Best Solar Filter for a Camera: What Actually Works (and What's Dangerous)

If you want to photograph the 2026 solar eclipse, the single most important piece of gear isn't your camera or your lens — it's the filter on the front of that lens. Get it wrong and you'll ruin your sensor in seconds and risk your eyesight through the viewfinder. Get it right and it costs about the same as a pizza.

ND filter vs. solar filter — the difference that matters

This is the mistake that wrecks cameras every eclipse. "I have an ND1000, that's 10 stops, surely that's enough?" No — and here's why:

• Darkness. Photographing the Sun needs roughly OD 5 (about 16–17 stops / 1 part in 100,000). A "big stopper" ND1000 is OD 3.0 — a hundred times too bright.
• Infrared. This is the dangerous part. Most ND filters block visible light but pass near-infrared. Your sensor and your eye still receive a focused IR beam you can't see. A true solar filter blocks UV, visible and IR.
• Where it mounts. A solar filter must sit on the front of the lens so the Sun is filtered before it's focused. A rear/drop-in ND does nothing to protect the optics in front of it.

What a real camera solar filter is

Two formats dominate, and both rely on the same certified film:

1. Ready-made threaded/cell filters — convenient, but priced per lens diameter and often €40–90 each. Buy the wrong thread size and it's useless.
2. Solar filter sheet (film) you cut to fit — one flexible sheet of the same certified material, mounted in a simple DIY cell or cap. One sheet covers any lens diameter, and you can make filters for your binoculars or scope from the offcuts.

For most photographers shooting one or two lenses, the sheet is the better value and the more flexible choice.

Film vs. glass solar filters — an honest comparison

The two materials that actually block the Sun safely are polymer film and coated glass. Neither is "best" outright — they trade off. Here's the straight version:

We'll be straight with you: film looks slightly wrinkled and you must inspect it for pinholes before every use (we show you how below). In exchange you get sharper images, a neutral Sun colour, and one affordable sheet that fits every lens you own. For most eclipse photographers that's the right trade — which is why film is what we make.

Solar Filter Sheet — OD 5.6, ISO 12312-2

Cut-to-fit solar film for camera lenses, telescopes and binoculars. One sheet fits any diameter.

From €11.85 · 3 sizes Shop the solar filter sheet

How to fit a sheet filter to your lens

1. Measure your lens outer diameter. Add 2–3 cm so the filter overlaps the barrel — you'll fold this over to grip.
2. Build a simple cell. Two card rings (or a lens cap with the centre cut out) sandwich the film with no tension — slight wrinkles are fine and don't affect the image.
3. Mount it on the front, metallic side out. The reflective, mirror-like side faces the Sun; the film must filter the Sun before the lens focuses it. Make sure it can't blow off in wind — tape or a friction fit all the way round.
4. Inspect before every use. Hold it to a bright lamp. Any pinhole, scratch or crease that lets a spot of light through = bin that section and re-cut.

How dark should the image look, and what exposure?

Through a correct OD 5 solar filter the sky goes black and the Sun is a clean, sharp disc — you'll see sunspots on a clear day. The Sun's brightness stays constant through the partial phases, so once you've nailed the exposure you won't need to keep changing it.

A safe starting point for the partial phases (filter on): f/8–f/11, ISO 100, shutter around 1/500 s — then chimp the histogram and adjust. Almost any ISO works because the filtered Sun is still bright. Keep your focal length sensible: up to ~2000 mm on full-frame, ~1300 mm on a crop sensor, or the Sun spills out of frame. For the full settings walkthrough, see our camera-settings guide; new to this entirely? Start with how to photograph the Sun & a solar eclipse.