I shot probably the worst eclipse photo ever – but I'm still glad I tried!

You know what, sometimes it's just worth a try because what you're capturing is more significant than the quality of the result you're able to achieve.

That is the case when you're witnessing a high speed which needs one of the best action cameras to slow it down – but it's also true for something like a solar eclipse – especially a partial one – because you're a lot better off pointing a camera at the sun than you're own eyes!

Looking at a live view on the camera's monitor is much safer, but there are risks to your camera. For me all these thoughts had to happen rather quickly last weekend as, to my embarrassment, I only heard about the eclipse a few minutes before but I still wanted to set something up so my girlfriend and I could enjoy the rare drama of the universe for the fleeting moments it passed.

Frustratingly, even the giant ball of fire that is our sun doesn't take up a large portion of the sky. The solution is adding a telephoto lens – or, in other words, a giant magnifying glass – onto the front will effectively direct a lot of powerful rays directly at your camera's image sensor. That isn't good for its long-term health either and I can't personally afford to replace my camera even for a glimpse of infinity.

Without preparation, all I could do was hope to control the light getting through to the sensor enough to see the 'bite out of the sun's circle' that the partial eclipse should render visible. I looked through boxes and I didn't even have any ND filters to hand (I know, the shame), let alone solar ones.

But I did have some 3D glasses, the kind you might have seen in a 50s comic book. The red filter was enough, it transpired, to briefly control the light and – while it's certainly not a saleable photo – you could see what was going on using the camera's (my Sony A7iii) digital zoom when attempting manual focus.

I wouldn't have left the sun pointing down the lens at my camera's sensor for long, but I was still able to grab a RAW image that reveals what we saw – a glimpse into the mechanics of the solar system and a little chink that reveals how tiny, and insignificant, and essential our planet is.

If I'd just told myself I didn't have the gear, we woudln't have had the chance to experience that moment as it happened, so, truly, even for a partial eclipse, the best camera (as they say) you have is the one you have with you. There are, however, some provisos. I needed a decent telephoto and a "filter" (the plastic 3D glasses) to get anything.

Now I know why people plan ahead and buy the best solar filters!

Oh well, next time (according to NASA's Future Eclipses, that's August 2026 for me).

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You might be interested in the best telephoto lenses and the best cameras for astrophotography. For a shoot like this, it's also handy to have one of the best tripods.