I've been wanting to check out the sun for a while now. If you've got a telescope and you've been curious yourself, you've probably gone to look at prices for solar filters and maybe wee'd in your pants when you saw the prices. A Hydrogen-Apha (H-Alpha) is hundreds of dollars, sometimes into a thousand or more.

Then there's basic solar filters with solar film. These don't transmit the awesome levels of light that an H-Alpha can capture, however, they do allow you to view the sun. Instead of a red, orange or yellow, you'll see a more white light.

Now, these are simple because they simply drop in at the end of the telescope. The trick to lining the scope up to the sun without burning your eyes is to actualy look at the shadow of the telescope, and move it in the direction of the sun until the shadow is solid. You SHOULD then have it lined up in your eyepiece (Only do this once you have the filter installed).

This particular filter letsyou see sunspots very easily. They'll show up as easy to see dark blots. With a decent camera and some photo stacking, some detail of the surface can be seen where it's extremely hot which shows up as sort of a white, veiny type texture. Detail of the spots can be seen around the edges, again, if you have a decent telescope or camera.

Overall, for $40-50, the ability to take a look at the sun as well as protection for your eyes (which is important!) is a very easy price to pay. I'm currently using an Orion 8XT Dobsonian telescope and with this filter I am quite impressed I'd say. I've already taken numerous sunspot photos and had a very fun time just looking through the eyepiece with it.
The downsides to a filter like this is that it is a light and flexible material. This means it is VERY susceptible to being punctured, torn, etc.

It is crucial to double check the material every time you use it as a tear could cost you your vision. The other thing is to make sure you store it properly, in a bag or somewhere out of reach of hazards. Take care of it and it should last you a very long time. I've had no issues with mine so far. However, I'm very meticulous in being gentle with it, sealing it after use, and inspecting it each time.

That said.. cost per dollar for this, a very inexpensive and awesome filter!

Recommended: Yes