Solar filter - Baader vs Seymour / Film vs Glass

[Steve Ward]

I just use a scrap of film left over from making the filter on my finderscope ... 

[Davey-T]

If you're using a DSLR once you're aimed at the Sun if you get the histogram up  and slew around a bit you can see the histogram climbing before you see the Sun, keep slewing in the direction that makes it climb and it will pop into view, I use this method in Firecapture because even though the Sun is in the Sol Searcher circle it can still be out of view on the laptop.

Dave

[Steve Ward]

That's cos your SS ain't lined up  ... they're no more effective than the shadow method in my humble opinion ... 

[Davey-T]

That's cos your SS ain't lined up  ... they're no more effective than the shadow method in my humble opinion ... 

No it's lined up just that it only needs a nudge for the Sun to disappear off screen even thought it's still in the SS white spot, really hard to see the shadow of a 10"SCT with all sorts hanging off it 

Dave

[LukeSkywatcher]

Laptops,cameras...........?.

I'm all about the visual. Maybe one day i will hook my camera up to my solar rig.

[Steve Ward]

No it's lined up just that it only needs a nudge for the Sun to disappear off screen even thought it's still in the SS white spot, really hard to see the shadow of a 10"SCT with all sorts hanging off it 

Dave

 When I've got the Mak180 out to play I just remove the finderscope from it's holder and check the shadow of the hole .

[Floater]

Y'see what I mean, James? You've set fire to the heather!

Will everybody calm down please, and read what I wrote in post #20 - 'there are many ways but a solar finder is best'.

Now c'moan ...

[Macavity]

The latest offering from Baader are very nice - No "Nora Batty stocking" wrinkles.

http://www.365astronomy.com/Baader-ASSF130-AstroSolar-Spotter-Filter-130mm.html

I sense you might even be able to replace the film, if it gets old / damaged.

To be frank, I was really disappointed by a recent glass filter purchase...

Robust enough to take on the road, for visual, but definitely not for imaging.

[JamesF]

I understand that the ripples make no difference, but they still look a bit irritating  What I've done with the last few I've made is to lay the film out on the table, then put double-sided tape on the side of the frame that I'm going to stick it to and hold the frame perhaps ten to twenty millimetres above the film and drop it.  The film doesn't end up perfectly flat even so, but it does at least look fairly neat and obviously it's not under any tension either.

James

[Floater]

James, there are worrying signs of OCD creeping in here - and that's OK, of course :-), but the whole point of this is - just as Baader write on their site, linked by Chris above - the following:

" It sounds like a contradiction with traditional perception of quality, but AstroSolar must show slight ripples! Only when the film is being put under stress by an improper cell mount it performs just like any single side coated glass-filter made of untreated floatglass."

These people make the stuff. They're telling it like it is.

p.s. I'm cool with OCD - Mrs Floater told me my problem years ago ...

[Sonicfishcake42]

Hey guys, thanks for the wealth of information! Very informative I like the rough guide using shadows - simple yet roughly effective I imagine! With the histogram - Now that's just cheating! great tip though! I'll be able to combine the above methods and hopefully reach my target relatively problem free! 

Unfortunately I'm still using the default red dot, so a pre-made filter for that might be a bit tricky! Even with adding some solar film I wouldn't want to risk trying to align my eye and blinding myself in the process! I got my filter today and of course... thick blanket of cloud!

[Davey-T]

When I made mine I saved the two circular cutouts to protect the film in storage inside the cardboard box, don't know if commercial ones come with any protection if not I bought the sheet of white stuff from a craft shop, easy enough to make some protective discs.

Dave

[Floater]

Just something else to throw in the mix:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/249570-ep-plug-doubles-as-solar-finder/?p=2717656