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Photo hobbyist since the birth of my elder, I collected a complete general-purpose photo hardware set.
To photograph the eclipse, I filled my bag with the following pieces:
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It should be noted that the 600mm is a catadioptric telephoto, i.e. with mirrors. It is built exactly as a Cassegrain telescope, without an eyepiece. The pros are a very light, extremely compact lens, without chromatic aberrations and very cheap. Indeed, I bought this second-hand lens a few years ago less than $250 (compared to several thousands dollars that costs a regular 600mm). I rarely use it, mainly for nature or sports frames. The eclipse was the dreamed occasion to mount it.
Le major cons of this lens type, in addition to a contestable sharpness and a high taste for vibrations, is the fixed aperture: the lens formula does not allow to include a diaphragm. It alwas works at f=8, thus under the aperture priority mode. Only the film speed and filter mounting make possible to adapt to light conditions.
For those who are surprised of the presence of the flash I specify that of course it was not intended to light the Sun or the Moon. I only use this light source to break contrast (fill-in effect) or to enhance contrast in order to dramatize the secenery.
I also completed this panoply with an amateur Newton telescope 900mm/115mm. A basic and cheap model. But do not be hard to please; we can offer today for leisure hardware which would have make dream generations of scientists. With a 20mm eyepiece, the Moon and the Sun nearly fill the circular vision field; the spectacle is always superb.
I also carried binoculars and the famous « special eclipse glasses ».
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