how to : solar observing

[lesbehrens]

hi:hi:, i am interested in getting into solar observing and wondering the best way to get started. i dont know if i should buy a solar telescope of buy a filter? i know of two types of solar telescoes the Lunt solar systems and Coronado. which one is the better brand? what type of detail would i expect to see through a 60mm one? or do i need a camera set up to get some detail?
thanks

[Solanum]

There's better people than me to reply to this, but as no one has yet, I will.

Firstly, NEVER use an eyepiece filter to view the sun. It can explode from the heat it absorbs (magnified by your scope) and blind you.

As for the filters which go on the end of your scope, they will only show the the sun's disk, so you can basically see sunspots and that is it. You need the H alpha filters found in the solar scopes you mentioned to view detail on the sun or prominences. They are generally too expensive for use on the full aperture of reflecting telescope.