108 replies to this topic

[AKHalea]

I have been using a similar (but not the same) filter for the last year and half, with excellent results from my Bortle 7/8 zone backyard. My dual band filter is from Omega Optical and it is much less expensive than any of these Johnny-come-lately dual/triband filters OPT, STC and Optolong. My filter has bandpasses for HA (12nm) and HB+OIII (~30nm). My results with it are amazing. Here is an example of NGC 2174/2175 (MonkeyHead nebula) with only 42 minutes of integration time :  

 

 

This image was captured in April 2018 using the SV102ED scope, my H-Alpha modded Nikon D5300 DSLR and the Omega Optical's dual band filter. It was from my subruban backyard which is in borderline 7/8 Bortle zone. My northern sky is particularlyy LP filled due to Houston's light dome in that direction and I estimate the sky brightness at 17.5-18.0 mag (very bad LP). This filter managed cut all that LP out and gave a beautiful image ..... Anil

Edited by AKHalea, 17 June 2019 - 09:17 AM.

[gustavo_sanchez]

I have been using a similar (but not the same) filter for the last year and half, with excellent results from my Bortle 7/8 zone backyard. My dual band filter is from Omega Optical and it is much less expensive than any of these Johnny-come-lately dual/triband filters OPT, STC and Optolong. My filter has bandpasses for HA (12nm) and HB+OIII (~30nm). My results with it are amazing. Here is an example of NGC 2174/2175 (MonkeyHead nebula) with only 42 minutes of integration time :

4-17 N2174 42min APP LPRem STCrJCN.jpg

This image was captured in April 2018 using the SV102ED scope, my H-Alpha modded Nikon D5300 DSLR and the Omega Optical's dual band filter. It was from my subruban backyard which is in borderline 7/8 Bortle zone. My northern sky is particularlyy LP filled due to Houston's light dome in that direction and I estimate the sky brightness at 17.5-18.0 mag (very bad LP). This filter managed cut all that LP out and gave a beautiful image ..... Anil

Nice image. I passed on the Omega Optical filters since they don't specify any antireflective coatings being used on them. Many other images taken with the Omega filters show large halos around many stars, so that's the deal breaker for me.

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[AKHalea]

Gustavo, 

 

You are right. When I imaged the Horsehead with this filter, Alnitak & Alnilam showed big halos, so yes, that can be a problem when you have bright stars in the FOV. For a Bortle 7/8 backyard astro-imaging, this filter is an easy inexpensive and effective alternative for getting reasonable emission nebulae images vs going to a true NB filter set-up with a mono-camera and filter wheel etc.  ..... Anil

Edited by AKHalea, 17 June 2019 - 09:35 AM.

[gustavo_sanchez]

It is indeed cheaper, but not by a lot. Compared with a Triad or even an STC Duo, it's definitively a bargain. But the Optolong is barely over $200, so it's difficult to go with the Omega right now. I had the Omega on my "Watch" list for a long time, but couldn't pull the trigger for the reasons I stated. Glad I waited.

Anyway, it's good having different choices.

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[AKHalea]

That is a great price for the Optolong if it performs well (meaning is effective in not having the bright star halos). I did not have that choice at the time, so despite the absence of non-reflective coatings, I went for it and I am happy because I was able to capture many emission nebulae that I could not have gotten without it had I waited for some other alternative. If this one performs as expected, I might think of buying it for the same reasons and retire my Omega Optical's dual band filter. So keep us posted! ..... Anil

[ZL4PLM]

Just got mine, what is the bottle scale you took this picture from?

Ohh I am pretty dak here 2 ish 

 

full moon though like daylight!!

[ZL4PLM]

Awesome. Can you share the capture details?

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4 hrs of subs unity gain -20c ASI071MC Pro and SV80ST +0.8FRFF + CEM60 and of course L-Enhance

[niccoc1603]

Ohh I am pretty dak here 2 ish

full moon though like daylight!!

Interesting, do you find benefits in using the filter even from dark skies ?

Would you use it even with no moon?

[elmiko]

The spectral response looks a lot like that of my OPT Triad filter.  Now that the Milky Way emission nebulae are back, you are going to love what the filter can do under heavy light pollution.

Thanks for the reply, I will be shooting an object in the area!

Mike

[ckhorne]

I have asked optolong, they say 10nm Ha and 24nm OIII

 

I wonder if this would be wide enough for use on a Hyperstar configuration..... 

[ZL4PLM]

Interesting, do you find benefits in using the filter even from dark skies ?

Would you use it even with no moon?

it allows an OSC to run narrowband - so yes 

 

yes - sure even better with no moon 

 

its not really a LP filter but of course doing NB from LP areas helps avoid the plague of lights

[elmiko]

I have a target selection.... NGC 6888 the Crescent Nebula. It rises high enough in the East to start imaging around 2200, and transits at 0300 hrs. I am planning on getting at least 8 hours of data ,over a few nights. It will be a true test of the Optolong L-eHance!

There are wild fires about 30miles east of me. So between the haze and light pollution and the full Moon lighting everything, it will be interesting to see the outcome.

I will try to post by the end of the week.

Mike

Edited by elmiko, 17 June 2019 - 03:43 PM.

[RazvanUnderStars]

In The Astrophotography Manual (probably read by everyone on this thread), the author says in the section on narrowband imaging that "Hα emissions are far more abundant than OIII and unless this is taken into account during the image channel balancing, the Ha/red channel dominates the final image and an almost monochromatic red image will result.".

 

Would this be done with the colour balance controls (i.e. manipulating the histogram, manually or using the colour balance capabilities of the image editor) or is there a different way to balance the channels? 

Edited by RazvanUnderStars, 17 June 2019 - 08:53 PM.

[gustavo_sanchez]

You can balance the colors any way you want to get the results you wish, or split the channels and process separately.

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[ZL4PLM]

In The Astrophotography Manual (probably read by everyone on this thread), the author says in the section on narrowband imaging that "Hα emissions are far more abundant than OIII and unless this is taken into account during the image channel balancing, the Ha/red channel dominates the final image and an almost monochromatic red image will result.".

 

Would this be done with the colour balance controls (i.e. manipulating the histogram, manually or using the colour balance capabilities of the image editor) or is there a different way to balance the channels? 

in PI i stacked and processed as normal 

 

then did a STF with channels unlocked 

 

then you can see the data ok 

 

no need to separate just tweak the histogram levels and curves to taste  

 

I can run all the normal processes of course I didnt do PCC etc 

 

I think PCC would come out with odd results?

[gustavo_sanchez]

Doesn't hurt to try

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[elmiko]

This is my first test image using the Optolong L-eHance Filter.

Subject M57, Because it was located convienantly in the eastern sky.

AT92 Triplet f/5.5

Atik 420 color 0c

11 300sec subs dithered

50 bias 30 darks 40 flats

Pixinsite Process

DBE, BN, CC, MSLT. Made a Range Mask and Star Mask combined both with Pixel Math, so everything was masked except the nebula.

Applied HDR , Saturation w/ Curves . Then using the Star Mask MT to make the stars more appealing. Saturated the stars a bit. Then adjusted red and blue levels a bit to make the stars look more natural. 

Made a L-Mask to protect everything but the background. Adjusted the background to a nice, less red color.

Then using ACDNR w/ a lightness Mask smoothed out the noise in the background.

My main target was the Crescent Nebula, which I captured 50 subs. threw out the last 20 because of focus shift.... I was sleeping. Temp dropped 10 degrees and I don't use a automatic focus routine......yet. So, my plan is to capture more subs on this target over the next few nights. I would like to get around 10 hours on it. 

So far I think I like this filter! Oh, did I mention the Full Moon was lingering about 60 degrees away!

Clear skies, Mike

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by elmiko, 18 June 2019 - 10:17 AM.

[niccoc1603]

Wonderful, bottle scale?

[elmiko]

Cropped Version

Attached Thumbnails

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[elmiko]

Wonderful, bottle scale?

Thanks, just a quick test. Bortle 7-8

Edited by elmiko, 18 June 2019 - 10:14 AM.

[gustavo_sanchez]

Mine arrived today. Obviously, clouds arrived too...

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[elmiko]

Gustavo, checked out your Website! Really great images. Thanks for sharing.

Hopefully it clears up soon, so you can use the new filter.

Mike

[gustavo_sanchez]

Gustavo, checked out your Website! Really great images. Thanks for sharing.
Hopefully it clears up soon, so you can use the new filter.
Mike

Thanks my friend. My Astrophotography journey has been way eclectic. Thanks for looking.

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[danielgallo]

I received mine a few days ago, and wrote a review here, for those interested: https://www.nightsky...-filter-review/.

 

Pleased with it so far, although I want to do some further testing in a few weeks when there's not a full moon.

[RazvanUnderStars]

Hi Daniel,

 

Very useful and well written review (looking forward to the followups) and good luck with your site!

 

 

I received mine a few days ago, and wrote a review here, for those interested: https://www.nightsky...-filter-review/.

 

Pleased with it so far, although I want to do some further testing in a few weeks when there's not a full moon.