How to choose narrowband filters

[Shimonu]

I'm having trouble choosing narrowband filters. How do I navigate this jungle? What should I look for?

I'll likely be shopping at astroshop which offer Atik, Baader, Optolong or ZWO as far as I can tell. The prices can be pretty different and I don't want to end up buying something I'll regret. So I'd prefer to wait and save up a little if it's worth it. Right now I guess I'd be looking at something in the €4-500 range.

Eqiupment is in my signature.

Edited August 26, 2021 by Shimonu

[Shimonu]

Opps, double post

Edited August 26, 2021 by Shimonu

[The Lazy Astronomer]

33 minutes ago, Shimonu said:

I'll likely be shopping at astroshop

😲 Sacrilege!

I kid! In all seriousness though, with narrowband ideally you want the narrowest you can afford (or are willing to spend) to increase the contrast. Star halos and reflections can be issue, particularly with cheaper OIII filters. 

There is a thread on here showing the performance of Baader's new ultra narrowband filters which may be of interest.

FLO's IKI observatory uses Optolong I believe, so you could check out the images produced by that to get a feel for them. 

Personally, I've had mediocre experiences with ZWO's offerings (broadband though, not NB), so I would probably take a pass on them. No experience with Atik filters, so no comment on those.

Again, personal opinion here, but I found for price point vs performance, Astronomik's hit the spot for me. Chroma and Astrodon still the clear favourites for the 'serious' imager, but no way am I spending £400-ish on a single filter!!

[Shimonu]

18 minutes ago, The Lazy Astronomer said:

😲 Sacrilege!

I kid! In all seriousness though, with narrowband ideally you want the narrowest you can afford (or are willing to spend) to increase the contrast. Star halos and reflections can be issue, particularly with cheaper OIII filters. 

There is a thread on here showing the performance of Baader's new ultra narrowband filters which may be of interest.

FLO's IKI observatory uses Optolong I believe, so you could check out the images produced by that to get a feel for them. 

Personally, I've had mediocre experiences with ZWO's offerings (broadband though, not NB), so I would probably take a pass on them. No experience with Atik filters, so no comment on those.

Again, personal opinion here, but I found for price point vs performance, Astronomik's hit the spot for me. Chroma and Astrodon still the clear favourites for the 'serious' imager, but no way am I spending £400-ish on a single filter!!

I'd love to go to FLO, it's where I got my telescope but as I'm in Sweden it got pretty expensive to buy from FLO after brexit.

I've seen the thread on Baader and the new ultra narrowband seem promising even though they didn't seem perfect. I was wondering if halos and/or reflections are just a given or is it a bit of luck with your combination of equipment? And is it tricky to fix in post processing?

[Mike73]

Have you looked at Antlia filters?

I was dead set on the Baader 3.5nm but their was quite a few comments and pictures that I saw that put me off them. 

Antlia seem to be rated as not quite in the same league as Chroma or Astrodon but still better than Baader.

These are from last night, just slightly stretched. The crop of of Sadr and considering how bright it is I'm more than happy with the halo. It was taken with the 3nm Antlia Ha, from what I understand the Oiii and Sii aren't as good but that seems to be the case with most brands.

full.tif crop.tif

[The Lazy Astronomer]

55 minutes ago, Mike73 said:

I was dead set on the Baader 3.5nm but their was quite a few comments and pictures that I saw that put me off them. 

 

2 hours ago, Shimonu said:

I've seen the thread on Baader and the new ultra narrowband seem promising even though they didn't seem perfect.

They do seem to have had some early issues with their quality control, which is disappointing. Hopefully these are all resolved on later batches. 

2 hours ago, Shimonu said:

I was wondering if halos and/or reflections are just a given or is it a bit of luck with your combination of equipment?

Bit of both really. Any glass surface has the potential to be a reflection source.

2 hours ago, Shimonu said:

And is it tricky to fix in post processing?

It depends how bad it is - small halos can be relatively easily reduced/removed with software, larger halos, especially around large bright stars, are trickier to get rid of without introducing processing artifacts or an unnatural look.