QHY5 Mono

[beamer3.6m]

I know this is a great guide camera and can be used as a lunar/planetary camera also but it is mono so how do you get the colour in say a picture of Saturn and if you need a filter wheel what is the cheapest (and I mean cheapest) that will work.

Cheers guys.

[steppenwolf]

To get colour you would need to take a sequence of three and ideally four sets of images using alternately a Red, Green and Blue filter. You would then combine the different colour 'channels' to form an RGB image using an imaging processing program like 'The Gimp' (free) or PhotoShop. The fourth set? This would be set of images taken with just an infra-red filter to capture 'luminance' and this would be combined with the RGB channels to form an LRGB colour image.

A Filter wheel and a set of matched filter so that you don't have to keep re-focussing would make things very much simpler for you.

[beamish]

Just remember the rotation time of any planet and hence the difference between the 1st exp and the last.

[iancandler]

Give bern a ring at modern astronomy as he's doing some cheap but good LRGB filter sets and can probably sort you out with a complete wheel and filter package to suit.