What results can you expect on your first try with a Mono-Camera?

This question was also my biggest doubt before I decided to dare the experiment of switching from a color astro camera to a black and white sensor.
Of course, the question arises as to why I wanted to switch from the outstanding ZWO ASI 2600MC to a mono version. Well, I love the performance of this camera and I am also very satisfied with my results (e.g. NGC7000). However, the use of my light-polluted balcony was not the perfect solution. I had to work with a lot of interfering signals in post-processing.  A disadvantage is the color camera's Bayer Matrix. Signal is lost (to put it simply) due to the pre-filter. With my Bortle 6 sky, however, every recognizable and clear signal is necessary. So it makes sense to swap the sensor with the unavoidable Bayer matrix for a sensor that picks up the light unfiltered. 
Of course, you then need individual filters that only let through the desired spectral range of light in order to produce a color image. In addition, it is possible with so-called narrowband filters to only let a minimal range of the light spectrum through. This gives you the opportunity to filter out unwanted terrestrial light and thereby emphasize the light of some deep sky objects.
The filters are placed in an electronic filter wheel, which can be conveniently controlled with a computer or ZWO Asiair with a tablet. Electronic autofocus is also useful, since in my experience the focus point is shifted when the filter is changed (even if the manufacturers state that the filters are parfocal to each other).

For the picture I used my travel mount, the Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTI. It is actually only designed for a payload of up to 5kg, but it carried my setup with its almost 6kg very well. With autoguiding, recordings of up to 180 seconds were no problem. But 3 minutes was also the limit. For longer exposure times I would then recommend larger mounts. However, the mobility of the light SA GTI mount is so comfortable that I will always be happy to use it, especially when the setup needs to be set up quickly.

With this theory and preparation, I have now dared to experiment with the mono camera.
Here are a few of my first impressions, in case you're also considering going mono:

- The effort for a finished picture is, as many suspect, actually bigger than with the OSC color camera. However, the workflow for L-RGB and narrowband images can be planned relatively easily on the computer and the Asiair, which I would have imagined would be more difficult.

- The weather played a bigger role in the planning of my first picture than with a color camera. Because of the clouds, I ended up with a relatively large number of H-alpha images, but very few O-III images, which you can unfortunately see in the final result. So it pays to plan carefully and keep an eye on the weather forecast.

- Investing in good filters is worth it just because of the easier image processing. I bought my filter wheel with used filters from ZWO. They work, they also take a good picture of the nebula regions, which is why they are definitely suitable for getting started with mono photography. However, the halos around the stars are sometimes catastrophic, which you then have to try to minimize when editing. So far I have upgraded the H-Alpha and the O-III filter to some from Antlia (Antlia Pro 3nm). These do not produce halos. Only my S-II channel is still equipped with a filter from ZWO, here I save for the further investment ;-)

- I had a lot of respect for the change and actually put it off. At the moment, however, I really enjoy taking photos with mono and editing the images. It's a new learning curve and I hope to keep improving my skills.

Now here is my first result and what you may can expect, when you first image with a mono-system, the Elephant Trunk Nebula (IC 1396)

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to write in the guestbook.

- Recorded in 2 nights at 98-100% full moon
- TWO ASI 1600MM Pro
- Antlia 3nm H-a/ O-III and ZWO S-II filters
- Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTI
- Askar FMA 400
- 76x180sec H-a
- 29x180sec O-III
- 36x180sec S-II
total: 7.05 hours