User manual ORION TELESCOPES & BINOCULARS SLRFILTERS

[. . . ] Point the telescope away from the Sun before removing the solar filter!Removing the filter while the telescope is aimed at the Sun is dangerous if anyone is looking into the eyepiece, and can damage the telescope if left pointed at the Sun for too long. "Ghosting" may occur with some compound telescopes, such as Schmidt-Cassegrains, which incorporate larger secondary mirrors in their design. If this is a problem, simply tilt the filter slightly to move the "ghost" outside the field of view. [. . . ] Every effort is made to minimize pinholes in the manufacturing process. The glass is cleaned and coated three times in the coating process, meaning that the coating is even across the entire aperture and most pinholes will not be entirely transparent. A few minutes spent occasionally touching up any brighter pinholes will prevent any possible "ghosting" due to scattered light. Opaquing of the pinholes should be done on the inside coated surface with a fine-point "permanent" felt marker. Although it would never be necessary with our filters, as many as 20 touch-ups per inch of aperture could be done without loss of resolution or significant loss of brightness. All filters are tested for safety before shipment. There is no Mounting the Solar Filter The inside of the filter cell will be either lined with foam tape or unlined, depending on the telescope. The filter should fit just tight enough to keep from slipping off when the telescope is pointed down. If your filter is too loose, it can be custom fitted by applying the supplied foam tape inserts on the inside rim of the cell. On some models, you may need only one insert to get a snug fit. The filter should not fit too tightly or the optical surfaces may be distorted due to stress on the cell. Check filter for any possible damage before each use. The view through your telescope should be comfortable and not appear excessively bright. Stop looking immediately if the view is excessively bright. Even one bright pinhole could degrade the image quality. See "Inspection & Maintenance. " 3. Keep the front of any finder scope covered if it is not equipped with a solar filter. An uncovered finder scope is dangerous to look through. Even if you do not look through it, unfiltered sunlight may melt internal parts of a finder scope. IN 025 Rev. B 0200 danger if a few small pinholes or minor scratches are present, although we recommend opaquing all visible ones. [. . . ] Be sure to keep notes on how each frame was exposed so you can compare after the film is processed. Try experimenting with other films as well. If you are a beginner in astrophotography and need further information, there are books available that cover this subject completely. Do not be discouraged if your first attempts at solar photography are less than desired. [. . . ]