Baader Orthoscopic 5 and 6mm

The price of the Baader ortho is 99usd, same as that of a BO/TMB planetary eyepiece. After a lot of research on the Baader ortho, I finally decided to buy it. Supposedly this eyepiece is made in the same Japanese factory as the UO HD orthos. However, there are differences between them and the Baader ortho supposedly has better coatings. From what I read, it is possible to order eyepieces/telescopes/binos from a factory and specify the QUALITY of it. That means the standard of the polish, accuracy of the optical elements, the coating design etc. For my 6mm Baader ortho, the magnification used is 264x while for the 5mm Baader ortho, the magnification is 317x. I did a comparison on Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon on different days with average to good seeing conditions. Telescope: Obsession 12.5" f/5 Hand tracked. 1A. 6mm Baader Ortho vs 6mm Circle T ortho Transmission: Baader > Circle T. I can see a few faint (points) probably moons/stars near to Saturn. The Circle T is not able to do so. Colour tone: Baader is slightly whiter (cooler) than Circle T Contrast: Baader > Circle T. On Saturn's globe, the banding is more pronouced in the Baader. It has slightly better contrast especially noticeable on the polar belt. It stands out better. Details slightly more than Circle T ortho. Sharpness: Same. Since they are both Abbe orthos so the design (sharpness) wise will be similar.

The baader and Circle T is sharp within centre 50 percent of the AFOV on my f/5 dob. Hence, I feel the Baader is better in contrast and transmission due to probably better polish, baffling and coatings. The difference is 'not a hair' as what was reported on the UO HD ortho against the UO ortho and hence if there is a comparison with the Baader and UO HD ortho, there may be differences. 1B. 5mm Baader ortho vs barlowed 11 Nagler T6 vs 5mm BO/TMB Note that the Barlow is a mediocre Meade 140 barlow which does impacts negatively to the 11 Nagler T6 performance. Contrast on Saturn's globe: Barlowed 11 Nagler T6> (rather slightly) 5mm Baader >> 5mm BO/TMB Surprisingly, the 11 Nagler T6 when barlowed gives very good contrast on Jupiter and Saturn's globe. I guess it is probably due to the higher transmission in red and the features (GRS, belts) on Jupiter/Saturn are better seen. The 5mm Baader gave good contrast on Saturn's globe too but it was very slightly less good as the barlowed 11 Nagler T6. This is a very good result considering that the Baader is a much 'cooler' eyepiece. The 5mm Baader has quite a lot better contrast on Saturn's globe than the 5mm BO/TMB.

On the whole, the Baader gives a 'cleaner' image. Transmission: 5mm Baader>5mm BO/TMB>barlowed 11 Nagler T6 Sharpness on-axis: 5mm Baader > 5mm BO/TMB> barlowed 11 Nagler T6 . 2. Comparison on features on the Moon. I managed to compare the 5mm Baader Genuine Ortho with the 5mm BO/TMB on the moon. A. Scope: Obsession 12.5" f/5 B. hand tracked C. Magnification 317X D. Seeing ranged from average to good The Baader again had superior contrast. The ray system on Copernicus was fantastic. The rays were very obvious even at 317x and the shadings were very nice. On the Baader, the blacks were quite a lot darker than that of the BO/TMB. The BO/TMB is better corrected off axis so it looked nice throughout the FOV. However, the view through the Baader on the ray structure in the middle 50 percent AFOV was nicer! It was so defined and contrasted. I also observed Kepler crater (about 8 km diameter) and there were numerous small craters (would be less than 2km in size) around it. There were easily more than 10 craterlets and they looked like a cluster of craterlets. These were seen also in the BO/TMB but the impression I get from the small craters is that they were not as defined; they looked nice though but it seemed like there is slight scatter (glow around) on the craters. On the Baader, the craters were easier to see and aesthetically more pleasing because of neglible scatter on them. The Baader has better clarity than the BO/TMB planetary eyepiece. It was as if there is a veil over the BO/TMB planetary eyepiece. Lastly I observed Plato crater (which basically is a flat and almost featureless crater)... and this is the greatest shock ever.

The seeing somehow stablized and I saw NUMEROUS CRATERLETS.. it was as though Plato was pot marked! Wow! All these were seen in the Baader. The number of craterlets seen were far more than the 11 I observed months back and it was nearly as many as those NASA Plato pictures. Incredible. :) 3. Observing Jupiter with 5 and 6mm Baader Ortho Jupiter has lots of details especially now with tremendous activity at the equator. There were many white ovals (storms) and one large one in the South which is not the GRS (later I found out it is Red Spot Junior). The South Equatorial belt was dark brown with 'wavy' pattern. In the middle of the planet were lots of curves and many belts all the way. Lots of details on my 5mm and 6mm Baader Genuine Ortho (317x and 260x). At momentary seeing, the planet had 'granular' features on the North side, with a hair thin belt with small ovals along it. Jupiter really looked like the best Jupiter photos I have seen. Comparing the 6mm Baader Ortho to the 6mm Circle T ortho, the difference again is noticeable. With the 6mm Baader I was able to see lower contrast features on Jupiter especially details near the poles (which are lower contrast than those nearer the equator); the Circle T could not show these details. Details on Jupiter were also easier to observe with the Baader ortho. The sky background is a lot darker in the Baader too. 4. Comfort factor: I find the 6mm Baader more comfortable than the 6mm Circle T because I can rest my face on the eyepiece. There is no need to keep a fix distance away from the eyepiece. The 5mm Baader is quite alright to use too. I like the fact that these eyepieces have wing eyeguard to block off stray light. 5. Built quality: Very well made. The painting inside the barrel is nicely done. The coatings are nice and under white light, it gives of a red reflection (mostly mean the eyepiece is cooler, less red transmitted). 6. Parfocal? I did not find the 5mm and 6mm to be that parfocal even though it is claimed to be. My 7 and 11 Nagler are more parfocal and just need slight adjustment in focus. In Summary, The Baader orthos are really very good optically and the price point of 99usd is a big welcome. The contrast, sharpness (on-axis) and transmission is very good and is better than the Circle T ortho (volcano top) and BO/TMB. The difference is rather noticeable and I would not say it is a 'hair' of difference to me. It is a fine planetary eyepiece and I really like it.

Pros

Very good contrast, sharpness (on-axis) and transmission. Good price point. A fine planetary eyepiece.

Cons

Like any Abbe ortho, eye relief is tight for 5 and 6mm focal length eyepieces and the AFOV is small. Also, off-axis performance is not that good on a fast (f/5) scope.

Rating

10/10

-- End of review