But the in laws live in Kansas City about 3.5hrs from us may have to go there for a complete blackout. Praying for clear skies.

keva1 · Jun 26, 2017

Fishstiq said:
Greetings all,

I will be traveling to see the solar eclipse in August of this year, and I am hoping to have a good, clear view of the event from where I will be going. I will be taking a GoPro with me for filming the event, but I was also planning on taking my Mavic with me. Since the Mavic can't look up at the sky where the sun is, how would you use the Mav in this situation? I don't know if I should try filming the shadow as it moves across the ground, or the horizon, or is there a better idea I haven't heard of yet?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks in advance .

Hello...I'm also going to film with my Mavic Pro in the SW corner of North Carolina...Good Luck!

keva1 · Jun 26, 2017

BlakPhoenix said:
The shadow moving across the land will be great to shoot from a height. It moves fast mind you, so be ready for it! Another cool thing you can shoot is that shadows become skewed. Say you hold up a ball, usually it casts a round shadow, well after the eclipse starts it'll cast a round shadow with a hole hunched out of it! So things like leaves from trees, etc all start casting very strange shapes on the ground. Heres a good example: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cc/2a/8c/cc2a8cae7a3b193739953649c13ee4c5.jpg

This is an excellent idea! I'll also be photographing with my Nikon DSLR...what you describe is suppose to be phenomenal and I'm very excited to use my Mavic Pro to capture this part of the eclipse! Thanks for sharing this information with others!