Now that I’ve processed data from four different devices from the total solar eclipse, here are my lessons learned:

SeeStar:

– For air travel to see an eclipse, I would absolutely take the SeeStar again; it worked great as a travel telescope.

– I was too conservative on when to take the solar filter off the SeeStar; I should have taken the solar filter off a little earlier to get the diamond ring/Bailey’s beads effects going into totality.  

– While it worked well to use time lapse mode with 2 second intervals approaching/after totality, I should have switched to video mode to get more frames per second just before/during/just after totality.  Or just used video for the whole thing, assuming there is enough memory space on the SeeStar.

– I should have adjusted the exposure differently for totality.  Looking at the images in PixInsight, I can see that the bright spots are overexposed, so the prominences lost their hot pink color.  

– There might be a way I could have programmed the timing of all that in advance so that all I had to do on the day was remove/attach the solar filter at the right times; I plan on investigating that before we do this again.

GoPro:

– I would absolutely take the GoPro again; it worked great to capture the wide field.

– I would set up the GoPro and be aware of where it was so I didn’t end up standing in front of it.

– I would have set the exposure to be brighter so that during totality the view was a little brighter.

Panasonic LUMIX and 12-60 mm lens:

– I would absolutely limit my lens choice again, and I would again choose the wide angle lens and let the SeeStar/telescope capture the close up view.

iPhone:

– As I did this time, I would limit my use of the iPhone to panoramic views.

What gear would you carry?

Which was your favorite?