Baader Solar Filter – the Standard

Mounted Filters with Baader AstroSolar Safety Film OD 5.0

After 15 years of offering AstroSolar film sheets as DIY-product, this system of Baader Solar Filters™ is designed to retain the true optical quality of the diffraction limited AstroSolar Safety Film.

Baader Solar Filters provide a professional and secure solution to observe and image the Sun using AstroSolar® Safety Film OD 5.0. Many ready made filters do stretch the filter material like a drumhead in order to make it look like a piece of glass – this absolutely does destroy the image quality, rendering the film useless for high magnification work. AstroSolar must be mounted entirely stress free in order to perform like a high precision planeoptical window. It sounds like a contradiction with traditional perception of quality, but AstroSolar must show slight ripples! Only when the film is being put under stress by an improper cell mount it performs just like any single side coated glass-filter made of untreated floatglass.

ASBF (AstroSolar Binocular Filter) Baader Solar Filter for binoculars and camera lenses

This Filter Family is ideally suited for observation of the sun with binoculars (two piece needed), as well as for camera lenses. The AstroSolar filter material is mounted onto a plastic ring whereas the plastic ring itself works as stabilizing element for the filter cell. This still plastic ring is mounted onto the aluminum front frame. The thermal expansion coefficient of the plastic and the film are similar. This category is essentially similar to the ASSF in terms of mechanics. The only difference is that one side is cut off in order to make them usable on any binocular – even when the bridge is nearly closed. (depending on the binocular type).

All Baader Solar Filters feature:

• original Baader AstroSolar® Safety Film (OD 5.0), cell mounted and quality inspected by skilled members of our staff
• clear white IR-rejecting front ring with reinforcing raised edges along the outer and inner circumference, designed to protect the solar filter material from contact with any sharp metal edge
• 3 injection molded centering-bolts with threaded brass inserts to center the filter-cell in front of the tube opening. These bolts come in three different diameters, depending on the filter category (ASTF/ASSF/ASBF). Each bolt features injection molded rubber grip-faces, shaped to easily slide onto any telescope tube – but to come off very hard
• no tool mounting and adjustment of the centering bolts to fit a wide variety of mechanical tube diameters. Bolts made to contact the outside or optional (if appropriate) the inside of the optical instrument tube
• non-rotating sliding fasteners made from aluminum that hold the centering bolts. These metal sliders are equipped with a machined indicator to point towards the adjustment index
• additional Phillips screws are integrated into the sliding fasteners, so that the centering bolts can be firmly fastened with a screw driver if preferred by the user
• index scale provided beside each adjustment slot – adjacent to each sliding fastener, for fast and repeatable adjustment of the filter cell onto different telescope tubes
• black sliding washers supplied to securely cover the full length of the adjustment slots in the aluminum frame – for blocking sunlight from passing trough the filter cell beside the filter area
• three security straps included, to secure the position of the filter cell with Velcro-adhesive pads. A safety feature to absolutely ensure a secure fit in front of the telescope under any circumstances (gust of wind asf)
• warning text printed onto the front side of each filter cell: Read the Instructions before use
• cardboard gift box fit for safely shipping the filter