00:00If you're going to try and capture one of these with one of these then you're going to need
00:06one of these. Today I'm going to show you a really simple and relatively inexpensive way to make
00:13your own solar filter. The process is exactly the same whether you're making one for a camera lens,
00:18a telescope or a pair of binoculars. Here's everything you'll need. The most important
00:25ingredient is some certified solar safety film. I'm using Bada Astro Solar Safety Film and you can
00:31pick this up or an equivalent from a photography shop or online. I got this from First Light Optics.
00:38You'll also need some thick card or if you're feeling a little fancy like I was some five
00:42millimetre foam board. Then grab some artist's mounting tape or equivalent to stick everything
00:49together. Pencil, scissors, craft knife, a sensible ruler and a compass for drawing circles and some
01:00firm card for making the tube that will attach to your camera lens. Once you've got everything together
01:07we're ready to begin. The first job is to measure the diameter of your lens so this is the part
01:14that
01:14your filter is going to slide over. This measurement determines the size of the opening in the middle
01:20of the filter so it's worth taking your time to get it as accurate as possible. Once you've got to
01:26your
01:26measurements cut out two squares from your foam board or thick cardboard that's a few centimetres
01:33or like half an inch larger than the lens on each side. That extra space gives us enough room to
01:40build
01:40a sturdy filter without the edges becoming too thin or flimsy once the circle has been cut out.
01:47We're going to need two roughly identical cutouts. Don't worry if they aren't exactly a match but
01:54together these pieces create a rigid frame that houses the solar film over the front of your lens.
02:00Here I'm now just placing the solar film over the foam board and I'm going to attach it down using
02:06the
02:06artist's tape so I'm going to just tape it around on each side. Be careful when you're handling this
02:12that you're not getting any of your mucky fingerprints all over it and just try to touch it as little
02:16as
02:17possible. Once you've taped your film down you're ready to sandwich the two foam boards together to
02:23make the complete filter. Now this is the part you've got to be careful if you have a solar filter
02:29film
02:29that needs to be a particular way around. Some of them are unidirectional, some of them they can go
02:34either way. Lucky for me I've got one that goes either way so it's really easy to just put together
02:38but that's just something to make sure you're doing correctly depending on which solar film
02:42you have. Now we're going to cut out the tube from the card that's going to slip over your lens.
02:48I made mine about 16 centimeters deep but you can make yours shorter or longer depending on the kind
02:53of lens that you're wanting it to go over. Obviously if you've got binoculars you'll be doing it a lot
02:57lot shallower. When you've cut your strip of cardboard you just wrap it around your lens and just
03:03overlap the two pieces by a few centimeters or like an inch just so you've got enough to be working
03:09with. Then we're going to make a series of about two centimeter incisions all the way along one of
03:14the long edges. Once you've made your incisions all the way along just fold them all back. Once this is
03:21done you're almost ready to attach it onto your solar filter. Take this moment just to fine tune any
03:28adjustments to the tube and wrap it around your lens. You want it snug but not too tight so when
03:34it's on there you don't really want it moving around but equally you don't want it impossible
03:37to get on and off. Make sure that it's all lined up and it's not twisted at all and then
03:43just add a
03:44bit more tape just to secure everything down and do one final fit check before you attach it to your
03:50filter.
03:51You want to position the tube roughly so the filter the circle bit is right in the center of your
03:57tube
03:57and then you're just going to go around the outside and attach it down. So just work your way around
04:03all of the outside and just attach that tape. Once you're done if you notice there's any kind of specks
04:09of sunlight still making their way through some of the tube you can just attach extra bits of card on
04:15the outside so I've just cut some extra flaps and then just stuck them on the outside. Okay we are
04:21almost there so now I'm just cutting out another square the same size as the ones before from the
04:27foam board. This is going to act as a bit of a protective cover for your lens and I'm going
04:31to
04:32attach them just with some simple velcro. So I actually got some helpful little velcro dots that
04:38I'm able to just stick on but you can just find the equivalent and just see what works for you.
04:44I'm going to carefully place the cover over the top of the filter and just firmly press down in
04:48all four corners so the velcro sticks to the protective cover as well and then hopefully
04:53when I peel it off we're going to have ourselves our very own solar filter with a protective case.
04:59Not bad eh? And that's it. I hope you found this tutorial useful. It's a really simple project and
05:08it's a great way to prepare for the upcoming solar eclipse or even just to photograph sunspots safe
05:13thanks for watching and clear skies.
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