Bought a $35 solar filter for my telescope and it was a scam

I got this cheap solar filter online last month to try and catch the partial eclipse we had here in Phoenix. First time I set it up, the thing started peeling off the lens cover before I even got it aimed right. Anyone else had luck with those budget filters or is the $100+ glass ones the only safe way to go?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_emery22d ago

My first filter was a bad experience too (similar peeling issue), but I finally grabbed a $50 glass one from Thousand Oaks and it's held up for three years now with no problems. I'd say skip the plastic film ones entirely, even the mid-range glass filters are way more reliable for the money. Just make sure whatever you get is properly rated and not some generic ebay special.

sethhernandez22d ago

Yeah, "generic ebay special" is right, @the_emery... that's basically what I fell for. I got this $35 plastic film thing and I swear, I spent more time trying to keep the stupid film from crinkling than actually looking at the sun. Ended up catching my own thumb in the viewfinder and nearly dropped the whole telescope on my foot. So yeah, I learned the hard way that cheap solar filters are a total scam.

wells.karen22d ago

The part where you say "glass ones" vs "plastic film" isn't quite right. Thousand Oaks makes aluminum-coated Mylar film, not glass. And even their higher end stuff isn't glass at all. The real split is between cheap Mylar that's too thin and the thicker, certified Mylar or polymer films that actually block enough UV and IR. Glass filters can be good too, but they're not automatically safer just because they're glass. People think "glass = quality" and "plastic = junk" but that's not how solar filters work. The expensive ones are about the coating quality and how well they stop infrared heat, not the material itself. You dodged a bullet with that peeling filter, but don't write off all film filters just yet.