Total Solar Eclipse 2008 - Russia

Vaggeli,

Two comments ... (1) the pricing is so outrageous for this two-hr event that it is worth for one to pay the extra fees for excess luggage and (2) they do not offer mounts on their own for rental.

I wish them good luck with their offer! :lol:

Anthony,
Many thanks for all the tips.
My main interest this time is to capture the corona so that will be my main focus. I captured the phases last time with my PST, so am not too worried about that them this time.
www.astroshot.com/Solar/images/Solar%20Eclipse%20PST%20V2.jpg .
(While the above image isn't exactly a "classic" and could do with some colour correction, it will suffice for now. It should be relatively easy to get the phases again this time, weather permitting as I will have a better setup, albeit white light only.)
Thanks,

One thing I just taught of is that on this occasion, there will most likely be no sunspots, so the Sun will be blank.

Michael,

My primary objective is also the extended corona. Although it is very tempting to simply sit back and wait for totality, I think I will also pursue the partial phases in the event something weird happens such as a plane passing through the field of view.

As for the absence of sunspots, this is a problem since it impacts our fine focus. The next option is to key on the edge of the sun (at 33.5 degrees altitude ... ouch!) and use the right-angled finder which allows 2x or 2.5x zoom.

The other image I would like to capture is a wide-angle shot during totality. Are there any cheap fisheye lenses out there??

The other image I would like to capture is a wide-angle shot during totality. Are there any cheap fisheye lenses out there??

I have the Peleng 16mm/f2.8 fisheye which I like ... if its doable for you, I can try and bring it (depending on how I resolve my kg issue).