Baader ultranarrowband Filters - any feedback?

This is what the blurb said on my recent purchase.

• Reflex-Blocker™ coatings, for largest ever freedom from halos, even under most adverse conditions concerning aux-optics

Rog

Thanks Ruediger.  How long ago did you buy them, as I have a feeling they have done a revision of the filters?

Carole

Not sure Ruediger, just something I had in the back on my mind I had possibly read somewhere.  
If yours are end of May I think that is since I had this idea in my mind.

Maybe it's just a figment of my imagination.

Carole

Infrared blocking for example, never matches their "spec".

I doubt that they sell products not matching their own given specs. This is something no one can afford in this business. That you will do only once. The AP community is not so big. If it would be that case this would go around like a wild fire.
Moreover a I friend of mine tested them in their companies lab and they were exactly in the specs.

I had 4.5nm O-III and it had halos. Also I was never happy with their wider narrowband filters. I found Optolong to perform much better in non-premium (Astrodon and Chroma) price segment.

Hello everyone,

just to give some background: Baader was aware of that the performance of their NB and UNB fitler was not on the same level as some other high-end competitors. So they had decided quite a while ago to make complete make over of their filter produtction. The development was accompanied by some of the best APs, who tested them intensively. Now the current products are again on top level in my point of view. Especially the cost/performance ratio is very reasonable.

Also for all the interested here are more details from first hand and brings some more light into it about the different series of filters, because in top postings it was mixed up with the CMOS optimized and the Highspeed filters: https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/blog/new-baader-cmos-optimized-ultra-narrowband-and-highspeed-filters/
This should bring some facts back, though it is of course an ad but it also gives some tec specs and background.

But I think this thread should not end up in the battle about the famous holy Grail which is the best filter at all. Carole has asked a specific question. And I am also aware that you can buy filters for the 10 times a price and probably they are better. But I think the results of many published images will speak for themselves and the our budgets are also limited.

CS
Rüdiger

So I am going to chime in here.  I purchased some Ultra Fast Narrowband filters at the time the website said "Certified up to F2".

Now having got these filters originally for my SharpStar 15028HNT which is F2.8, I had some weird reflection anomalies with mainly SII and OIII and also my OIII is not Parfocal with the SII and Ha, I spoke with Thomas Baader himself on numerous occasions.  Since I have now moved to a SharpStar 20032PNT which is a bigger light bucket at F3.2, Thomas said I am less likely to see anomalies at F3.2, however, I still have the issues with them not being parfocal.

Since I bought these filters, Baader have now produced another set of filters, and re-classified the ones I have for use with F2.3 and faster, so they have two sets:

1. Certified for F2.3 and faster (Which is the set I originally purchased): https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-3.5--4nm--f2-ultra-highspeed-filter-set-%E2%80%93-cmos-optimized-(h-alpha--o-iii--s-ii).html
2. Certified for F3.4 to F2.3: https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/filters/(ultra-)-narrowband-/-highspeed/3.5--4nm--f3-ultra-highspeed-filtersatz-%E2%80%93-cmos-optimiert-(h-alpha--o-iii--s-ii).html

So basically the filters I originally bought are not suitable for F3.2!!!!  Trying to get them changed.

The other thing I have noticed when I changed my imaging train to use M68 as opposed to M54, my OIII filter looks different to the SII and Ha Filter, here is a picture of the Telescope facing side of the filters:



OIII on the left, SII on the right.....everything looks normal right?  You would be correct!

And now here is the Camera side of the filters, again OIII on the left, and SII on the right....notice anything strange?



If you look closely, on the OIII filter, you can see all the way through the filter right down to the reverse side of the reflective coating on the telescope facing side, yet on the SII filter you can still see it, but through a reflective coating, so it would appear that my OIII filter is missing the reflective coating on the camera facing side of the filter.  No wonder my OIII is not parfocal with SII and Ha!

I am still in contact with Baader, and waiting on my dealer getting the newer F2.3 to F3.4 Ultra NB for me to swap over, but these existing filters are definitely going back!

Regards
Simon

In case it helps, I'm shopping for my first set of filters, and @kuechlew pointed me to this video about the new Baader filters, which in turn refers to this white paper, which I found pretty informative.

CS,

Frédéric

To me it appears like they had an issue with sample variation in their filter production and "solved" it by checking the filters after production and putting them in one or the other category. For new customers that's a valid approach, for existing customers they hopefully are willing to exchange the filters.

Clear skies
Wolfgang

Simon Todd:

Frédéric Auchère:
In case it helps, I'm shopping for my first set of filters, and @kuechlew pointed me to this video about the new Baader filters, which in turn refers to this white paper, which I found pretty informative.

CS,

Frédéric

I think that paper was before they came out with specific filters, F1.8 to F2.3 and F2.3 to F3.4, as the Ultrafast (according to that whitepaper) is not recommended for the RASA or my 20032PNT, but the new F1.8 to F2.3 is designed for the RASA

That's possible, I don't know. The rationale for the pre-shift and the principles behind their filter selection tool would apply anyway, I believe. Annex A also contains a discussion on width vs. light pollution, which may be interesting to the OP.

Frédéric

Just chiming in (late) with my own experience: I have had basically no issues with my Baader ultra-narrow band filters (specifically, these in 2"). Here are single 20-minute subs of 56 and 57 Cyg in the Pelican nebula in OIII and SII respectively:


So no ghosting here. For context, this is through a 102mm, f7 Stellarvue (so not particularly fast, or slow, or large, or small).

As a side note, I also have the Baader 6.5nm Ha filter, and have actually been finding myself using this more than the 3.5nm Ha filter. Perhaps this is due to being in a Bortle 5 area, so the smaller band pass of the 3.5 losing the NII signal that shows through with the 6.5nm filter.

Wei-Hao Wang:
A general question for everyone, what does "CMOS-optimized" mean? People stop using film decades ago. So "CMOS-optimized" must be with respect to "CCD-optimized." But as far as I can tell, both CCD and CMOS are silicon-based linear photon-counting device, and both can have microlenses in front of each pixel. Which aspect of CMOS is different from CCD that enters Baader's design choice? Or it's just some marketing that doesn't really mean anything?

Good question! I was assuming marketing since they state about their RGB "CMOS optimized" filters(bottom right of the page):

     Don't be misled     These all new CMOS-optimized filters work magnificently with all existing digital camera technologies, be it CMOS or CCD.

I don't understand the point of the further statement:  

     But: "the Better always is enemy to the Good".
Frédéric