Review: Askar Colour Magic D1 D2 filters (Ha/OIII and SII/OIII)

[Lee_P]

I've just published my review of the new Askar D1 D2 filters. These are targetted at OSC imagers. The D1 is a conventional Ha/OIII dualband filter, whereas the D2 is SII/OIII. The idea is to combine data from the two filters to create full SHO images. You can see the full review here.

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by Lee_P

[900SL]

I assume you didn't actually test these for true bandpass so the review is subjective and I assume Askar sent you a good set

This comment on CN confirms my concerns over the Askar filters, I won't be buying any 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/848400-askar-colourmagic-2-6nm-duo-narrowband-filter-d-package/?p=12371648

 

[Lee_P]

7 minutes ago, 900SL said:

I assume you didn't actually test these for true bandpass so the review is subjective and I assume Askar sent you a good set

This comment on CN confirms my concerns over the Askar filters, I won't be buying any 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/848400-askar-colourmagic-2-6nm-duo-narrowband-filter-d-package/?p=12371648

 

No, I don't have the kit for those tests. Thanks for the link; it's a shame if it's a lottery as to whether you get good or bad ones 😕

[The Admiral]

It's nothing new I'm afraid. Cuiv has done measurements on a range of filters and has discovered some are off the mark. See for example, https://youtu.be/VkSvpOLlD2Y and 

Unless suppliers do independent testing, and rejects those that are out of spec, we will all be none the wiser.

Ian

Edited January 11, 2023 by The Admiral

[900SL]

1 hour ago, Lee_P said:

No, I don't have the kit for those tests. Thanks for the link; it's a shame if it's a lottery as to whether you get good or bad ones 😕

I don't mind a wider bandpass, my NBZ is 10 nm, but Askar are charging big money for these and it appears to be the usual Askar product placement and baloney specs via influencers..

[Lee_P]

1 hour ago, 900SL said:

I don't mind a wider bandpass, my NBZ is 10 nm, but Askar are charging big money for these and it appears to be the usual Askar product placement and baloney specs via influencers..

I've added an extra bit to the end of my review now flagging this potential issue. Thanks again for bringing it to my attention, much appreciated 👍

[gorann]

Does anyone know if Askar D1&D2 will work at f/2 (so RASA and Samyang 135)? The narrow bandwidth suggest they may not (or very poorly as most of the signal will be blocked). The Antlia dual band filter also comes with narrow bandwidths and it is therefore made in two versions for slow and fast systems.

EDIT: I just saw the CN tread @900SL pointed at above. Askar looks more like 10+ nm, so they may work at f/2 but I will not bother when the specs at best are similar to my Japanese NBZ, but probably with less QC. If I would be tempted by something it would be the Antlia fast dual band.

Edited January 23, 2023 by gorann

[tomato]

The Lazy Geek video is a bit of an eye opener, thanks for sharing. I think it is not great when a YouTuber can invest in a spectrometer to check the performance of his filters while  some manufacturers do not appear to be applying the same standard to their quality checks. I'm not so keen on his suggestion that they (or dealers) start asking a premium for the 'superior' filters, I think they should first ensure all filters meet or exceed spec if they are being offered for sale, before embarking on a tiered pricing system.

[Adam J]

19 hours ago, tomato said:

The Lazy Geek video is a bit of an eye opener, thanks for sharing. I think it is not great when a YouTuber can invest in a spectrometer to check the performance of his filters while  some manufacturers do not appear to be applying the same standard to their quality checks. I'm not so keen on his suggestion that they (or dealers) start asking a premium for the 'superior' filters, I think they should first ensure all filters meet or exceed spec if they are being offered for sale, before embarking on a tiered pricing system.

The manufacturers do it because up till now we have all been too trusting or not sufficiently informed, if the ability to check filter performance proliferates then they will be forced to reject more filters. Rejecting more filters will almost certainly cause prices to increase in any case. In this way binning filters for performance against F-ratio could actually keep prices lower for the majority while forcing those imaging at F2 to pay more for the privilege of imaging at a more challenging f-ratio.  

Adam

[StuartT]

Cuiv the Lazy geek tested my Askar D2 (Sii and Oiii) filter. It's reasonably on band for Oiii but certainly not for Sii. The FWHM is also considerably wider than the 6nm advertised.

Needless to say FLO has graciously offered a full refund 👍

(contacted Askar themselves, but they declined to answer)

Edited July 12, 2023 by StuartT

[tooth_dr]

It’s not just the cheaper brands. I fell foul of a set of Baader filters being off band on my fast scope.  I spoke to Mr Baader himself and he blamed my processing but there was no oiii in 20 hours of imaging at F2.8, hard to argue with that.  Plus plenty of star haloes in a product advertised as halo free too😊 

I moved to Chroma and funny enough the issues resolved.

[The Admiral]

27 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

I fell foul of a set of Baader filters

I think it was issues with Baader filters that sent the Lazy Geek to start investigating, IIRC.

Ian

[StuartT]

2 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

It’s not just the cheaper brands. I fell foul of a set of Baader filters being off band on my fast scope.  I spoke to Mr Baader himself and he blamed my processing but there was no oiii in 20 hours of imaging at F2.8, hard to argue with that.  Plus plenty of star haloes in a product advertised as halo free too😊 

I moved to Chroma and funny enough the issues resolved.

as with most things, it seems you get what you pay for...

[tooth_dr]

6 hours ago, The Admiral said:

I think it was issues with Baader filters that sent the Lazy Geek to start investigating, IIRC.

Ian

Yes it was shortly after I got them he reviewed them.  They were around £1000 so not exactly ‘budget’ glass.  Again thanks to flo for processing the return with zero issues. 

[900SL]

23 hours ago, StuartT said:

Cuiv the Lazy geek tested my Askar D2 (Sii and Oiii) filter. It's reasonably on band for Oiii but certainly not for Sii. The FWHM is also considerably wider than the 6nm advertised.

Needless to say FLO has graciously offered a full refund 👍

(contacted Askar themselves, but they declined to answer)

Thanks for publishing this, Stuart.  I was about to order a D2 filter to take on vacation (and against my better judgement, knowing Askar). Think I'll stick with the IDAS NBZ and just get extended Ha/Oiii.

 

[StuartT]

7 minutes ago, 900SL said:

Thanks for publishing this, Stuart.  I was about to order a D2 filter to take on vacation (and against my better judgement, knowing Askar). Think I'll stick with the IDAS NBZ and just get extended Ha/Oiii.

 

you're welcome! 

Just to add to my post above, the % transmittance on Oiii is not great either (at under 80%)

Edited July 13, 2023 by StuartT

[900SL]

4 minutes ago, StuartT said:

you're welcome! 

Just to add to my post above, the % transmittance on Oiii is not great either (at under 80%)

One thing I've realised about the NBZ is that it is good to f2.8 in Ha and Oiii, so I can use it with the Samyang 135 for a dual narrowband photon hoover.

[Adam J]

On 12/07/2023 at 15:34, StuartT said:

Cuiv the Lazy geek tested my Askar D2 (Sii and Oiii) filter. It's reasonably on band for Oiii but certainly not for Sii. The FWHM is also considerably wider than the 6nm advertised.

Needless to say FLO has graciously offered a full refund 👍

(contacted Askar themselves, but they declined to answer)

 

This sort of thing is exactly why I will not be "upgrading" from my 5nm Astrodon Filters to Chinese made filters any time soon. Even if I can supposedly get 3nm Chinese filters for less than the cost of 5nm AD filters. 

Adam

 

[900SL]

9 hours ago, Adam J said:

This sort of thing is exactly why I will not be "upgrading" from my 5nm Astrodon Filters to Chinese made filters any time soon. Even if I can supposedly get 3nm Chinese filters for less than the cost of 5nm AD filters. 

Adam

 

And why I'm thinking of getting the NBZ 6nm filter set if and when I go mono. Each filter is individually tested and the results included in the box.

[StuartT]

On 14/07/2023 at 20:12, 900SL said:

And why I'm thinking of getting the NBZ 6nm filter set if and when I go mono. Each filter is individually tested and the results included in the box.

this is worth knowing. I plan to go mono when I'm a grownup 😃 

[900SL]

29 minutes ago, StuartT said:

this is worth knowing. I plan to go mono when I'm a grownup 😃 

Flo stock them in different sizes and speeds https://www.firstlightoptics.com/idas/idas-sho-filter-sets.html