TakMan

Yes, that's the problem Nigella - too many....' temptations' - I'm under strict instructions from the wife not to bid on things! Thankfully, I do get to try the odd thing out (Leica spotting scope, etc...) at least then I can say to the valuers that such items are in working order.... so I get to have a play without making a purchase! Just thought I'd add to your super thread.... it's Brooke Bond though... not PG Tips! Damian

Get to see a lot of these sort of things come in to the office - I'm the photographer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers (yep, the one off the telly!) Most not worth anything, but lovely to look at - especially if (like the lot of us), you're into astronomy/space, etc, etc. As has been said on here already, just reading the back of them and realising just how far our knowledge has moved on... not just in 100 years , but the last decade or so... I did start a blog of my findings... I always try to take a snap on the phone when I discover something and have a folder full of images on my Mac at home that I really should get around to sharing! Enjoy your little pieces of history... Damian I do love this explanation of the Moon..!

I did wonder if my 2” mounted OIII filter was reversed, but there was no way I was going to attempt to unscrew the retaining collar and try… Baader’s response to FLO after my return enquiry was; Baader have asked if they can have the filter for inspection/investigation. If they conclude it is faulty they will exchange or refund. That sounds quite reasonable, but too be honest, I don’t get many imaging opportunities to be testing things out and opening up the image train to start swapping filters, so I decided to just send the things back. The QA should be done upfront - it’s not like these ‘cheaper’ filters are £100 a pop… Perhaps they will conclude the filter was faulty, perhaps not, but as has already been suggested, the marketing spiel has been that these are much improved and I’m afraid to say the OIII was rubbish. It’s somewhat ‘funny’ that looking at their “we found a way” website thread shows multiple (good and halo free) images with RASA instruments but few with refractors and their required rear flatterers/reducers. Wonder if that is…. ‘telling’ of their own results when developing..? They just chose to show the results from test imagers where the filter/image train worked in unison. I have asked FLO to post Baader’s findings back onto the original filter thread if they do test the OIII out - as that will at least offer future potential purchasers an idea of what to expect. Of course I would have liked ‘Astrodon/Chroma’ levels of halo free performance (unrealistic but you can live in hope!), just such a shame the halo reducing results were not acceptable for my gear - I did welcome the extra contrast and reduction of light pollution though. For those imagers that have the gear where these filters perform, then they do appear as a step up from the original (wider 7-8-8.5) set. Sorry to hijack your thread Adam… D

Hi Adam I too took a look at your uploaded .tif file. Both in APP and Ps and found nothing.... I presume (looking at the noise in it), the .tif was a just a single frame and not the combined stack..? Is it really plausible that the FW travelled to different positions on different nights.... even after a computer restart each nightly session (I wouldn't think you'd keep the gear running continually)..? Does your wheel 'click' like my Atik..? If so, I bet you've already tested it to see if it lands back in the same place after multiple moves - the Atik EFW3 'double clicks' at the beginning of each new revolution.... I decided to send the 3 filters back (wasn't happy with the Ha hard edged halo nor the massive OIII halo thing. The SII actually appeared to perform quite well, but just decided to get my money back and formulate a way forward... probably an expensive Chroma purchase!) Good ole Steve/FLO/Ann for their excellent customer service as usual. Hope you find your new set better. Damian

Thanks Alan With stars... without - I might agree with your sentiments.... I was just having a play really - keeping the ole 'processing hand in' as it were. For you, added the 'with stars' version! D

14x 1200sec subs under decidedly milky skies (dark and flat calibrated). FSQ106ED - Atik 16200 - Baader 2" 3.5nm CMOS ultra-narrow filter. Pre-processed in APP. Processed in PsCC2017 with stand-a-lone StarNet (on Mac). Just having a play on another cloudy night, wanted that moody look with a hint of film-like grain showing through.... Damian

An update... Contacted FLO, had a helpful (as expected) reply from Steve at FLO. They are contacting Baader for help and I await their findings. I'm happy to try another filter to see if that fairs better... or FLO will be getting more money from me in due course if I decide to jump to Chroma (or Astrodons). At least these things are small and I can sneak them past the wife!!! I'll update here when I have news. I also went back again to the original single 600 sec OIII exposure and really stretched it. As has been pointed out above, Sadr is VERY bright and one can't expect Astrodon/Chroma levels of perfection at this price point. What IS worrying though is that dimmer stars within the frame also show halos, so as Adam pointed out, there must surely be something wrong with this filter...? One would hope so anyway... Damian Full size jpeg below:

Thanks for the input guys. In my email to FLO earlier, I have asked them to contact Baader and I’m happy to try a replacement before sending them back. In all honesty, I don’t wish to spend the Chroma/Astrodon sort of money to replace these Baaders with… I don’t have the skies or opportunities to get any sort of ‘return on investment’ and would rather put the money towards a good holiday when we can have such a thing again! But then again, I don’t want to spend hours imaging a target to end up with massive halos either - that OIII halo is a disgrace. I have to believe it is faulty as surely Baader tested these on an FSQ or similar…? Perhaps I could keep the 4nm SII, buy an ‘expensive’ 5nm Ha (keeps things a bit cheaper at 5nm) and ‘even more expensive’ 3nm OIII, the 3nm on the OIII is perhaps the wiser move. That sort of band pass across the three sounds quite acceptable and any focus change due to the 2/3mm difference in filter thickness between the different manufacturers would be easily sorted by the auto focus routine… To finish tonight, a very quick process of the 3.5nm Ha test data taken over two nights (6-7th Sep) under 'clear' yet milky skies - first light for the new Baader's after the camera came back from an ATIK service over the summer. 14x 1200sec subs (dark and flat calibrated). Yes, I know there is tilt... may have to live with that, but if Baader/FLO try a replacement OIII first (or I end up sending them back), the set-up is going to have to be broken down again anyway in the near future....

I don't know Louis.... I'm sure (given the budget), the Chinese can make things as good as anybody else these days given the chance. I've had a look through the data again tonight and to be honest, I'm pretty disappointed. Thankfully I purchased them from FLO, so have just sent a reply to them for advice re returns. I did ask them to contact Baader in the first instance to get their input (faulty batch perhaps..?). As I mentioned though in the email, the filters were clean and tidy - no scratches as some reported - I had high hopes! Otherwise I've asked if I can return them. Thankfully I still have my older Baader line to use... I'll just have to bite the bullet and place an order with FLO for Chroma filters when I've saved up! Perhaps 5nm Ha and 3nm OIII.... I'll leave the SII for now and use the old filter. Astrodon or Chroma then (2" mounted), that'll be the question! Damian

Took the solar gear off the mount a weekend or so ago. Finally got to test these new Baader ultra-narrow CMOS filters last night (Monday 6th Sep), after an FLO delivery a few weeks ago. Conditions not great, 'clear' but not really.... but good enough to run a test on Sadr. Would love your feedback, especially with regards to the OIII, looks pretty useless to my eyes - so if needs be, will contact FLO for help, advice, replacement (?) - perhaps Baader could explain it.... Ha a definite improvement, I think..: (would also say the SII looks good although I don't have much data through the older Baader 8nm version for a direct comparison and certainly not with such a bright star) So: Baader 3.5/4nm Ultra Narrow CMOS set (not the ultra-fast f/2 version), mounted 2". FSQ106-ED (native f/5), Atik OAG/EFW3/16200m https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-filters/baader-35nm-ultra-narrow-band-filter-set-cmos-optimised.html Screen grabs @ 100% - all from a single 600 sec exposure (dark calibrated) Ha SII OIII Jesus! So when Baader say on their website; that they 'found a way', did they ever test these OIII filters on the ubiquitous FSQ I wonder...? For comparison to the Baader 7nm Ha filter - same scope but with my old SBIG STF8300m AND the FR added f/3.6 (better sky conditions back on the 5th April 2020). and the new version again below... All stretched manually (twice) along these lines: 1 2 So what do we think, keep, send the OIII back.... or the lot and reload the old versions.... Damian

Thanks. Yes, I saw your positive comments with regards to processing and capture techniques after getting the book… I should have added to my first post that your colour choice has really emphasised that filaprom quite nicely - I shall have to find something similar in my own data to try and replicate it! D

Thought I’d add to this thread as I’ve just loaded up an old LowePro backpack that was languishing in the loft with ‘travel’ gear ready for our usual jaunt down to the caravan in South Wales… I wouldn’t necessarily call this a sensible travel set-up, but it is the lightest / smallest scope I own for such purposes (purchased s/h off SGL for the purpose). If I was nipping down to the ‘van sans wife, I might put the dob in the car or perhaps the TSA102 as that would sit on the intended Manfrotto 058B Triaut tripod/WO EZTouch mount combination (but the TSA wouldn’t be as stable as this ‘over-mounted’ Borg). So, inside the ‘Flipside 300’ resides a Borg 90FL, 2” TV diagonal, red dot finder, head torch and a mix of eyepieces. I decided against the Ethos as the inherent field curvature is exacerbated by their huge FOV and the ‘travel’ idea makes a good excuse to mix up the range of what I normally use. This time then a right ole mix; TV 32 and 25mm Plossls, 20mm Pentax XW (my favourite eyepiece with the Borg - perhaps I should get the 10mm to add to it..?!), Tak 7.5 and 5mm LE’s and to top it off… just to keep it light… the 31mm Nagler T5! I added that as it is my favourite ‘dob’ eyepiece but always gets left out by me reaching for the 21mm Ethos, so it’s coming along to allow use of the spare Lumicon 2” UHC filter. To help with the switch between this hand grenade and the other eyepieces I remembered I had a TV brass ‘equaliser’ lump, so that’s in the bag…. and not forgetting the black shroud, Eyepatch, Pocket Sky Atlas (although the iPad will be out with SkySafari). For size reference is the newly arrived ‘Solar Astronomy’ book - my daytime reading - well, we are going to Wales! Damian

That’s a beast, hey! Nice capture and I even like the golden colourised version! Damian

That’s a lovely capture and I salute your choice of colour palette! My solar gear has now been removed from the mount and replaced with the deep sky imaging rig, but the ‘Solar Astronomy’ book that you’ve all been raving about turned up yesterday, so I’ll be taking that to Wales next week as my holiday reading - hope to pick up some useful processing tips (still have some old data on the SSD that can be utilised for experiments!) Clear skies…. Damian

The forecast offered a clear spell around 9am, so up nice and early to drag the scope out. Basler '174' > Quark > TEC140 > Baader D-ERF. AS!2 > ImPPG > Ps. Captured in Basler's Pylon on Mac. 3000 images captured per set, Mono 12P, 110fps, Flat frame (bag) calibrated. Guided by an Hinode Solar Guider. Although clear, the image didn't look as good on-screen as the blue morning sky suggested (so took the opportunity to make an aperture mask to test and will try and post comparisons at some stage), processing later would confirm that seeing was not great.... a pity Further processing and posting a bit delayed as we suffered a (not unexpected), family bereavement later that night - so coming back to this data has been a good way to deal/ponder with what life throws at us. Will revisit this thread to post the rest as and when. Clear skies and stay safe. Damian As usual (for reference), the closest (by UT/GMT time) GONG image. Lower main disturbed region, 7.20 BST, 7000ms, Best 300 Lower main disturbed region, 7.35 BST, 7000ms, Best 300 Upper left proms - 2 pane stitch, 7.37 BST, 8000ms, Best 300 Lower main disturbed region, 8.08 BST, 7500ms, Best 300 - stopped down to 125mm f/7.8 so running at f/33.7 Lower middle left filaments, 8.33 BST, 7500ms, Best 250 - stopped down to 125mm f/7.8 so running at f/33.7

Another good looking set John. 😀👍

First day of annual leave.... itching to get out after seeing Rusted's super images of the new double filament feature... or 'Big Ted on the Sun' ! 🧸 Clear Outside said 'no chance', but Xasteria (7Timer/Windy.com) offered a glimmer of hope around 10am BST. So with the rest of the week suggesting little chance of any solar, I took a punt and dragged the gear out. Ended up getting 30 minutes to grab some data. Conditions not perfect, hazy high cloud and underwhelming seeing - not great for my sort of high resolution Quark set-up.... and towards the end of my imaging window, thicker cloud was rolling in and the seeing dropped away. Having said that, got something half decent and some more data to run through over the next few days when the weather turns... Basler '174' > Quark > TEC140 > Baader D-ERF. AS!2 > ImPPG > Ps. Captured in Basler's Pylon on Mac. All images, best 100 frames from 3000. Mono 12P, 110fps, Flat frame (bag) calibrated. 0.29"/Pixel. Guided by an Hinode Solar Guider. I usually keep my images lighter, but looking at other folks images on here and especially on the Solar Chat Forum, many go much darker. So for this set, I've tried dropping the mid-tones a tad. I still haven't really found my own 'look' to my solar images as yet and don't want to run them that dark, but it keeps the ole brain cells going trying different things! As usual (for reference), the closest (by UT/GMT time) GONG image. Damian And from Spaceweather - for sunspot identification: Filament (now not so 'double' or 'Teddy Bear Ears') and area around AR2847, 10.37 BST, 6500ms AR2847, 10.47 BST, 6500ms Perhaps it's just me, spent too much time looking at it, but this looks like a running wading bird.... 🐦 God - help !!! AR2846 (looks like an Angel fish 🐠 - especially on Rusted's image from today!) , 10.39 BST, 6500ms Lastly, a 2 pane panoramic (most of the time, Photoshop won't stitch the ruddy things - so I don't get round to ever posting them, but it went ahead and did so this time!) AR2847, 10.50 BST, 6500ms That's it for now, might add some tomorrow, but I get the feeling from looking at the data that these are the best of the bunch. With rain forecast, I might spend the day building some of my (space related) 50th Birthday pressies that I've been keeping since early April for such a wet day...

Love the detail and tonality in that latest image.

Great going - lots of contrast and details.... second image looks like an Angel fish 😀 🐠 ! Damian

Like that, very… 3D. Not a hope here in the UK!

Impressive - both the imaging results and your knowledge/skill in making the instrument. D

Yes, my thoughts exactly. Looking forward to seeing how Adam gets on with these before dropping money on a full NB upgrade.... although the OIII does look better than the older version to be honest! The Ha is a definate 👍 Damian

Splendid Adam, the Ha filter is definitely on the 'to purchase' list ! As you know though from our PMs, I'm awaiting your full evaluations of the OIII filter and look forward to both this and your other thread on the subject being updated over the coming weeks.... Clear skies to you! Damian

Yes, thankfully... hope it continues that way! I did the 'wing' testing last year to find the best position and Alexandra/Montana was good enough to help me evaluate it. She did say she thought it a pretty good unit. D

Love the movie! I presume you have something rather more ‘up-market’ than my humble Quark..?! I ask, as I don’t know how you capture that seamless transition between the solar surface and the edge - you get a proper ‘overlap’ of details, whereas I get an ‘edge’, with little overlap nor detail…. Clear skies, Damian