Quote:
Originally Posted by mental4astro
I too have a Daystar Quark, with mine being the Prominence model. I use it in an ED80 scope. What this scope/filter combination can do is amazing. I chose the Prom model over the Chromosphere as proms are what most attract me. The Chromosphere detail is still there, but it is a bit more tricky to tease out.
I tried my Quark in some 8 different refractors, achromatic and apochromatic, and despite the image being monochrome, the best image comes from Apos. Sharper and more contrasty.
There are three main drawbacks to a Quark. One is the fine tuning is electronically controlled and the tunung tajes some time to happen. The other is the built-in 4.2X barlow really pushes up the magnification. That's why a 25mm / 32mm plossl is used. The ED80/Quark/25mm combo gives 101X, which with solar viewing is a helk oc a lot, and makes it very sensitive to seeing conditions. The third is the small blocking filter in the Quark means there is no advantage gained with using an 82°eyepiece - you just won't get such a wide AFOV. Long focal length eyepieces are best with this filter. This also means that with a 32mm EP and my ED80, I do not get a full disk image. You will not get anywhere near a full disk with a 130mm Apo.
I was able to get a full disk comfortably with an 80mm f/5 achro, but I prefer to forsake a full disk image for the stonking good image quality of the ED80. And with the proms being my main fare, I am not concerned I cannot get a full disk.
What I have been able to pull out detail wise with this scope/Quark combo is extraordinary. I had a 60mm Coronado double stack for a time - the Quark crapped all over it for prom detail!
For me, despite the drawbacks, I am very happy with my Quark. Makes use of an existing scope and gives me the prom details I always wanted.
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Agree with Alex's comments. I also have the prominence version because I was more interested in prominences which can be very dynamic in close-up. The chromosphere version will still get you good prominences but not as bright. In the chromosphere version the surface features will be more prominent but it is still subtle increase unless there is significant activity like dark filaments or sunspot areas. Using solar Ha for surface details does require your eye to get accustomed to observing subtle surface details, especially at the higher magnifications.
I use my Quark with 127mm refractor more than my Lunt 80. For double stacking I tend to use the Quark combined with the DSII Unit of the Lunt 80 in my 127mm refractor. If I want DS view at full disk level I put on the double stack unit onto my single stack in the Lunt 80.
Ted