Having just witnessed my first, I can only comment on eclipses. As Nancy says, the light just before totality is extraordinary, inexplicable and oh so transient.
Images of whatever quality cannot substitute for the actual experience of totality. You have to be there.
I took the advice of experts and decided I'd photograph my second eclipse, not my first. I knew that nothing I could do would compete with the experienced experts for photography of this event. I did set up two cameras shooting no-intervention-required time lapse, but the results were unimpressive.
Nothing can prepare you for the visceral, emotional, spiritual impact of totality. Your first Black Sun is something you'll never forget. It cost me six days of my life and a few hundred dollars. One of my better investments.