ZWO 2" Narrowband 7nm Filter Set

Narrowband filter sets are used to create high contrast deep sky images of certain objects, mainly emission and diffuse nebulae (i.e. Veil Nebula, M42 Orion Nebula, North America Nebula, Horsehead Nebula) or planetary nebulae (i.e. M27 Dumbbell nebula, M57 Ring Nebula, Helix Nebula), just to mention few of well known nebulosities. Narroband filter sets are sometimes used instead of LRGB filter sets and sometimes in combination with them...

Some amateur astronomers would even use them when the Moon is out or if they live in heavily light polluted areas as these filters would practically eliminate the effects of light pollution as a side effect. By applying longer exposure time you will increase the brightness of the nebulosity whilst stars will still apear much fainter than if they were imaged with LRGB filters. The sky's background will also stay darker hence contrast will be increased.

Technical Specifications:
Size: 2" filter cell
Fine-optically polished to ensure accurate 1/4 wavefront over both surfaces
FWHM：7 ± 0.5nm
Thickness of glass: 2mm

This filter set contains three filters, H-alpha, OIII and SII. Lets have a look now at these filters one-by-one and find out about their properties.

The ZWO H-Alpha filter has a bandpass of 7nm and passes light at 656nm wavelength. The light transmission rate comes up to appr. 90% (min. 80%). A 7nm type is a very good choice for narrowband H-alpha astrophotography for high-contrast imaging and revealing rich details of a nebula even in areas with strong light pollution, so prepare to have lots of fun with it !

The ZWO SII 7nm narrowband filter passes light at 672nm wavelength with a bandpass of 7nm which is designed for nebula observation and imaging. It is suitable for visual observation on most emission nebulae, planetary nebulae and supernova remnants, use it with H-alpha and OIII narrowband filters (SHO Set) for tricolor CCD astrophotography.

The ZWO OIII 7nm narrowband filter is designed for nebula observation allowing 7nm bandwidth of light centered on a wavelength of 500nm, which corresponds to OIII emission lines, blocking out all other light. Adding the ZWO OIII narrowband filter to your imaging collection will help you go beyond the RGB imaging and will help capture your favorite nebulae in a totally new light, no matter how polluted your skies may be!

(Since mid 2018 ZWO supplies a new, improved version of their narrowband filters. The difference is visible when shooting night sky "landscapes" with very bright stars in the field of view, especially with the H-alpha and SII filters, the difference is very-very subtle when using the new OIII filters... Production of the 2" version started in the end of 2019, so it has ever been only available in the improved version, therefore we did not add a Mark II sign to the title as there has never been a Mark I.)

Please note this listing is for the 2" filter set. The image shows the 1.25" filters and is for illustration purposes only.

WHICH DIRECTION TO INSTALL THE FILTERS IN?

It is a tricky question as we asked various manufacturers and most of these manufacturers think that it doesn't matter, however the manufacturer of ZWO filters advises that in the case of their latest (mark II) narrowband filters the coated side of the filter should face the telescope. Well, there is nothing to loose to follow their advice, so lets do it. Now, how to find out which side is the coated? Open the case and remove the filter from its pouch and put it on top of the puch as this is most likely the most dustfree element in your surrounding. Now hold an item, i.e. a pen above the filter, close enough, but make sure that it won't touch the filter. If you see a single reflection as if it was a mirror, that's the coated side; that side should face the telescope. If you see a double reflection, that side has an anti-reflection coating only and it should face the camera sensor.

Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

Are you interested in this product but would like to speak to someone with some more information? Simply fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

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