![]() Make sure exposure is not locked (the light should be dark red next to EXP). A green light means it’s locked and won’t change during the eclipse.) Then lock focus (tap the “FOC EXP WB” button to show the locks, then tap FOC. Zoom in to make sure it’s correctly focused (you can slide your finger left and right near the bottom of the screen to adjust if not). Lastly, tap on the sun to set the focus and exposure point. This will give better quality if the image is very dark during totality. Open the Camera Options panel, where you’ll find the special camera modes. It does however require a tripod to avoid blurring the shot. This produces very high quality photos, and eliminates a lot of image noise in very low light. Long Exposure mode takes lots of photos extremely quickly, and blends them together. Turn on Long Exposure mode for best quality Note that some devices have ultra-wide (0.5x) lenses but not telephoto (2x). This will give you much better photos, as the sun will be 2x bigger. If you’re lucky enough to have an iPhone or iPad with a telephoto lens, use the 2x (zoom) camera. Devices with multiple cameras: Use the 2x camera You can close the Settings screen now by tapping the cog icon. Why not TIFF? It’s technically better, but the difference is very minimal and it takes a lot more time to save, meaning it delays taking the next photo and we might miss a good shot. HQ is slightly higher quality, but uses 2-3x more storage space. This means the camera takes photos continuously, without waiting between shots. When it’s set to infinite shots, you just tap the shutter to start taking photos and again to stop. The 3 numbers under the interval programmer set the sequence up. This sets the camera up to take a sequence of photos automatically. ![]() NightCap Camera has an Interval Programmer that lets you do this. Set NightCap Camera to take a sequence of photos automatically, and you can concentrate on the eclipse while the app records it. You’ll want to watch the eclipse, not the screen. Taking a sequence of photos automatically You should remove the solar filter from the camera just before totality so the camera can get clear photos during the period of darkness. Check your tripod will work at that angle, and how easy it is to see and use the screen too. If the sun will be very high in the sky in your location, that means your device will be pointing almost straight up. Consider making a shield around your screen to block the background light so you can see easily. That will make it difficult to see what you’re doing. You’ll be setting everything up in full sun, and the sun will be right behind your screen. It won’t cause any damage but if it gets too hot it will turn itself off and you won’t be able to take any photos! If you plan to leave the camera running for a long time time, we recommend putting something in front of your device to shade it (remember to keep the camera clear!) An iPhone or iPad in direct sunlight will get hot, and taking photographs also creates heat. The camera’s lens is a lot smaller and is unlikely to cause a fire, but you should still protect the camera during the eclipse as you’ll be leaving it pointed at the sun for at least a few minutes. You can start a fire with a magnifying glass. Lenses focus the sun’s energy to a point. ![]() Protect the camera lens with a solar filter. Use a tripod, or some other way to keep the device still during the eclipse. Also, the lens gives quite a wide view which means the sun will be quite small in your photos. The iPhone/iPad camera is very small, and while you should get good photos it won’t be comparable to DSLR cameras with big, expensive lenses. Images kindly provided by Jim Opalek, using NightCap and a solarscope during the American total eclipse of 2017.
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