Buy a copy of the book "Lessons from the Masters" edited by Robert Gendler.
Then specifically read chapter titled "Imaging and Processing Images of the Solar Corona" by Fred Espenak (each chapter is written by a different "master" -- hence the name "Lessons from the Masters". Fred Espenak is probably the foremost expert on the planet regarding total solar eclipses as well as imaging total solar eclipses. He's a retired NASA Physicist but he *still* does their eclipse forecasting and all those maps & charts you see showing the eclipse path... that's all Espenak's work.
Based on some math that Fred Espinak explains, the focal length range for a 60D should be at least 391mm (e.g. a 400mm lens) up to 782mm (maximum). That means if you had a 600mm lens... that'd be pretty good.
Espenank suggest first-time eclipse viewers NOT attempt to do eclipse photography because totality is only going to last about 2 minutes and if your attention is on the camera then you will miss all the fun. He strongly suggests that if you choose to ignore his advice and photograph it anyway, then you set up a system where the camera is basically automatically tracking and shooting. (save for the moment where you can remove the solar filter and the moment when you have to put it back on at the start and end of totality, everything should be automated. He suggests software for both Windows and Mac users that will let you fully automate the camera control... including all the exposure adjustments and bracketing that needs to happen.)
You will likely want a "tracking" head for your photo tripod. Probably the most recommended tracker at this time is the Sky Watcher Star-Adventurer. It's just under $400. (the base tracking head is $300, but you would also want the equatorial wedge and the counterweight and I think those two accessories add about $80 to the price tag.) This allows the thing to do a much better job achieving the correct tracking orientation to follow the sun.
You _will_ need a solar filter (this isn't optional). I get my filters from Thousand Oaks Optical. There are a few other vendors as well. While you're at it... order some eclipse viewers for you and those in your party. These will let you observe the sun safely while you wait for totality (you don't need them during totality but that is the ONLY time in which it is safe to look directly at the Sun.)
It is safe to remove the filter during totality but the filter must go back on the camera as soon as totality ends ... roughly 2 minutes later.
The filters are basically set on the end of the lens like a cap (they do not "thread" onto the lens like most photographic filters. The filters are mostly made for telescopes which don't have threads.) You buy teh filter diameter based on the physical diameter of the ouside of your lens. They usually include either some felt strips or nylon screws that help you get a snug enough fit so that you don't have to worry about it falling off.
Espinak suggests doing a test run before the eclipse to make sure have everything together that you'll actually need on the day of the eclipse. Then he says "Take everything you just used and place it all in the middle of a trapoline on the ground. Everything on that tarp, must now be packed to go with you." (don't put anything away... or you risk leaving something critical behind.)
Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
