Canon 15X50 IS w/Nebula Filters

Hi folks,

I have a pair of Canon 15X50 IS binos and am very happy with them. They are threaded for 58mm lens filters. The other day on a whim, I ordered 58mm to 48mm step down rings for them. They came in today, so I screwed in my 2" UHC and O-III filters in and just came in from trying them out. I was concerned that mixing them would cause me some focusing issues, but I only had to tweak the diopter a hair. The skies are very clear tonight and the view of the North American was fabulous for such a small aperture. The wide field of the binos really makes the nebula stand out. The Veil was also very nice. Both sections were easily seen. I can't wait to get these to a really dark site.

Have any others on the list tried placing nebula filters on binos? I wonder how the Canon 15X50 IS binos would do with a couple of 48mm solar filters?

Randy

Randy,
I have the 18x50s and was curious where you purchased the step down adaptors as I already have the filters too?
Stu

Hi Randy,

I went a slightly different route with my 15x50 IS binoculars. I purchased nebula filters from Howie Glatter that were designed to fit into the eyepiece side of the binoculars, just as the anti-fog eyepieces fit in. No loss of aperture due to step-down that way.

The first night we tried them out was at last year's Black Forest Star Party in Cherry Springs, PA. They were incredible.

As for solar filters, I've used Baader filters on mine for quite a while. First, I fashioned cardboard tubes into slip covers, with baader film in a cutout at the end of the tube. Make sure that the tube fits VERY snuggly on the objectives, and you may even wat to fashion some type of latch or velcro to ensure they don't fall off while viewing.

See photos:
http://www.macnmotion.com/solarfilter/filterandcap.jpg
http://www.macnmotion.com/solarfilter/filterinside.jpg
http://www.macnmotion.com/solarfilter/filteronbinoculars.jpg

But last year I got a bit more sophisticated. I sandwiched Baader film between two UV filters screwed together, then
screwed the sandwich onto the objectives. As you already know, you would use 58mm filters for this (for the 15x50s). A total of 4 are needed for the project. The benefits are that the film will never tear (it's protected by the UV glass), and since they're screwed on they will not accidentally fall off. They're also very compact, and when attached they allow the binoculars to fit into the foam cutout in my Pelican carrying case.

See photos:
http://www.macnmotion.com/baaderfilters.jpg
http://www.macnmotion.com/baaderonbinocs.jpg

Either way, the baader views are terrific, great for a quick sunspot check before taking out the larger equipment.

macnmotion