Lunt 50mm solar telescope

[nipper1967]

l've managed to have a couple of good sessions with my new scope now so l thought l'd write a bit of a review. the first thing l'd like to say is l cannot compare it with any other hydrogen-alpha telescope as this the first one l have ever looked through , my only other experience with solar viewing has been with a baader solar filter on my celestron nexstar 8se . First impressions of the scope is it's a well made piece of kit ,l have mounted it on a photographic tripod which will do for now the sun is quite low. The first eyepiece l used was a 25mm celestron plossl lt took me a few minutes to find the sun because l don't have a finderscope yet l ordered the lunt sol searcher with the scope but it was shipped separately and it hasn't arrived yet (will have to contact flo if it hasn't arrived when they reopen) as it happened the sun was well focused without having to touch the focuser l could see some prominences and a couple of dark sun spots. Now it was time to use the pressure tuner l followed the instructions unscrewed it and then reengaged it on the threads slowly turning it clockwise this gradually brings out all the surface detail which looks amazing , l can see lots of filaments and other details l cannot describe . The prominences are very sharp, deep red against a black sky on Monday l counted eight although today was a bit quieter .

l have tried a few eyepieces the plossl's seem to work quite well but l have a set of celestron x-cel lx's and it dos'nt seem to like these. ln the back of my mind l seem to remember reading someone saying the seben 8-24mm zoom was good for h-alpha l've one of those stuck in a draw l've never really liked it bought it after reading good reviews on amazon so l thought l'd give it a try, it works well the best of any of the eyepieces l've got, good clear images.

Sorry l cannot put on any images l am purely visual at the moment but believe me the view is amazing a totally different world to white light, well worth the wait.

[Qualia]

Thanks for taking the time to write this, Nipper and I'm so glad you're having fun with your new H-alpha. Like all good things, I imagine the wait was well worth it

Have you found the Lunt has any kind of ghosting or a sweet spot as it drifts across the field of view and is there a kind of optimum power you work at, after which the image goes a little soft?

Thanks again for the write up, and anymore input would be greatly appreciated
 

[Pig]

Great review Nipper  

Its good to hear you are enjoying your Lunt 50, keep the reports coming as it is very interesting to hear how they compare with the other solar options available.

What is the focal length of the scope ?

[nipper1967]

hello again the focal length of the scope is 350mm . l cant say l've noticed any ghosting what l will say is focusing is very precise when l find focus the slightest turn of the focuser back or foreward takes it out again that said it focuses very well . l find the pressure tuner a little harder to judge l tend to look at filaments and get them as sharpe as possible then l look at a prommences and if there sharpe l leave it at that. l usually start with the seben 8-24 zoom eye piece at 24 mm so l can find the sun once l've found it l wind it down to about 12mm and then focus and use the pressure tuner , l can take it down to 8mm but the sun almost fills up the eyepiece so l find 12mm is good for seeing the surface detail and prommenences. l managed to get out for a short while this afternoon but the clouds rolled in after about fifteen minutes.

[andre2]

On 29 december 2014 at 22:19, nipper1967 said:

l've managed to have a couple of good sessions with my new scope now so l thought l'd write a bit of a review. the first thing l'd like to say is l cannot compare it with any other hydrogen-alpha telescope as this the first one l have ever looked through , my only other experience with solar viewing has been with a baader solar filter on my celestron nexstar 8se . First impressions of the scope is it's a well made piece of kit ,l have mounted it on a photographic tripod which will do for now the sun is quite low. The first eyepiece l used was a 25mm celestron plossl lt took me a few minutes to find the sun because l don't have a finderscope yet l ordered the lunt sol searcher with the scope but it was shipped separately and it hasn't arrived yet (will have to contact flo if it hasn't arrived when they reopen) as it happened the sun was well focused without having to touch the focuser l could see some prominences and a couple of dark sun spots. Now it was time to use the pressure tuner l followed the instructions unscrewed it and then reengaged it on the threads slowly turning it clockwise this gradually brings out all the surface detail which looks amazing , l can see lots of filaments and other details l cannot describe . The prominences are very sharp, deep red against a black sky on Monday l counted eight although today was a bit quieter .

l have tried a few eyepieces the plossl's seem to work quite well but l have a set of celestron x-cel lx's and it dos'nt seem to like these. ln the back of my mind l seem to remember reading someone saying the seben 8-24mm zoom was good for h-alpha l've one of those stuck in a draw l've never really liked it bought it after reading good reviews on amazon so l thought l'd give it a try, it works well the best of any of the eyepieces l've got, good clear images.

Sorry l cannot put on any images l am purely visual at the moment but believe me the view is amazing a totally different world to white light, well worth the wait.

hi andre from holland. In my hart i want to buy the  lunt 50 mm and vixen NPT 25 mm eyepiece and a simple trypot ( for now) . But, when i ask at the solaradvice forum : the PST or lunt 50 400BF?  Someone say: " i prefer the fews through the PST". Now i am " Affrait" to go for the lunt!

[andre2]

On 31 december 2014 at 16:32, nipper1967 said:

hello again the focal length of the scope is 350mm . l cant say l've noticed any ghosting what l will say is focusing is very precise when l find focus the slightest turn of the focuser back or foreward takes it out again that said it focuses very well . l find the pressure tuner a little harder to judge l tend to look at filaments and get them as sharpe as possible then l look at a prommences and if there sharpe l leave it at that. l usually start with the seben 8-24 zoom eye piece at 24 mm so l can find the sun once l've found it l wind it down to about 12mm and then focus and use the pressure tuner , l can take it down to 8mm but the sun almost fills up the eyepiece so l find 12mm is good for seeing the surface detail and prommenences. l managed to get out for a short while this afternoon but the clouds rolled in after about fifteen minutes.

 

[Merlin66]

If you're looking for a visual Ha scope then the PST should certainly be considered. If the interest is imaging, then the Lunt 50 is probably the way to go.