Coronado SolarMax 60mm Telescope Review - Observe the Sun Safely!

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[@lowellmccormick6991]

First I bought a Coronado PST not long after they came out. A group of us in our astronomy club got together and put in a bulk order of 8 or 10 and we got a bit of a discount. It was around $400. The views were great and I think was that it was the best bang for the buck of any of my astro toys. But we always want better. I looked thru a Coronado 90mm Ha scope and shortly after purchased a Coranado 60mm Ha filter with a 30mm blocking filter for $3500. Not long after that, Lunt started selling solar scopes and Coronado had large price drop. I had to machine an adapter for the filter because Coronado was moving their production to Mexico at the time. Fortunately I worked at a machine shop at the time. I use the filter set on a Vixen ED80 and an Asto-Tech ED102. The images with the single stack filter are fantastic. After 15 years of using it in a highly humid area (S. La), it had mold growing in the filters. I sent the filter set to Meade a couple of years ago and they cleaned up the filters for $150 and returned it within 6 weeks. It's now like new again and the views are amazing. My only suggestion would be to use the filter set on a scope with a two speed focuser, especially if you plan on doing any imaging. I don't have a solar finder, I just use the shadow on the ground and that works great. The adjustment wheel on my front filter will adjust the image so that the surface detail, sunspots or flares are more visible. As it is adjusted, some flares appear and other fade out. Something about the wavelength of the light changing, depending on if the solar flare is coming at you or going away (doppler effect).

[@andrewkylesettles4694]

Great review Ed, I own a 70 Solar Max, it is one of my favorites especially when we do a starparty that is multiple days. Something to look at in the day time and it is always a popular scope. I agree, what you see in the eyepiece is pretty much what you get in the images.

[@tedhauter9790]

Thank you for these videos Ed. It's an amazing experience doing solar outreach, worth the price of solar filters. It's when there is a group of people, a solar event or happening, and there is perhaps one or two scopes around for 100 miles or more, the scopes become solid gold.

[@StargazerFS128]

Great job, I had a PST, Lunt60, now ordered a new modular Lunt, solar is awesome!

[@johnparr5879]

Excellent review as always. Thank you.

[@pjanway6544]

Nice review Ed! I bought my Coronado SM60 back in 2003. I was not a solar observer at the time, but that summer it would be clear most every day and then cloud up around dusk. After weeks of this, I thought it was time to observe the sun :^) Back then they did not sell "solar scopes", but you bought the etalon (filter), a tilt mechanism and a blocking diagonal. You then had to adapt the filter to your scope. My Coronado is still going strong, and I've made adapters and mounted it onto five different telescopes over the years. Never regret buying it and yes, I now consider myself a solar observer too.

[@philipnewman3916]

Thanks for the review. I have the solarmax II 60 single stack with out the tilter on the front. I use a ZWO 174mm camera. I use Sharpcap pro to capture, Autostakkert to stack and IMPPG to sharpen. Love the scope.

[@puuxexil]

8:29 Yes! I discovered this technique during the August 2017 eclipse. Glad to see that it is an official Ed Ting endorsed move. Thank you for this video. I'm driving up to Utah to catch the annular eclipse this October and thought I'd dabble in this whole H-alpha solar imaging thing, but clearly it's not as easy as a couple of filters and your typical 656 narrowband.

[@mtnhorn2619]

Excellent video! I was inspired by your review of the Lunt 100mm, and I borrowed a 40mm PST from my local astronomy society. After further exercise with a solar scope, I decided to purchase a scope of my own. To make a long story of research incredibly shorter, my purchase was for the Lunt Solar 60mm. The nice thing about even at this entry level (yes, no matter where you begin, solar scope ARE costly) is that the scope easily converts to a 70mm native (aperture) doublet refractor. It came with a Lunt Crayford focuser, and is very portable. Optics are excellent. There are two (2) solar eclispses coming up (one is an annular), and supplies and equipment may possibly disappear in and around eclipse time (Oct 14, '23, and April 8, '24). I'm thinking ahead and getting my gear now. Ed, can a Daystar Quark convert a regular refractor to a solar refractor?

[@MarkRosengarten]

After retiring I decided it wasd time to get back into solar observing. The dedicated solar scope prices had skyrocketed since I sold my original model Lunt 60 in 2017. I had a wonderful Televue 85 with a Feathertouch focuser so I bought the Lunt 60 etalon with an adapter plate to fit it to my scope and a B1200 blocking filter. I have never enjoyed the double stack view so I stuck with just the single etalon. Along with the Lunt zoom eyepiece, it's a worthy solar observing platform.

[@dschenk952]

Nice review, Ed, and that was a very sharp solar image you shared. I have had my SolarMax 60mm doublestack with a 10mm BF for over 6 years now and I get a lot of enjoyment out of solar imaging, mainly in single stack. What I've found is I spend more time with my Solar scope mainly because I live in a Bortle 6 area, and light pollution doesn't affect me all that much during the day. :) I have mine mounted on a Sky-Watcher SolarQuest mount and use an ASI178 monochrome camera and SharpCap to capture around 1000 frames. I then stack with AutoStakkert and use Registax to sharpen the image before adding RGB channels in photoshop elements. . I've had the opportunity to compare my Coronado to a Lunt side by side, and If I had it to do again I believe I would look very hard at a Lunt, or a Daystar Quark, mostly because I've had more than one "challenging" experience with Coronado Customer Support

[@Mrch33ky]

Very interesting. I have the solar film to use over the end of a scope but it's also really nice to see what the lenses are capable of. Along those lines a video devoted just to eyepieces would be great.

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

I love solar I used to do outreach for the Charlie Bates Solar project & really need to do it again sometime as I've 100's of solar glasses to give away, I use a couple of refractors with Herchel wedges for white light & a couple of PST Cronados one HA & a rarer one for CaK, the HA scope does have the option for a double stack but when you use it I'm kinda disappointed at the views, yes you can see more surface detail but at the cost of losing the views of the prominences. I also have the baby Lunt the 35 which is pretty good performer for the size. Great video Ed I really enjoyed this one.

[@lnvonx]

Hi Ed, thank you for another nice review. Just a sidenote: I do actually own the mentioned successor (Solarmax III DS with the 15 mm BF) of this telescope and there both etalon filters are in the front of the achromat. Also the brightness a non issue there, I even experimented with a weak ND filter. However, the sweetspot with the best contrast in the image does not cover the full sun.

[@kasa6038]

As an even cheaper option, Lunt made a 35 mm HA scope years ago. You can find it on CN for ~$600, or at least that was the case about 2 years ago when I was looking. A fellow club member did the AL H-alpha program through one without difficulty. If you like it, you can always re-sell it and upgrade for a 100 mm Lunt!

[@johnhurst4202]

Hey Ed, another great video. I just purchased a used Coranado Max Scope 70mm. Can you make a mounting plate recommendation?

[@titobattaglia7932]

Hi Ed, thanks a lot for this review. I keep seeing that blue Omni 150 behind you and wonder whether there's a review in the works ;D I own one and have my own idea of it, but I'd be very curious to hear from you about it. Excuse the OT!

[@hangerbird]

Great review. Would like to have learned about what the deal is with the various BF and their pros and cons.

[@juancarlosdelasotta6375]

Nice telescope and nice review , you ever try the Lunt 60mm double stack? The image in the Lunt is very clear and is not dim like Coronado double stack ,

[@tubedude54]

Yrs ago when I got my first telescope from Sears (1960's) it of course came with a solar filter. My father and I used it a few times till I read in a book that you should never use those types of filters you screw into the eyepiece. My dad didn't believe me, of course, he was like 'why would they sell it to you if it's dangerous'?? (I'm thinking of Lawn Darts right now...) I had to show him the book before he would believe but I think he never really did. After that we would always use the projection method since the scope had that in the box too. I did notice after that the first time I cleaned that eyepiece we used the filter in the bakelite lense holding ring had surface 'bubbles' on it where it had gotten really hot! Guess we got lucky that the filter never cracked!

[@astroblast9352]

Lunt's solar wedges are very good for white light (sun spots). Both white light and H-Alpha are worthwhile for solar observing

[@damiencannane]

I own this telescope and use it exclusively in double stack mode. It's about 5 years old, and I find the single stack to be so bright that I cannot make out the fine surface details very well. I find the double stacked image to be much more comfortable and the contrast is greatly increased. It reduces the brightness of the prominences somewhat, but I find it a fair compromise. I question whether the sample you evaluated is not working at peak performance...it should not be dark at 0.5Å

[@astroblast9352]

Double stack is the way to go. My lunt 50mm is plenty bright double stacked

[@astroblast9352]

Suggest going with Lunt nowadays. The reason H-Alpha solar is great is because it's always changing everyday. And the sun is very active recently

[@priyanshu0206]

Please make next video about paramounts and how do telescope move by themselves and can paramount work with dobsonian ?

[@badmatt4227]

Hey I have the Coronado SolarMax II. (Note: I do not have the front dial, purchased 2012.) The draw tube is a loose fit and moves if when I tried to use a “Orion SteadyPix Deluxe Camera Mount.” And now the telescope doesn’t seem to focus as good at it used to. I am trying to use a regular consumer grade camera to take video through the telescope. Because I believe the cost will be less than buying a laptop and CMOS camera. Would an aftermarket focuser be an option or am I making this harder?

[@craiglowery4427]

Thanks Ed. I just bought the Coronado 70mm Solar Max III. Guess I'm getting serious with solar

[@miertjestoer9525]

The prominences through this scope looks amazing I think, so contrastly! But I still prefer the Lunt 60 MT.

[@engelhorns]

Love the video thank you. Could you go over or possibly review a Ritchey Chretien telescope? I've only heard the name and I have no real idea what it truly is. Thanks, Steve

[@ultrametric9317]

Thanks! People may wonder why the cost is so high - and it's not the refractive optics that run up the cost. In fact a cheap lens with accurate performance at one frequency of light - not even an achromat, just a well-made singlet lens - is fine. The cost comes in the etalon, which works by destructive interference of light to exclude almost everything other than the desired resonance frequency. This device has to be made to extremely tight tolerances - excellent telescope optics operate at say 1/10th or better wavelength of light, but the etalon must be hand figured to 1/100th wavelength or better, and it has to be extremely smooth and resistant to expansion (exotic material, I think mica, not glass). Then it has to be coated with the same precision. IOW a great deal of hand labor goes into making each one.

[@oculuis]

I'd recommend the Lunt 40mm for $750. Amazing what 40mm can show with a high powered eyepiece. Solar prominences, sun spots, and overall beautiful detail! Stay safe!

[@xd-pk7bb]

I found you can even use a binoviewer with the Lunt 40 b600 by screwing in a 1.5x barlow element. Fantastic binocular view with two 25mm plossls.

[@MikeLikesChannel]

Picked up a Coronado PST for $350 used. So worth it.

[@danielgolite]

I bought a PST and it is a lower cost alternative to the really expensive solar telescopes. I paid 525 dollars. Kids love to see the red image of the sun.

[@jocbis]

Hi Ed, love your review videos! When deciding between Coronado configurations, how would compare something like the PST double stacked with this scope single stacked for visual observations. Is the single stack extra aperture worth it over the detail added by double stacking the PST? Do many of your observations about this scope single stacked apply to the 70mm? Thanks so much for your reviews and advice!

[@edting]

Here's my current thoughts. Don't double stack anything below 80mm. There isn't enough aperture. The image gets too dim. You spend way too much money on behalf of a small scope. The owner of this 60mm Coronado says if he had to do it all over again, he would not have bought the second etalon.

[@jocbis]

@@edting Thanks so much Ed! I think that makes a lot of sense. Single stack with a Lunt or Coronado 60mm scope definitely seems like the perfect choice for my use cases.

[@parikshitsinghrathod7671]

Ed, help me plz i am living in a bortle 6 location and during summer I go to a bortle 3 location , what would be best (pure visual ) telescope and relatively transportable and yet good for dsos ? (Maybe a ES truss tube 10 ?)

[@MountainFisher]

I bought a 50mm Lunt Ha B400 for $885. A single stack, but absolutely wonderful. edit; Oh I put a 6x30mm finder scope with solar film on it at the front through a hole in the cardboard. How did I attach it? Hose clamps.

[@markplacek6657]

I Also have Lundt 50 mm. But, I paired my with skywatcher halo find. Just push one button and follows the sun all day long. I LOVE IT

[@Megastring]

What's going on with the Omni-150 (in the background)?

[@malanstecker]

Does one need to use the diagonal for photography with a ZWO ASI174MM camera on the Coronado 60 mm solar telescope or is there a more stable strait through method without a diagonal?

[@edting]

DO NOT, under any circumstances, remove the blocking diagonal from any H-Alpha solar scope. It is a special diagonal with a blocking filter in it that is crucial for your safety.

[@pigman2467]

does someone know what is the skywatcher flextube 200p so what is their suze when they are collapsed?

[@nathantucker6243]

could you review the explore scientific dobsonian 10" truss tube telescope from Costco

[@edting]

Don't buy. The product is a disaster. There is a reason they are blowing them out at places like Costco and the NYC camera stores. Amazon had them as low as $188. Stay with standard 8" Dobs, or get the newer First Light Dobs from Explore S.

[@MikeKasprzak]

Can you recommend a scope powerful enough to clearly see Saturn's rings that also fits on a coffee table? I would love an 6" or 8" dobsonian, but I want something compact enough to just put on a coffee table and admire while it's not in use.

[@cryptojihadi265]

A good quality 80mm triplet refractor can do that. If you can swing a 90 or even 100, that would be better. I was blown away by the detail and sharpness of the lunt 100mt in night mode. It's got fpl53 glass triplet APO. But William optics or Sky Watcher Esprit series would be great options. Orion eon triplet series for a cheaper alternative.

[@edting]

Get the 6"/8" Dob. There's a reason I keep recommending these. No scope is perfect but a midsize Dob has the least number of compromises.

[@tomkirby3281]

I bought a SolarMax 40 several years ago. It's only single stacked, but I enjoy the views. Mine came with a CEMAX 18mm, but I added a CEMAX 12mm. No budget currently for double stacking. My eyes are too old to see Calcium K, so I won't go there.

[@siberx4]

I would definitely agree with you that I'd be mighty hesitant to stick my eyeball up to an overseas solar telescope by some no-name brand, but I think I'd be more than happy to risk a cheap planetary camera instead just to see how they compare to the trustworthy name brands!

[@joakimastro]

Please do a review or video about CaK filter/diagonals!

[@edting]

I mention the CaK diagonal in the Lunt 100 review.

[@joakimastro]

@@edting ah, thanks Ed! I’ll go back and look again :D

[@gregerianne3880]

Nice review, Ed. I'm not all that familiar with solar telescopes and this review helped to acquaint me with them a bit more. I recently switched from a glass full aperture solar filter for my 4" refractor to a Baader ASTF and I definitely prefer the Baader filter since it provides more surface detail at least in my opinion. But (and this is my naivete coming through) isn't there a way to get closer to an H-alpha view (through a solar telescope) using a white light solar filter on a regular refractor/reflector? I've tried several filters that I have (mainly narrowband used for nighttime imaging), but none of them provide any significant enhancement.

[@edting]

Unfortunately, no. You need a dedicated narrowband filter H-Alpha scope to get these views. The difference between these and white light filters is not subtle.

[@gregerianne3880]

@@edting Okay thank you, Ed. I figured as much otherwise why would folks spend all that money on these expensive, specialized scopes! I thought I'd ask, though.

[@MakeAMark]

I was going to ask the same question about using a Ha DSO filter behind a broad-band solar filter.

[@rogerpitre8663]

@@MakeAMark I believe the "notch" in a DSO filter is a lot wider than the one in a solar scope.

[@MakeAMark]

@@rogerpitre8663 Ah... okay, just re-listened to the video. Mr. Ting says you can get 0.7 angstroms, which is 100x more narrow than my 7nm filters!

[@Markaras]

Hi guys, please tell me, when will saturn be visible again? It's close to the sun now, when will it go far away from sun as seen from earth???

[@iang-zf1wr]

Can you see the nearest star to earth with that telescope. Proxima centauri? How big aperture telescope would you need to be able to see proxima centauri?

[@edting]

Alpha Centauri is visible to the naked eye and Proxima is about 11th magnitude. They look like ordinary stars. It helps to be in the southern hemisphere to see them.

[@PafMedic]

Solar Viewing Is Not To Be Taken Lightly.I Really Enjoy It,Looking At The Sun,and Also Finding Stars and Planets In Our Daytime Skies,But As He Stated..NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING.Thank You Ed…Maybe Ill Be Caught Up In A Few Months😂lI Wouldnt Mind Having A 60mm Lunt,God Bless and Be With You and Your Family Always🙏🏻❤️🔭🌏✨

[@KingLoopie1]

If love to upgrade my single stack PST to one of these, but the price just won't fit in my budget for now... 💸💸💸💸

[@MrLink-dk7yn]

Can one change the diagonal for an unfiltered one if the scope is double stacked?

[@edting]

I wouldn't do that. Please be safe.

[@damiencannane]

Definitely not. The blocking filter eliminates harmful radiation and is an essential part of the system.

[@cwulfe1]

That version is no longer for sale from what I find. Now there's a 70 and 90 mm.

[@bastib8762]

Does anybody know which 'overseas company' Ed was talking about? Is this telescope already on the market? I would very much like a 4inch double stack for.. let's say... 800€? :D

[@klttrll]

Is that a televue ranger or a pronto in the background?

[@RT65CB-SWL]

Possibly a TeleVue Pronto. The Ranger has a helical focus. 🔭

[@klttrll]

I knew it looked a little off

[@super1vega]

Frist light

[@mountainhobo]

Some years ago I was at the Lick Observatory, and people occasionally set up their own equipment in the parking lot there and let you look at stuff. On that day there were some people from University of California (they work there at the observatory), and they had one of those lunar scopes. After brief instruction I looked through it, and it was quite spectacular (I do not remember the parameters of the scope or the name of it). I have been wondering, are there filters one could install on a binocular to look safely at the sun?

[@astropetev]

Not for H-alpha viewing. But certainly it's possible to make a white light filter using Baader Solar Film. Plenty of information available - you make a cardboard frame which fits over the front of the binos with the solar film fixed to the cardboard. Obviously because the binoculars may need to have the eye spacing altered you will need to ensure that the filter cannot fall off! I've done it for different binoculars without a problem using hook and loop (Velcro) fixing. This might help: astrosolar.com/en/information/how-to/how-to-make-your-own-objective-solar-filter-for-your-camera-or-telescope/

[@timtim4664]

Really enjoy the reviews Ed! I'd probably watch you if you reviewed Nerf guns! The narration and reviews have a certain "calm" about them.

[@arongyorffy3070]

If I were any of the telescope companies, I would lobby the government to pass a law which forces social media companies to state under every posted astro-image, that the view through the telescope may be complety different. I believe that after departement store grade products, the dissapointing experience of having to look at those gray spots when you expected colorful nebulea is the second most common hobby killer.

[@Megawatt]

This would only be necessary for companies using long-exposures images on the packaging of cheap visual telescopes (which happens a lot).

[@TheHemiphil81]

I can honestly remember when these telescopes first came out and the cost about 800 dollars with alpha hydrogen filters.

[@edting]

Yes, and I remember when you could get a PST for $495!

[@pascalduquenne5947]

😎👍

[@billmurphypenguins3774]

Solar DOB, Build it....

[@_stardust62]

Our solar system gets a one star rating ⭐

[@tjzambonischwartz]

The worst thing about H-alpha telescopes is they're worth every expensive penny. My PST is my most heavily used telescope.

[@Christiaan-qj8fi]

Legitimately heartbreaking news. Now I need to save up for one

[@tedkord1968]

Once you go double stack, you never go back.

[@heyhey97777]

I cringe at the idea of looking at the Sun, even with a solar telescope lmao

[@BlueTrane2028]

Can’t say you like looking at the stars and ignore the closest one.

[@deennice6035]

Because of how dangerous it can be or what?

[@cryptojihadi265]

It's absolutely incredible.

[@fazergazer]

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas A gigantic nuclear furnace Where hydrogen is fused into helium At a temperature of millions of degrees😂

[@astroblast9352]

It's safe if you are smart about it. These halpha dedicated ones are usually quite safe.

[@guarmiron5557]

Hi Ed, Can any of the stacked H filters or diagonals from Lunt or Coronado be used on another brand of telescope? Does the front cell on a non-solar refractor require special protection when exposed to the sun if you put solar filters in the image/visual train behind it? I have a Celestron white light filter (eclipsmart) for my 8 inch SCT that I must admit I am nervous to use.

[@edting]

I wouldn't try that. You need to get a dedicated H-Alpha scope to see these views. Be safe out there!

[@scott_meyer]

You can get a Daystar 80mm for around $1800.

[@edting]

I'd like to get my hands on one of those for review.