White Light Solar Filters
UPDATE August 4: Read this important article first: Unsafe Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses Are Flooding Amazon and Other Online Markets
UPDATE August 3:Â I found another source of safe solar eclipse glasses. See below.
UPDATE August 3: Fake Eclipse Viewer Certification. See below.
This is your last chance. The bad news is almost all of the solar filters that are safe for viewing and photographing the Great American Eclipse (August 21) are now sold out at dealers all across the country. Only a few safe options are left. If you want to photograph the eclipse there is only one inexpensive option left (less than several hundred dollars).
Update, August 3, New Source of Safe Eclipse Glasses!
It is getting harder and harder to find safe eclipse glasses from a reliable vendor. Many vendors are out of eclipse glasses. I found a new source today, David Chandler. I have been using products (mostly planispheres) from David Chandler for decades. So I called the company today and talked to the owner. They have solar eclipse glasses currently in stock. The eclipse glasses they sell are made by American Paper Optics in Tennessee. American Paper Optics is on the short list of companies that use solar filter materials that are safe for viewing the sun.
The David Chandler site is here and the eclipse glasses are here. Don’t wait to order. With the high demand for eclipse glasses their stock could be cleaned out.
Why do I go to the trouble to check this out? See the next section.
Update, August 3, Fake Eclipse Viewer Certification
It is being reported that unscrupulous vendors have grabbed the ISO 12312-2 certification notice off the internet and are printing it on solar eclipse glasses that have not been certified as safe. The American Astronomical Society posted a warning some time ago about this possibility:
“Even more unfortunately, unscrupulous vendors can grab the ISO logo off the internet and put it on their products and packaging even if their eclipse glasses or viewers haven’t been properly tested. This means that just seeing the ISO logo or a label claiming ISO 12312-2 certification isn’t good enough. You need to know that the product comes from a reputable manufacturer or one of their authorized dealers.” AAS
Don’t gamble with your precious eyesight. It is possible for an unscrupulous company to use an unsafe solar filter material and copy the exact look of the eclipse glasses made by a safe vendor. The only way you really know if eclipse glasses are truly safe is to use a known reputable vendor and buy directly from that vendor or from a known reputable source that gets their glasses directly from a safe vendor. For a list of reputable vendors, go here.
A Safe Do-It-Yourself Filter to Photograph the Eclipse
Square white light solar filter sheets from Thousand Oaks Optical.
If you want to photograph the eclipse I can only find one safe option. Buy a solar filter sheet made by Thousand Oaks Optical and make your own solar filter. I checked the Thousand Oaks Optical web site this morning and they are completely out of stock. Your best bet is to buy a sheet from one of the vendors at Amazon. The sizes that are available change almost daily. Order something today. Tomorrow or the next day might be too late. One size option went out of stock while I was writing this article. Here are some links worth trying. Make sure you can get the solar filter sheet in time for the eclipse.
Update August 4: These items are no longer available:
Thousand Oaks Optical 12×12 inch sheet
Thousand Oaks Optical 4×4 inch sheet
The shape of the cardboard filter housing before folding it up and sliding it over a lens.
To make your own you will need to cut a circle out of the solar filter material and mount it in cardboard. Make sure the circle is bigger than the front of your lens. You can use the illustration above as a pattern for how to make the cardboard housing for your eclipse filter. Once you have securely taped the filter material into the cardboard housing, you fold the housing up and tape it together like a cup that can slide over the front of your lens. Make sure there are absolutely no light leaks.
White Light Solar Filter in a cardboard mount.
It should look something like this when you are done. When you are using it, tape it to the front of you lens. THIS IS IMPORTANT! If this filter were to fall or blow off your lens while you are looking through the camera at the sun you could have immediate and permanent damage to your eyesight, not to mention severe pain.
Safe Options for Viewing the Eclipse
See the David Chandler option added above on August 3, in addition to the options below.
For viewing the eclipse with a home made option, I would suggest buying one of the Thousand Oaks Optical sheets and cutting it up into strips and mounting the strips in cardboard so you can minimize touching the delicate solar filter material. When you are done it should look something like this filter below.
Another option is to buy these pre-mounted solar viewers from Thousand Oaks Optical. Thousand Oaks Optical is sold out but you can still find a few of their viewers through Amazon’s third party vendors. Make sure the vendor can ship the viewers to you in time for the eclipse.
Update August 4: This item is no longer available:
Solar Viewer by Thousand Oaks Optical
You last viewing option is to buy eclipse safe binoculars. The ones made by Celestron are safe for viewing the solar eclipse and for viewing the sun any other time. Try these links:
Celestron EclipSmart 10×42 and 10×25 binocular kit
You can no longer get the Celestron EclipSmart 10×42 binoculars as a separate item from Amazon in time for the eclipse. You can only get the pair.
You can get the 10×25 binoculars as a separate item as of today:
Celestron EclipSmart 10×25 binoculars
You can find all of these items at the eclipse page of my Amazon powered photography store. You get the same great Amazon prices, service and guarantee. Be sure and check availability and shipping options. Items that are available today may not be available tomorrow. Some items are already back ordered until after the eclipse.
Eclipse Safety
The Thousand Oaks Optical materials above are safe for both photographing and viewing an eclipse. That is not true of all solar filters.
Do not put your precious eyesight at risk! There are eclipse items for sale for viewing the eclipse that are NOT safe to use. The American Astronomical Society has determined there are some unsafe solar filters out there. Read How Do You Know if Your Eclipse Glasses and Binoculars are Safe?
Most solar filters that are designed for photographing the sun are NOT safe for viewing the sun. Photographing the sun with one of these filters can only be done with the camera is in Live View mode. With one of these filters on the camera lens you can NOT safely look through the camera’s viewfinder. Read Do NOT Look at the Eclipse Through a Solar Eclipse Filter! You Could Go Blind!Â
My favorite filter that is photographically safe but nor visually safe is made be Lee Filters. Unfortunately for photographers, Lee Solar Filters are now sold out at most dealers. If you find one of these filters, you can learn to use it in this article: How To Photograph the Sun (and an Eclipse) with Lee and other High Density Solar Filters.
There are other high density solar filters out there. In addition to not being visually safe, they are of questionable optical quality. Your best bet is to carefully make your own “white light” solar filter with a filter sheet made by Thousand Oaks Optical. Thousand Oaks Optical is the best company I know of in the United States that makes filters that are both photographically safe and visually safe for viewing the sun. Several other companies make safe solar filters and they get the filter material from Thousand Oaks Optical. Thousand Oaks Optical makes solar filters for NASA, National Geographic, Discovery, most of the major news networks, and most of the universities and astronomical observatories in the U.S. They are the best of the best.
Links
The Great American Eclipse Series
The Great American Eclipse Series  – All of my eclipse articles are listed at this link. Check back for new articles as they appear.
Purchase Links
Eclipse Glasses from David Chandler
Celestron EclipSmart 10×42 and 10×25 binocular kit
Celestron EclipSmart 10×25 binocularsÂ
Update August 4: These items are no longer available:
Thousand Oaks Optical 12×12 inch sheet
Thousand Oaks Optical 4×4 inch sheet
Solar Viewer by Thousand Oaks Optical
Article Links
Unsafe Counterfeit Solar Eclipse Glasses Are Flooding Amazon and Other Online Markets
How Do You Know if Your Eclipse Glasses and Binoculars are Safe?
Do NOT Look at the Eclipse Through a Solar Eclipse Filter! You Could Go Blind!
My Amazon Store