Lee Solar Eclipse filter

apologies if this has been discussed 
I got a text that said Amazon was warning photographers that got a Lee filter not to use it and was reimbursing the money spent on the solar filters. 
Is this filter safe for photographing the eclipse or not?
It's a 20 stop filter but I have not been able to find out if it blocks UV or IR or if that is necessary for photography filters
I know not to look thru it but I am now concern it might damage the sensor of my camera 
I'm a newbie and have not really used filters or photographed the eclipse so would appreciate input
Thanks 

In my opinion, and it is an opinion, Amazon took a short cut by simply crediting (refunding?) the purchase price of any item related to the solar eclipse rather than confirming whether the items were good or not good for solar viewing or photography. I received emails stating I would get credited for all my purchases on related items that I made up to last Saturday and I've been making purchases for more than the last three months in preparation for the eclipse.

Those items included "glasses" and "viewer" meant for eye viewing. All the solar filters meant for binoculars, lenses and telescopes. Filter sheets from Baader and Thousand Oaks. And a Meade Telescope that included a Solar filter. They ask that none of it be returned.

My feeling is that they are stating they want no liability for anything that happens related to these items and they are willing to offer them for free to make that happen.

I have no experience with the lee filter. 20 stops is more than enough to bring the intensity of the sun down to that of a strong light bulb. I doubt that if you had live view on for the entire duration of the eclipse, from first contact to forth contact, that it would not damage the sensor. (I assume you are planning to use live view since you state you don't plan to look through the camera's view finder...)

Of course, if you are located in an area that is on the line that will included totality, you do not need a filter from second contact to third contact.

I've been testing various setups for over a week now using the filters on a non-eclipsed sun. I now know the exposure settings needed in the early and late phases and I suggest you do the same if you want things to go smoothly during the event.

Andrew_5488 wrote:https://petapixel.com/2017/08/14/amazon ... rning-use/

I received one of these emails for EVERY product I purchased related to the solar eclipse. Petapixel is simply reporting they got the email and the purchased item was a Lee Solar Eclipse filter.

The email states that Amazon was unable to obtain confirmation from the supplier about its source so they recommend that you should not use it for viewing since they could not obtain that confirmation.

The best book I've come across on the topic of photographing the total eclipse is this one:

http://www.amazingsky.com/eclipsebook.html

I suggest the pdf version since it can be used on various devices easily.

And I guess I should have said this earlier...

Why don't you contact Lee about their filter? They should be able to confirm that the filter is theirs and state how the filter should be used.

Anthony - I'm very appreciative for your information
Yes I called BH as that's where I had purchased the filter (surprisingly they were not that helpful) and tried calling Lee with no success (not answering the phone)

thanks

Anthony Medici wrote:

Andrew_5488 wrote:https://petapixel.com/2017/08/14/amazon ... rning-use/

I received one of these emails for EVERY product I purchased related to the solar eclipse. Petapixel is simply reporting they got the email and the purchased item was a Lee Solar Eclipse filter.

The email states that Amazon was unable to obtain confirmation from the supplier about its source so they recommend that you should not use it for viewing since they could not obtain that confirmation.

I posted this link because in updates (bottom of page) there's some info which sheds more light on a whole issue-mainly Amazon trying to protect themselves against any possible lawsuits.

thanks andrew

wdg wrote:Anthony - I'm very appreciative for your information
Yes I called BH as that's where I had purchased the filter (surprisingly they were not that helpful) and tried calling Lee with no success (not answering the phone)

thanks

The book states that you should not use ND filters of any strength for naked eye viewing of the sun. (It talked about viewing an partial eclipse but viewing an uneclipsed sun or a partially eclipsed sun is the same thing.) That is due to risks in the UV or IR range as the specs for that range is not clear for most filters. I recently tested Breakthrough X4 ND filters (16 stops worth) for live view operation on my D500. It was brighter in exposure than my Solar Skreen, Baader or Thousand Oaks filter but was extremely even in the RGB distribution. More so than any of the other filters. (SS is very blue. Baader is a light blue. My Glass Thousand Oaks filter is Orange, the red channel being the strongest.) I would not use the Breakthrough ND filters for Naked eye viewing but for Live view work, the 16 stops works fine. A 20 stop ND filter would also work fine.

Lee should have enclosed restrictions for use. I imagine they either stated it was OK for naked eye viewing or it was not OK.

Anthony Medici wrote:
Lee should have enclosed restrictions for use. I imagine they either stated it was OK for naked eye viewing or it was not OK.

They did. You didn't read the article.