Hi, all:
I've posted this question to a few forums to see if anybody has heard of this.
I recently went to a local photography shop to raid their old supply of 48mm filters and found a neat one. You can find 2" filters for 6-9 bucks each, instead of the triple price that Orion and others want. Most photography makers don't make 48mm filters anymore, as a rep told me, so most photo shops that don't deal with astronomy
stuff want to part with it at a low price.
Personally I don't like pure, full darkness filters, but the lighter shaded ones. I have a 12.5 f/6 dob, and I find a regular red, green, etc. all too dark. I like the filter to clean up the image and not darken it out. Anyway, I found a "Skylight" filter by Ambico with a serial number of R-8740. It almost looks clear, but in bright light you can see it has an almost pinkish tint to it. It's very, very light, like I said--almost clear. I was looking at Saturn at 270X, monocular (alas, I sold my Siebert binoviewer and am patiently awaiting my DenkII, which Russ
promises will be here this coming week).
The image of Saturn, even one-eyed, was intoxicating. The seeing was about an 8.5 out of 10, but I was getting a good sharp image at that power. The filter, having tested the view without, cleaned up any glare from Saturn, making the globe itself seem to be 3-D (yes, with just one eye!). It helped on the rings, but the planet itself was the really amazing difference.
Has anyone ever tried this? If not, I strongly urge that you find this filter and give it a go. I'll post a
picture of it. You can just catch a glimpse of the light pink in the photo.
Best to all,
Guy
Tampa,Fl
I've posted this question to a few forums to see if anybody has heard of this.
I recently went to a local photography shop to raid their old supply of 48mm filters and found a neat one. You can find 2" filters for 6-9 bucks each, instead of the triple price that Orion and others want. Most photography makers don't make 48mm filters anymore, as a rep told me, so most photo shops that don't deal with astronomy
stuff want to part with it at a low price.
Personally I don't like pure, full darkness filters, but the lighter shaded ones. I have a 12.5 f/6 dob, and I find a regular red, green, etc. all too dark. I like the filter to clean up the image and not darken it out. Anyway, I found a "Skylight" filter by Ambico with a serial number of R-8740. It almost looks clear, but in bright light you can see it has an almost pinkish tint to it. It's very, very light, like I said--almost clear. I was looking at Saturn at 270X, monocular (alas, I sold my Siebert binoviewer and am patiently awaiting my DenkII, which Russ
promises will be here this coming week).
The image of Saturn, even one-eyed, was intoxicating. The seeing was about an 8.5 out of 10, but I was getting a good sharp image at that power. The filter, having tested the view without, cleaned up any glare from Saturn, making the globe itself seem to be 3-D (yes, with just one eye!). It helped on the rings, but the planet itself was the really amazing difference.
Has anyone ever tried this? If not, I strongly urge that you find this filter and give it a go. I'll post a
picture of it. You can just catch a glimpse of the light pink in the photo.
Best to all,
Guy
Tampa,Fl
Attached Image:
16" f/4.52 ATM Truss Dob, Discovery Mirror
Denk II w/nags junkie
