calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Do any of you use filters with your binoculars?
I was wondering if I could use a couple of 2" UHC types to get some decent views of nebula (if the binoculars would gather enough light with the filters in place), and also maybe a pair of polarizers or NDC's to cut down on moon/planet glare.
Is there an easy way to mount 2" filters to non-threaded bino objectives?
BTW - I'm picking up the Nikon Action Extreme 12x50... which is what this would apply to specifically.
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moron392
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/20/07
Posts: 808
Loc: Charlotte, NC
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i've tried to use some polarizing filters for moon viewing, but it generally messes up the binoculars. then again they were very *BLEEP* binoculars...celesctron has binos w/ Broadband filters on them....
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"If you've done something right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
http://www.freewebs.com/moron392/index.htm
60mm meade ngc60 refractor.
Meade 70AZ-TR (short one)
50mm homemade refractor (occasionally with a solar filter)
starblast4.5EQ
6mm,15mm expanse eyepieces
9mm meade Mh eyepiece,17.5mm Meade MA
nikon 7x35's
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10029
Loc: Lancashire UK
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calan ,
I suspect that if using filters with binoculars was so resoundingly successful , I would have read a LOT about it by now .
Having read just about every post to every thread ever posted to this forum , I don't think that to be the case , really !
Clear skies
Kenny
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Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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GlenM
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 911
Loc: 53° 36'N 2° 06'W
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Calan,
now you have brought this up again I was thinking of trying my Baader M&SG filter on the binoculars I have. The Baader lets in more light than a 'standard' UHC. I'll let you know when I don't have clouds.
Fitting them to binoculars well....
I suppose if you could buy a couple of spare caps and fit the filters to the caps. Just a thought.
Oh, and before Kenny says anything.  Cut holes in the spare caps to fit the filters into.
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Glen
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CharlieInDayton
member
Reged: 12/28/05
Posts: 75
Loc: Directly above Earth's center....
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I have a pair of polarizing filters for the non-bino 1.25" eyepieces in the Oberwerk BT80-45's...they work quite nicely to keep you from going moonblind. Takes a bit of practice to get 'em both set to the same degree, but it's not tough.
Also have a homemade over-the-front solar filter for the Obie, and another set (also homemade) for my 10x50's, and actually one for an 8x21 monocular. Watched the Venus transit a few years ago with the filtered 10x50's.
They all work fantabulously.
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It doesn't matter what you're looking at.
It doesn't matter what you're looking through.
It never looks like the pictures...
Charlie in Dayton
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GlenM
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 911
Loc: 53° 36'N 2° 06'W
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Thinking of making some filters for the upcoming partial eclipse August 1st. But I suppose IF I make the filters the clouds will roll in. IF I don't make the filters the sun will be cracking the flagstones 
Which of the films that are available did you use  I see there are quite a few these days.
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Glen
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rookie
sage
Reged: 01/14/06
Posts: 251
Loc: St. Petersburg, FL
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I use Agena 25% neutral density filters for observing the moon with my BT80. I asked Zach Garrett what was best, and that was his recommendation. (BTW nice guy) It's a good compliment with that aperture because it all but elimiates chromatic aberration and reduces glare. I considered using the polarizing filter as I already had one, but was afraid to try them. The polarizing filter is much wider and adds 9/16" to the base of the ep. I was afraid of scratching the prisms because of the extention into the housing. I never made any measurements, but I did scratch my WO 2" diagonal mirror on my telescope with a polarizing filter. That was a tough lesson.
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Shirley
Celestron CPC 800XLT
G0 BT80~45degree; Fujinon 16x70 FMT-SX
Celestron Ultima 9x63 & Regal LX 10x42
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5279
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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A binocular I used to have had eyepiece cups that were just the right size to hold 1.25" Orion Ultrablock narrow band filters.
It worked very well.
Rich
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CharlieInDayton
member
Reged: 12/28/05
Posts: 75
Loc: Directly above Earth's center....
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For The Monsters, I used the Baader AstroSolar film. It gives a white image.
Someday I may get some more of the Thousand Oaks black polymer material. That image is much more eyeball-friendly, being a yellow image.
Just for grins'n'giggles, check this out...
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It doesn't matter what you're looking at.
It doesn't matter what you're looking through.
It never looks like the pictures...
Charlie in Dayton
Edited by CharlieInDayton (07/16/08 05:54 AM)
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GlenM
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 911
Loc: 53° 36'N 2° 06'W
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Thanks Charlie,
I think I'm going to go for the Thousand Oaks. I have one of their glass filters for my TV 85. Nice filter.
Clear Skies.
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Glen
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Bill Huot
member
Reged: 08/07/05
Posts: 37
Loc: Victoria, BC, Canada
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Quote:
Do any of you use filters with your binoculars?
I was wondering if I could use a couple of 2" UHC types to get some decent views of nebula (if the binoculars would gather enough light with the filters in place), and also maybe a pair of polarizers or NDC's to cut down on moon/planet glare.
Is there an easy way to mount 2" filters to non-threaded bino objectives?
BTW - I'm picking up the Nikon Action Extreme 12x50... which is what this would apply to specifically.
A couple of times I have used my two 2” Orion filters (a broadband and a narrowband) on my 10X50 binos by friction-fitting them into the housing that extends beyond the objectives. The outside diameter of the filters is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the housing, so I used strips of 1/8” craft foam as a shim. The temporary installation is quite easy to do, and the foam holds the filters securely, but I have to be careful when installing them to avoid scratching the coating on the objectives with the metal rim of the filters.
The filters work with binoculars similarly to how they work for a ‘scope. The most interesting aspect of this exercise is that it makes it easy to compare the effectiveness of the two filters.
Most of my viewing is just for the sheer enjoyment of the aesthetic experience rather than trying to add hard-to-find objects to my life-list. For the most part, viewing the heavens through these filters detracts from the overall aesthetics rather than enhances it so I haven’t repeated the experiment very often. (Actually, I haven’t used the filters on my ‘scopes very much for that reason too.) But I’ve kept the narrow foam strips and will probably try again to see the Veil and North American nebulae when I’m at a dark site.
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Bill
Oberwerk 25X100IF; Garrett Signature 15X70
Captain's Helmsman 7X50; Minolta 10X50
Pentax Papilio 6.5X21
Couch Potato Binocular Mount
Manfrotto 503 mount / Acuter tripod (Gitzo clone)
Vixen fork mount / Manfroto 3246 tripod
William Optics Zenithstar 80
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Luigi
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 1739
Loc: Massachusetts
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Yep. I stick two-inch filters into the objective ends of my bins. UHC for one eye, OIII for the other. Or two UHC types.
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17.5" f/5 Discovery Truss
IM715 7" f/15 MCT, Eon-120ED refractor
CG5A coffee grinder, Orion Skyview Alt-AZ
35,19,15 Pans.9 Nag. Meade 24.5 4kSWA, 4.7 5kUWA.
BO-TMB 7mm planetary.
Zeiss Diascope 85
Zeiss, Leica, Canon IS, Fujinon, Nikon binos
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calan
sage
Reged: 06/16/07
Posts: 245
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Quote:
Yep. I stick two-inch filters into the objective ends of my bins. UHC for one eye, OIII for the other. Or two UHC types.
After posting this (and getting my new Nikon AE 10x50), I found that my 2" Orion O-III fits nice and snug into the objective end...almost a perfect press-fit. But I only have that one 2" filter, so I can't yet see how well they will work. I'll be getting a 2" UHC soon though.
How well does the mix of a UHC and an O-III work? Does it help nebula "jump out" a bit? Do you see any weirdness due to looking through different filters with each eye?
On a related note, I was at WalMart the other day and they had 3 different sizes of inexpensive polarizing filters all right around 2". I think they were like 50mm, 52mm, and 54mm. So a couple of questions:
1. Has anyone tried these?
2. Which size is a true 2" filter?
3. Are the threads the standard 2" type that will work in EP's?
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Orion XT10 (completely rebuilt, DOB or GEM mountable)
Meade LXD75 6" Newt w/mods
Nikon 10x50 AE Extreme
Hyperion 21mm and 8-24mm Zoom
Astrotech 38mm Titan II
BO/TMB 6mm
Various Plossls
Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a bannana.
The trouble with most jobs is the job holder's resemblence to being one of a sled dog team. No one gets a change of scenery except the lead dog.
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GlennLeDrew
sage
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 467
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Calan,
I've taped a pair of UHC filters in front of my 50mm binos, and faint nebulae really jump out!
In fact, if the glass substrate used for the filters is reasonably good, in front of the objectives is the best place for narrow band filters, as opposed to the behind the eyepiece. This is because for even a wide-angle bino, the maximum off-axis angle for objects at the edge of the field will be no more than about 4 degrees (for, e.g., an 8 degree fov). This is quite close to perpendicular, and therefore the filters will work perfectly well across the entire field.
Compare this with behind-the-eyepiece filters, where the light rays exiting the eyepiece, which for even a small apparent fov is at least 25 degrees off-axis. In this instance, not insignificant "de-tuning" occurs for off-axis imagery, and hence proper performance is obtained in perhaps no more than the central half of the field.
The reason why I mentioned the qualifier regarding filter substrate quality is because a friend's Lumicon UHC filter was quite bad. In front of a 10X bino the image was astoundingly astigmatic, and even when used in the normal position in front of an eyepiece (where the tolerances are rather more relaxed) the image was just not quite right.
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I've also tried a mix of UHC and O-III filters. I can only say that I really don't like it! The brightness difference in the sky between the two is too uncomfortably large, and it feels like I'm going blind in the O-III eye! And no, there are no gains in nebula visibility, either... it's best to use the same-type filters for both eyes, methinks.
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2" telescope eyepieces require a 48mm diameter thread.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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PEterW
super member
Reged: 01/02/06
Posts: 141
Loc: SW London, UK
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Any experiences with holding the filters on the eyepiece end (can't buy 100mm filters!). I have held off so far due to not wanting to get my Lumicon UHC dirty (eyelashes make a mess of eyepieces, but they are not so delicately coated and are easier to clean).
With the advent of new 'hard coatings', this worry goes away, the only issue is cost for two filters. I was wondering about the 'wider band' light pollution filters, but the scope reviews of them shows them to be of limited use. The only question is how small can you go with a narrow band (UHC or OIII) filter before you end up looking into a black hole? The DGM NPB filters would appear to be a good choice for performance and cost?
Experiences/feelings etc welcomed.
Thanks
PEterW
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