This is great stuff, guys! Thanks! They will all do the job, but I am leaning towards the glass.
Also, I prefer slip on because I am too much of a klutz to unscrew a filter nano-seconds before C2 and after C3 to get the BBs and Double Diamond Rings!
Clear skies!
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I plan to have my screw-on filter about as loose as it can be. Literally hanging by a thread!
Dave
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I succumbed and took Rick’s advice and picked up a geared head. I was finding the ball head ‘droop’ to be just a little too tricky to handle at 560mm when trying to target the Sun or Moon.
It arrived today and I’m taking it out for a spin tomorrow - will report back on the experience.
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Which one did you get?
I have the Benro GD3WH 3-way geared head; Works fine for the moon, so it will for the sun…
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Leofoto G4. They had a 20% off sale last week. So far so good! Surprisingly handy for birds (not that I’m any sort of expert) - you can loosen off in two axes and move quite freely.
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whatever you choose for a tilt drive, make sure that you can shoot vertically upwards. 
Absolutely. It was the first thing I checked! And it works 
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I was lucky enough in 2017 to have access to a telescope. I attached my Nikon D810 to the scope (it replaces the eyepiece). With that setup, I was able to get very large images of the sun. In fact, the sun nearly fills the full frame. So that means you can’t see much of the corona, but you can see solar prominences, sun spots, etc. I had a second camera: Nikon D7000 (crop sensor) with a 400mm lens attached. That captured the corona, diamond ring, etc. I posted some images on my website: Solar eclipse - Ken Lawler Photography. Clouds passed by as the eclipse was fading, which produced some interesting views.
This time around, I don’t have the telescope. So I’ll be using the D810 with the 400mm lens. I’m aiming for some good shots of the corona, plus a series of images from C1 to C2 and C3 to C4 so I can assemble them into composites.
I have a Manfrotto Junior geared head that I use for landscape photos. If I level the tripod first, I’ll be able to follow the sun across the sky with minor adjustments all the way.
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Ken - those shots with clouds are fabulous and give me hope 
Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Dave,
I really appreciate your advice about the need for a solar filter. Unfortunately, I’m too late in finding this thread to order a solar filter in time for Monday’s event.
During the Oct 14, 2023 – Annular Solar Eclipse I used my B+W 77 110 ND 3.0 - 10 BL 1000x E filter during the few seconds when the clouds thinned enough here in Ellsworth, Maine to capture a few shots with the best one shared above without alteration.
It was a similarly cloudy sky during the June 10, 2021- Annular Solar Eclipse when I used the same ND filter, the best one shown below with its tweaks in ACR… sorry, I wasn’t permitted to include it since this is my first post - see subsequent reply.
After what you said about the UV concerns, on this coming Monday’s Total Solar Eclipse, I will try using both the HOYA HMC Super 77mm UV[0] in combination with this ND filter, but I’m most interested in what you, Rick, Stephen, and others with experience and knowledge on this subject might care to share why this approach should not be used.
Kelly
Sorry - I should have answered the question asked by @mikeofthenorth
I’m planning on shooting the eclipse with my old Canon 20D which has a 1.6 crop factor, together with the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L is USM + B+W 77 110 ND 3.0 - 10 BL 1000x E filter + the HOYA HMC Super 77mm UV[0], all perched on a Markins tripod head, and manually tracking the subject as it arcs across the sky.
All shots will be triggered using a wireless remote which will first perform a mirror up operation, wait 2 seconds before then triggering the exposure.
Clear skies to all!
Hi Kelly - I’m guessing lots of folks are traveling right now, so sorry for the slow reply. You should definitely use a solar filter with optical density 5.0 for any extended shooting of the partial phases.
If you only have OD 3.0 and a UV filter, you would likely be ok shooting through cloud, or limiting yourself to a small number of exposures. Put the lens cap on between bursts and don’t use mirror lock up.
However, all the real action is from just before to just after totality, so if you’re concerned, just skip shooting the partial phases - they’re really not remotely so interesting as the total phase!
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No worries about the delayed reply, Stephen, I appreciate hearing back from you, thank you. This morning, I’m wondering if my retina and camera sensor got off lucky in the past in-part due to the cloud’s filtering effect. Most certainly, the fleeting interval between C2 and C3 is of special interest.
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Hi all, apologies for the last minute question. I am wanting to get suggestions on the length of time I can safely take photos without the filter immediately before C2 and after C3, with the intent of capturing the Diamond Ring. I’m thinking I have :15 - :30 sec? Correct. Is my thinking correct? Having a little last minute lack of confidence. Can anyone speak to your specific plan for removing the filter and the moment you will start to take photos. 10 seconds, 5 second before?
Also, what about leaving on my regular UV filter on with the solar filter? All of my testing I’ve left the UV filter on, but wondering if I am compromising any clarity?
Thanks for any input! (I’m in Broken Bow, OK and hoping the sky cooperates, just a little.)
The received wisdom is not more than 60s before C2 (or after C3). I’m going for filters off at around 20s before C2. If it’s high thin cloud I may chance longer.
Good luck!
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