Shooting the sun

[twister!]

Cheers Eddie. Fingers crossed on that polarising filter then - good tip about projecting onto a piece of paper too.

[exar kun]

Hi,
first of all, do you have a video or film camera?
I don't know anything about film camera's, but if you're using a video cam, it's not your eye's that could be damaged if you look trough the seeker, but the camcorder. In each videocam there is a CCD chip, when you film the sun, the amount of light is too large wich will destroy the chip, and when the chip is damaged, you can trow away your cam, and then we aren't speeking of low budget films anymore.
But there are alternatives, film the sunset, then it's OK to film the sun, but use a UV filter on your cam, place something hot under your camera to get those heat waves and zoom in to the sun to get a large sun, in editing, place your large sun above your desert landscape.

Or you could use a lens flare in the editing to create a sun.

I hope I helped you a bit.

Greetings Erik Hamblok
Exarfilm http://exarfilm.tripod.com
[email protected]

[twister!]

Hmmm - a difference of opinion. I'm shooting on DV - the thing I had read mentioned about chips being fried!!! I don't really want to risk having to buy a new camera! So a polarising filter won't really help?

I can't really shoot a sunset - it needs to be a full on shot of the sun, in the midday sky. Lens flare in post could be an option but it isn't ideal - I'd rather catch it IN the camera than have to resort to special effects... HELP!!!

[This message has been edited by twister! (edited August 08, 2001).]

[Kathy S]

I was shooting a helicopter on my mini dv camera and the sky was very bright- though I couldn't see the sun. But the camera screen went blue for a few seconds (drop out?) I recon shooting the sun would seriously fuck up your camera and isn't worth risking- you shold try and write around and see if you could use the sun set instead or whatever, i cant think of any other ways of hand

kathy

[austintash]

I doubt you'll hurt your eyes filming the sun through a video camera; it's an electronic device: I'd be very surprised if it could replicate the brightness of the sun.

I'm down near Cornwall; It's very sunny down here most days. If you send me your camera I'll do some shots of the sun for you (it'll definately make your movie look more professional as well). You'll have to send it to a P.O. Box number though, as I'm a farm with Foot & Mouth restrictions.

[Littlerich]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by austintash:
[B]If you send me your camera I'll do some shots of the sun for you[B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Weren't you the same person who started a long rant about stealing premier???

Now you want someone to send their camera down to you???

Ha!


------------------
KEEP FOCUSED!
Little Rich.
http://go.to/littlerich
[email protected]

[austintash]

I promise to send it back. The use of the po box is just so I can make sure I don't catch foot & mouth.

(If that's not an open goal for you dingbats I don't know what is.)

[twister!]

I think I'll give it a miss. Unfortunately, people seem to be of the opinion that shooting the sun will trash the camera. And I don't really fancy the idea of posting a camera (especially to a PO Box). I'm not ready to start shooting yet anyway - it's still at pre-production stage.

[Curtin-Parloe]

Why don't you scan a photo of the sun and use an effects package to ripple the image?

Alternatively, send me your life savings and I'll do it for you

Paul

[twister!]

That probably sounds like the best and safest suggestion so far - that's the still photo with ripple effect idea not the life savings one - very funny. Cheers.