Baader UHC-S Nebula Filter - 2" # FUHC-2 2458276
Brand | Baader Planetarium |
Part Number | 2458276 |
Availability | available |
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Product Info
Manufacturer Description
The Baader Planetarium UHC-S Nebula filter excels at delivering a high-contrast and natural view of emission nebula - without excessive dimming and loss of background star fields. The perfect filter for viewing emission nebula from light polluted skies, or for boosting the contrast of nebula from dark sky sites. The advanced technology coatings enable the filter to achieve an outstanding transmission of over 97% across the entire passband, with total blockage of prominent light pollution lines. This translates to maximum image brightness and contrast. Owners of smaller, 4"-10" telescopes will especially appreciate the high efficiency, and larger scope users will love the rich star fields and detailed subtle nebular shadings that are left intact.
The Baader UHC-S manages to improve on the contrast of the typical broadband or so-called "Deep Sky" filters. Sky background is darker, and contrast of emission nebulae are noticeably improved. Most other "UHC" filters tend to excessively darken the sky and star fields, leaving the nebulae looking artificial and flat, set against an empty background. The high transmission, sharp cutoffs, and more moderate 60nm passband of the Baader UHC-S filter retains a more natural view, yet significantly boosts overall contrast. Imagers will appreciate the broader passband and inclusion of an extremely efficient H-Alpha passband(>99% @656nm), as well as the extreme optical quality.
At the heart of the Baader UHC-S filters are their special fineoptical substrate polishing process and advanced coating design. The result is a filter that imparts no image degradation, unlike other filters. To prevent deterioration from cleaning or exposure to moisture, some other filters even resort to sandwiching their delicate coatings between two layers of filter glass, resulting in potential blurred or double images. The combination of hardened coatings and fineoptical substrate of the Baader UHC-S avoids this image degradation. A common misperception is that deep sky viewing is limited to low powers, and image resolution is not as important as in planetary observation. In reality, high magnifications are very common and useful in studying fine details, particularly for the brighter diffuse and planetary nebulae. Baader UHC-S filters can take high magnifications, and stars retain their pinpoint sharpness, even if the filter is used far ahead of the image plane (ie, for imaging use, or ahead of a star diagonal or binoviewer). Baader filters fulfill the requirements of an ideal filter - to perform their filtration at highest efficiency without any other detectable effect on the image.
Reviews
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Nov 14, 2017
Baader nebulae filter
Pros: Cons: Comments:I was curious if this loght filter would be effective on my little mac-cas 1300mm. I am very pleased with it's effectiveness. I will be looking for another in the near future. Thanks to Baader and Agena Astro for making it available.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Sep 25, 2017LIttle too much blue
Pros: Cons: Comments:Really like this filter, super high quality and really good mix of spectra, but I'm getting a lot of blue instead of black in the background of my pix, and that's normal for a nebula filter, but would like to see more black there.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Apr 1, 2017An Excellent Broadband Filter
Pros: Cons: Comments:This filter is very effective with smaller apertures or exit pupils. It acts more like a broadband filter than the term UHC may imply.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Mar 30, 2015You can see the horsehead nebula
Pros:Quality Lenses
Cons: Comments:This filters out the light you don't want, letting through the light you do want. You can see the horse head nebula with this filter. I had some ghosting issues using it for astrophotography, but it might have been internal reflections within the camera.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Aug 16, 2014Great filter for urban sky's
Pros:Great Contrast,Brings Out Great Detail,Compact,Cuts light pollution,Easy to Use,Lightweight
Cons: Comments:I 100% recommend this filter. I think that it's better than filter from fa. Astronomik, and it's cheaper...
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Aug 15, 2014My Second UHC-S
Pros:Accurate,Quality Lenses
Cons: Comments:I've been using a 2" UHC-S for several years and needed a 1.25" for a couple of my setups. It is less aggressive than most narrowband filters and works well with smaller exit pupils (higher f-ratio or magnification) or any situation where you'd prefer to minimize image dimming. Like most Baader products, it is well made and the coatings are excellent.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Feb 9, 2013Quality product works well
Pros:Quality Lenses,Strong Construction,Accurate,Compact,Easy to Use
Cons: Comments:Great filter for urban sky's just the thing if you have a street light across the road like I do.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Feb 8, 2013Great visual filter
Pros:Brings Out Great Detail,Quality Lenses,Easy to Use,Great Contrast,Quality Great For Price,Coatings Look Great
Cons: Comments:I use this with my Explorer Scientific 100 degree 2" EPs and its like being within some of the nebula that I am observing. Adds lots of contrast and brings out some of the finer portions for those who visually observe.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Dec 1, 2012Great product
Pros:Quality Lenses
Cons: Comments:As always great service from Agena, great communication and international shipping prices , and great product.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Sep 30, 2012I can see the stars
Pros:Compact,Easy to Use,Lightweight,Accurate,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses
Cons: Comments:Baader gave me great oportunity to see the stars & DSO's. Especially nebulas. With this item, sharpness of the edges of the nebulas are more clear even under heavy light polluted areas.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Sep 24, 2012Filter delivers contrasty views
Pros:Lightweight,Easy to Use,Strong Construction,Quality Lenses
Cons: Comments:The Baader UHC-S filter gives nice views of a variety of nebulae. The contrast of nebulae like the lagoon and dumbbell are enhanced with this filter. Construction is good and comes in a neat sliding box for storage. Only downside to this filter is the double view of some stars - the blue and red for the two ends of the spectrum. That said, it's still a great performer.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
David Dearden New Member
- Skill Level
- Unknown
- Time with Product
- Unknown
- User Notes:
- Review by David, amateur astrophotographer of Mapleton, UT.
Dec 25, 2011Higher Contrast for Astrophotography
Pros:Improved contrast,Cuts light pollution
Cons:Everything is dimmer
Comments:I use this filter for photographing nebulae. It works great for cutting down sky background and also for suppressing bright stars a bit relative to the nebulosity. I have not compared it with other brands, nor have I yet used it much visually (I'm hoping it will make dim nebulae easier to find, but the jury is still out on that).
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
May 28, 2011Very good for the money
Pros:Strong Construction,Quality Lenses
Cons:None
Comments:Baader filters seem to be an excellent alternative to Lumicon. I have both and have not noticed any difference between them.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
crsrs New Member
- Skill Level
- Unknown
- Time with Product
- Unknown
- User Notes:
- Review by crsrs31 of San Tan Valley, AZ.
Feb 19, 2011Really nice filter
Pros:Quality Lenses,Effective,Strong Construction
Cons: Comments:This filter had a profound effect on the objects I viewed. In the great Orion Nebula, the cloud was more detailed and extended far beyond what I could see without the filter, and the trapezium was very clean. I tried it just for kicks on the R-Lepus (Hinds Crimson star)- a nice carbon star without the filter, was now a crayola red drop of blood in the sky. Very Cool!!! Over all, the contrast is better, and the sodium light of the nearby street lights erased, with most of the field stars left in tact. It is much more effective than a regular skyglow filter or light pollution filter.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Dec 25, 2010Good filter for nebulae fans
Pros:Quality Lenses
Cons:None
Comments:This filter enhances the view of nebulae such as M42. It's quality is very good and the price is affordable. A very good purchase if you enjoy observing nebulae, and also, to help reducing light pollution if you live near a city.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? YesThis review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Jan 18, 2010A great performer for small apertures
Pros:Great spectral response,Quality Lenses,Accurate,Strong Construction
Cons:Best for small apertures
Comments:There is a large number of choices for light pollution filters, and a corresponding large variation in price. For this reason is did a lot of research to determine, for myself, which was the best filter to buy. Based on the data I collected, the Astronomik UHC is the best performing nebular filter, having excellent transmission in the bands of interest, and very sharp cut-off to nil transmission in the light pollution bands. The Televue and Lumicon are second for light pollution rejection but they have little or no transmission in the Halpha and SII bands. In third place for light pollution rejection is the Baader UHC-S, which has a broader transmission band around the desired bands allowing a bit more light pollution in. It does however have transmission levels in the desired nebula emission bands almost as good as the Astronomik. The broader pass band of this filter, and the inclusion of H-alpha and SII make it a very good performer for smaller aperture telescopes (<4"). The more expensive filters considered in my analysis may in fact have too narrow a band pass to be useful on smaller scopes, and Baader does boast this on their website.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
So for small aperture telescopes I'd recommend the Baader over all others (note that the Celestron UHC is made by Baader). If you need a UHC filter for a larger scope (>4"), but are on a budget, then the Baader again is your best value.This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Nov 23, 2009Baader Planetarium UHC-S filter
Pros:- good performance
Cons:
- inexpensive
- good quality
- easy to find
- well suited for <4" aperture- not the best light pollution rejection available
Comments:Before investing in a filter to combat light pollution, I did a lot of research to try and decide which one was the best performer. I live in the middle of a fairly large city (~1million), so performance of the filter is important. Second of course is cost. I compared all the filters I found that were readily available on the market:
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
- Astronomik (UHC, OIII)
- Baader Planetarium (Moon & Skyglow, UHC-S, OIII)
- Lumicon (Deepsky, UHC, OIII)
- Meade (Broadband, Narrowband, OIII)
- Orion (Skyglow, Ultrablock, OIII)
- Televue (Nebustar, OIII)
- IDAP (LPS)
Note that based on the information I could find, the Celestron brand light pollution filters are made by Baader and so their performance would seem to be the same. As the point of comparison I looked at the spectral response data that was provided for each filter by the manufacturers or by third parties who have actually measured the response of the filters. I digitized and replotted all the data in the same scale on the same graph and compared. The objective of the filter is to reject the largest amount of light pollution wavelengths possible, and have the highest transmission possible in the bands of interest. Light pollution, including skyglow (a natural phenomenon), occupies a band from 400-440nm and 540-640nm. The desirable observation bands for nebulae are: H-beta 486.1, OIII 495.9 & 500.7, H-alpha 656.3, and SII 672.6.
Based on the data I collected, the Astronomik UHC is the best performing nebular filter, having excellent transmission in the bands of interest, and very sharp cut-off to nil transmission in the light pollution bands. The Televue and Lumicon are second for light pollution rejection as they have little or no transmission in the Halpha and SII bands. In third place for light pollution rejection is the Baader UHC-S, which has a broader transmission band around the desired bands allowing a bit more light pollution in. It does however have transmission levels in the desired nebula emission bands almost as good as the Astronomik. The broader pass band of this filter, and the inclusion of H-alpha and SII make it a very good performer for smaller aperture telescopes (<4"). The more expensive filters considered in my analysis may in fact have too narrow a band pass to be useful on smaller scopes, and Baader does boast this on their website.
I have a 3" refractor as a wide-field guidescope, so based on my analysis I searched for and purchased the Baader Planetarium UHC-S filter. It was easy to find online and was very reasonably priced. The filter is excellent quality, and performs very well on my refractor. I haven't had a chance yet to compare it back-to-back with my Astronomik UHC, but I'm sure it will fare well. The filter is made in Germany, and it comes in a simple foam lined clear plastic case.zanti-misfit New Member
- Skill Level
- Unknown
- Time with Product
- Unknown
- User Notes:
- Review by zanti-misfit of Enterprise, AL.
Sep 8, 2009Works like a charm!
Pros:Strong Construction,Compact,Accurate
Cons: Comments:When it comes to filters like these I think it gets a little more personal in what you want out of it, what you're expecting, and what will make you happy. I had my own criteria that I wanted out of a nebula type filter and this one had what I was looking for.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
I did a lot of research on this particular filter. I didn't find a lot of reviews but I did find a lot of general information, some forum discussions, etc.
Now what I wanted was a good filter, but not one that blocked too much light. So that would be somewhere between the broadband and the narrowband range. I wanted to be able to see the star field to a degree, but also wanted enough filtration to get some improved views of the nebulas and such. The Baader 2" UHC-S fit my needs perfectly.
Tonight I spent sometime studying M17 and M16 for testing purposes. I did some swapping both with and without this filter, and found the views to indeed be improved. With the filter in place the nebulas grew larger in appearance and were more defined against the background. And just as I was hoping to see, the star field was still apparent. Very cool!
I used this filter with my 8" f5.9 dob. I used both a 2" 26mm and 32mm lens with this filter. Worked very well with both.
The filter itself is very well made, great quality. The threading is top notch and I had no problems attaching this filter wherever I wanted to try it.
I plan to pick up the Baader Oxygen filter next. The brand has proven itself to me and the price is just right.
This filter works well imo. Recommended.This review was provided courtesy of AgenaAstro.com
Sep 7, 2009Works like a charm!
Pros:Works great, affordable
Cons:None found
Comments:When it comes to filters like these I think it gets a little more personal in what you want out of it, what you're expecting, and what will make you happy. I had my own criteria that I wanted out of a nebula type filter and this one had what I was looking for.
Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
I did a lot of research on this particular filter. I didn't find a lot of reviews but I did find a lot of general information, some forum discussions, etc.
Now what I wanted was a good filter, but not one that blocked too much light. So that would be somewhere between the broadband and the narrowband range. I wanted to be able to see the star field to a degree, but also wanted enough filtration to get some improved views of the nebulas and such. The Baader 2" UHC-S fit my needs perfectly.
Tonight I spent sometime studying M17 and M16 for testing purposes. I did some swapping both with and without this filter, and found the views to indeed be improved. With the filter in place the nebulas grew larger in appearance and were more defined against the background. And just as I was hoping to see, the star field was still apparent. Very cool!
I used this filter with my 8" f5.9 dob. I used both a 2" 26mm and 32mm lens with this filter. Worked very well with both.
The filter itself is very well made, great quality. The threading is top notch and I had no problems attaching this filter wherever I wanted to try it.
I plan to pick up the Baader Oxygen filter next. The brand has proven itself to me and the price is just right.
The filter works well imo. Recommended.Sort by