Rehearsing for the Total Solar Eclipse – Solar Eclipse Workbench 1.10.3

Today was an important milestone in my preparation for the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 in Spain. With just a few weeks to go, I wanted to simulate the entire setup as realistically as possible — same equipment, same workflow, and ideally, similar weather conditions.

Well… I certainly got the weather right.

A Taste of Spain (in June)

The temperature climbed to around 30°C, which felt like a perfect preview of what I can expect in Spain. Standing outside, surrounded by cameras, cables, and equipment in the heat gave me a good sense of the physical side of eclipse photography — something that is often underestimated.

One key difference, however, was the height of the Sun. During today’s rehearsal, the Sun was much higher in the sky than it will be during totality in August. That changes ergonomics quite a bit: neck angle, tripod positioning, and how easy it is to interact with the setup. It’s a small detail, but one that matters when every second counts.

The Three-Camera Setup

Just like I will do in Spain, I worked with three cameras simultaneously:

• Canon EOS R + TS-Optics PhotoLine 80 telescope
  → This is my primary setup for detailed close-up shots of the corona.

• Canon EOS 80D + 55mm lens
  → A mid-range field of view to capture the eclipse context.

• Canon EOS 1000D + 10mm lens
  → A wide-angle view for atmosphere, landscape, and overall ambiance.

Running three cameras at once always feels a bit like conducting an orchestra — everything needs to be in sync, and there is no room for hesitation.

Solar Eclipse Workbench in Action

Most of the captures were executed successfully using Solar Eclipse Workbench, which continues to be an essential part of my workflow. It handled the sequences, timing, and camera control exactly as intended for the majority of the session.

That said, this rehearsal was particularly valuable because it exposed some edge-case issues — exactly what you want to uncover before the actual event.

Issues Found (and Fixed)

During testing, I ran into two problems:

1. Live View before the first capture on the Canon EOS R caused failures
2. Burst capture (“press-and-hold”) did not behave correctly on some Canon bodies

These are subtle issues, but during an eclipse, even a small glitch can cost you critical shots.

The good news: both issues are now resolved in Solar Eclipse Workbench 1.10.3.

Check out the webpage!

Lessons Learned

This rehearsal confirmed a few important things:

• Test exactly as you intend to shoot
  Same cameras, same sequence, same software — that’s the only way to uncover real issues.

• Heat matters
  Not just for comfort, but also for focus, timing, and battery performance.

• Automation is essential
  With three cameras running, manual control is not an option during totality.

• Small software details can have big consequences
  A single incorrect state in camera communication can break an entire sequence.

Looking Ahead to August 12

With these fixes in place and the rehearsal successfully completed, I feel much more confident about the upcoming eclipse in Spain.

There will always be uncertainties — weather being the biggest one — but at least from a technical perspective, things are now under control.

Next step: final refinements… and then waiting for the Moon to do its job.