OIII Filters

[Paulie]

Just looking at OIII filters on FLO does anyone know if there is a marked difference between the Skywatcher and the Baader apart from the difference of about £17? Will I see a benefit in parting with the extra cash?

[Moonshane]

hi there

I am pretty sure that unless you buy the top of the range ones, these will be pretty similar and do what they say on the tin. I personally went for the 2" Castell ones which I have found very useful and stood up pretty well visually on eg the Veil to an Astronomik one costing 3x as much. The differences are likely to be in the quality of polishing etc and the hardness of the coatings, not necessarily in what you can see.

Castell OIII Deepsky Filter for 2-Inch Eyepieces [Castell-Doiii2] - £46.56 : 365Astronomy: Discovery for every day!

I liked it so much I bought the UHC one too.

If you have a 2" - 1.25" adapter in your focuser/diagonal you can screw the 2" filter into that and then you are not changing the filter when changing EPs.

[Paulie]

Thanks Moonshane so it looks like there wouldnt be any difference apart from the price. Think it will be the Skywatcher for me then.

[Moonshane]

I know of people that have it and loved it. It was Russ I think that after 30 years of observing got a SW Oiii and finally saw the Veil.

[John]

I'd go for the Skywatcher. The Baader O-III is good quality but it's band pass width is narrower than most O-III's which means that you loose all but the brightest background stars. Personally I like to see the DSO I'm looking at against some stars to set it "in context" so to speak.

O-III's are excellent for bringing out the contrast in planetary nebulae and supernova remnants.

[Paulie]

I am fairly new to the world of the scope (got my first last week! 200p Dob) previously been viewing through bins for several years.

Saw the Orion Nebula last Wednesday night anf it was excellent. Apparently though with an OIII filter its even more stunning so need to get one as I am fascinated by Nebula. Cant wait to start spotting others on my list

[Moonshane]

good luck Paulie. you won't be disappointed. best thing to do, as with most objects really, is look for a while and take it all in. after a while you start to see details which 'emerge' and which you had not noticed before. don't forget that galaxies and reflection nebulae (eg M78) are not affected greatly if at all by any filter.

I think Oiii filters can also be used on double stars where the primary is much brighter than the secondary - the colours are all wrong of course but you can see the split better. not tried this myself but might be worth a go.

[Paulie]

Great thanks for the help I am looking forward to the warmer weather as at the minute everything keeps misting up and spoiling the view slightly! Roll on summer

[carpman]

Handy post as this would be something that i will need to get in the near future

[Moonshane]

one thing to bear in mind as with all astronomy targets, you need to adjust your expectations. these filters will not be a magic bullet which will create visual images anything like the photos we all slobber over. it will enhance some targets and will make some targets which were invisible, visible though.

[Paulie]

yep understand that but beleive that they make it easier to see and more prominent. Just being able to see the shape is good shame you cant see the colours like in photos but I will have to have a vivid imagination

[Doc]

I have a Baader O111 and have also looked through the Skywatcher O111 and I would say only get the Baader if you are using it with a large aperture scope as it's very narrow and dims a few more stars then the Skywatcher.

The Baader also makes the stars and objects alot more greener then the Skywatcher which can be a bit of putting.

But saying that when I used them both in my 16" dob, I had a better view through the Baader but then it does cost more.

[todd8137]

hi ,the Baader is a great one a little green but who cares about that my 12" loves it tried a skywatcher of a freind did not rate this but the coice is yours a would for resale the Baader will sell if you do not like it depends how big ya scope is on the orion front it helped me loads with my drawings