My first trys at solar imaging

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

taken with a 1141 EQ1 + RA drive motor.

canon 350D unmodded. @ prime focus 1000mm using EOS T2 ring and T2 nosepiece (1.25")

ISO 1600

exposure 1/640s

WB manual

took this in a rush with my new setup. was taken indoors behind double glazing (dirty glazing lol )between rain clouds.

i am so chuffed it looks like what i saw through the scope. hopeful to have plenty more

[malc-c]

Did you use any Baader safety film and reduce the aperture down ? If not then you can risk the chance of burning the sensor out if pointing the scope at the sun with a clear full aperture of the scope without any filtration.

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

sorry malc-c

yes baader astro film from Firstlight optics. i have done both my 3 inch dob and my 4.5" catadioptric

[malc-c]

Nice one

One thing... I wouldn't use a SCT or a MAK for solar work, I was told that as the tube is sealed there can be a pressure build up as they don't handle heat well. How true it is I have no idea...

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

only a Eq1 but i will upgrade to a EQ3-2

the EQ1 will then carry the canon with a nifty fifty and a £7 wide angle add-on filter lens.

i already started to fine tune the motor speed to stop drifting until the sun moved away from sight and dipped below the rooftops. i am not in an ideal spot very enclosed and covered with houses and tarmac roads so get a lot of heat wavy pictures to like the one above.

[Montana]

Excellent first picture I look forward to the next!

Alexandra

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Good start mate. I'm really getting into the solar stuff lately. So much so that selling the 200p for a pst has crossed my mind... Don't think i could bring myself to do it though...

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

Good start mate. I'm really getting into the solar stuff lately. So much so that selling the 200p for a pst has crossed my mind... Don't think i could bring myself to do it though...

get some baader and make a filter for the 200p. views will be stunning. my little 3" gives some nice views with a 2x barlowed 25mm eyepiece.

the 114mm is wicked can really see the sunspots.

i to would like a holy grail solar scope but holding off, maybe just maybe hydrogen and Cak filters will come down in price for us low paid slavers

[malc-c]

get some baader and make a filter for the 200p. views will be stunning. my little 3" gives some nice views with a 2x barlowed 25mm eyepiece.

the 114mm is wicked can really see the sunspots.

i to would like a holy grail solar scope but holding off, maybe just maybe hydrogen and Cak filters will come down in price for us low paid slavers

I wouldn't recommend a full aperture filter with the 200P - It was suggested to me to keep the main cover in place and use the 2" hole in it with the film.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

I wouldn't recommend a full aperture filter with the 200P - It was suggested to me to keep the main cover in place and use the 2" hole in it with the film.

Thats what i did. Works well. You ~can~ go full aperture, but you need a bigger sheet since the a4 one is a bit too small. You certainly don't need the extra light gathering, and although full aperture gains you resolution, you also lose contrast due to the central obstruction.

Swings and roundabouts really, but i chose the cheaper option, and left me enough to make some filters for my binos too.

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

yes jimmyjam is right.

the problem with full aperture is loss of contrast. but a green/blue filter may help bring it back.

i made two filters to cover the scopes i own from a single A4 sheet of baader film. one small'ish 3 inch and a larger 4.5 inch. you can get a bigger sheet of the baader film but they are 4ft and cost a smaller fortune.

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

This shot i captured on my sony DSC P72 converted to IR via afocal 25mm eyepiece, telescope used was a heritage 76mm (3") dobson, and using a solar film filter (white light).

the shots was somewhat ruined when cloud drifted across the view as shutter fired. the shot has been give a color change to a violet and helps bring out the sunspot activity with four very active areas containing large and smaller sunspot groups.

comments flames and advice very much welcome.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

The sun certainly is putting on a good show at the moment

Nice image, shame about the cloud, but you still brought out the spots nicely.

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

maybe tomorrow will be a nice clear day.

i had been viewing the action via white light with the solar film, then thought about my violet filter. i had ordered a blue filter but not in stock so took the nearest to the blue.

wow is all i can say when using the violet filter with the solar film, it made the sunspots more darker and pronounced. cannot wait to load up the canon onto the 114 solar scope and violet filter.

LRGB, i notice this is the norm for good star shots, can the same be used for the sun ?

[iwatkins]

LRGB, you could try it.

But you would be much better off going narrow band with a filter that gets you into the green to violet range to calm the seeing, as you have done. A tighter focus would also help bring out the detail.

Cheers

Ian

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

yes ian having problems with focus.

those cheap plastic focusers on skywatchers are rubbish. sloppy rack and pinion. i just have to touch mine and the barrel shifts in the tube.

the shot was taken on a converted sony point and shoot. i had removed the IR filtering and replaced with a glass slide. so i think some focus problems lay there with out of focus IR hitting and washing the sensor. i did try a ND moon filter (25%) but that just made the clouds show more and grey out the disc and sunspots.

i really need crayford's that will fit my baby heritage 76 and my 114, better mechanics and quality with dual speed lol, hmmm dual speed

i have looked at cal-K but they are to expensive for me, but would like to add a H-alpha narrowband maybe 7nm

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

I don't think the ha filters you see are any good for that kind of photography, they're too wide a spectrum. Dedicated Ha scopes like the pst are super narrow band (<1 angstrom), and tunable.

You'l be happy to know, that the white light views today are pretty much as entertaining as the Ha. I was looking through the pst earlier, very few proms, nothing remarkable, but quite a bit of surface activity around the sunspots. Two of the spots were even showing in Ha, so they must be super deep. To be honest though, i prefered the view through my white light binos to the pst today.

[iwatkins]

Indeed white light was busy today

Had the best view late afternoon today.

Cheers

Ian

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

22nd April 2012

canon 350D ( un-modded) + T mount nose piece & Violet 1.25" secondary filter

SW 4.5" @ 1000mm focal F8.7 prime

white light solar film main filtering

Tracking via EQ1 + RA drive motor (cheap box)

36x stacked single @ 1/500 in CR2 (raw) (hi speed mode shuttering)

ISO1600

AWB

stacking in registax with heavy wavelet, and gamma tweek.

my best shot yet. more to come as i hone my skills.

[Montana]

Well done, I'm looking forward to more

Alexandra

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

for my third and fourth trys i am getting better.

have the focus nearly hammered down, but i am lacking the graining for some reason. maybe to higher an ISO am shooting with max ISO possible and underexposing by about -1EV with a 1/500s shutter speed.

any ideas other than grab an EQ5 (it is on my to buy list) to help gain the grain effect in the images please.

if i overlay the purple onto the white light and drop the layer to around 45% it stars to give a better contrast between the black spot and the activity around it