The Astronomik narrow-band line filters with MFR coating are perfectly tailored to the needs of astrophotography: maximum contrast, minimum stray light, no halos and the finest star imaging. With the new Astronomik MFR narrow-band line filters, you get raw data of the highest quality: The optimal starting point for further processing into an impressive astrophoto!
Maximum transmission of the filters is of course necessary for the best possible yield of the valuable nighttime observation time: The guaranteed transmission of the narrow-band line filters is 90%, the typical transmission of the filters supplied is 96% - these values apply to both the 12nm filters and to the 6nm version!
In contrast to the filters from other manufacturers, the transmission curve of the Astronomik narrow-band line filter shifts only minimally when used with high-intensity optics. While other manufacturers offer special "high speed filters" or you even have to buy a new filter for each aperture ratio, you can use the new Astronomik narrow-band line filters with MFR coating on almost all devices: All line filters with 12nm full width at half maximum (FWHM) can be used up to an aperture ratio of f/3. All line filters with a FWHM of 6nm can be used up to an aperture ratio of f/4.
Photography with narrow-band line filters: If you have to observe under a bright sky, getting started with astrophotography with line filters is usually the best way to create successful images, since light pollution is no longer an issue. As a rule, an H-alpha filter is the sensible first purchase: With this filter, you can easily expose deep images even when the moon is full or the sky is extremely bright!
Which FWHM is the right one for me? When shooting from the city, when using a DSLR and even many cooled CCD cameras, the images are limited by the dark current of the camera and not by the background brightness of the sky. Here, further suppression of the sky background through a lower FWHM does not reveal more details in the object! Compared to the 6nm filters, the 12nm filters have the advantage that you will usually find tracking stars on cameras with a built-in tracking sensor! If you own a camera with an extremely low dark current and good cooling, the 6 nanometer filters play out all the advantages: An even stronger suppression of the brightening of the sky enables even longer exposure times and thus even deeper images! Due to the low FWHM, the stars become tiny, faint stars almost completely disappear. -Especially in regions of the Milky Way with many stars, the 6 nanometer filters also enable weak objects to be displayed with high contrast without getting lost in the swarm of stars.
In short: It is recommended to use 12nm filters for DSLR and all dark current limited cameras. The 6nm filters are the right choice in places with exceptional light pollution, for cameras with extremely low dark current, and when weak objects require the highest contrast in the image!
Filter size 31mm: This filter fits perfectly in all filter wheels for 31 millimeters from the brands ZWO, QHY, QSI, Starlight Xpress, SBIG, Moravian and Atik. The design with a protective ring and blackened filter edges avoids stray light, the filter is mechanically protected and easier to handle. The orientation of the filter in the filter wheel is irrelevant.
