Any camera can be used to shoot the eclipse but unless proper precautions are taken, the camera and/or lens will be damaged.
Shooting a solar eclipse (April 8, 2024) requires special filters to protect the camera sensor and the lens diaphragm from the intense light of the sun before and after the totality. Various vendors offer inexpensive filter options and solutions.
To capture the sun-moon in totality and near totality, on a 2/3″ sensor, such as the PXW-X400, you should have a lens hat is about 230mm. With an optical or digital doubler, you would need about 115mm. If your lens is much shorter than this, then the image of the sun will be quite small.
To get a sense of the image size just shoot videos of the moon. A full moon is best, (March 25, 2024) but anything close will give you a sense of the size of the image. Of course, once you have proper solar filters in place you can practice by shooting the sun.
Also, think about the shots you want to get and the exposures you will need. The sun-moon before totality will be very bright. It will get dimmer the closer you get to totality. Unfortunately, you can’t really practice. Check out various websites on information about shooting the eclipse. Think about what you want to achieve and what it will take to do that. Also, take precautions to protect your eyes.
Information courtesy of Sony.
