SPC880 IR/UV Filter

[redneon]

I've just received my unflashed SPC880 webcam from Morgan and I was going to flash it when I got home and have a go at photographing the moon with it being in a good phase at the minute.

However, I've just read that you need an IR/UV filter to use the webcam properly which I hadn't read about before. Is this absolutely necessary? I've got a "moon filter" (Celestron) which came with my scope but I don't like to use it as it makes everything look yellow.

[Cornelius Varley]

The IR/UV filter is required to filter out these wavelengths. The webcam is sensitive to light wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye. Also they focus at a different point to the visible spectrum but will be recorded as fuzzy image by the camera if they are not filtered out. The filter makes the image sharper and also colour corrects, an ordinary moon filter doesn't do that, it justs reduces the amount of light reaching the sensor.

Peter

[Nova]

I have always been under the impression that if you are imaging the moon you can shoot in monochrome and then you do not need the filter. But if you want to image in colour then your images will be a lot better with an IR/UV filter