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Optolong L-eXtreme Tested from Tokyo!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2020
- The Optolong L-eXtreme filter is an amazing light pollution filter / narrowband filter for astrophotography and nebulae in particular. It has been in the news quite a bit these days... But it has yet to face the ultimate test: Can it work well from Tokyo? Let's find out in this review!
If you want to support me and are interested in buying this filter, or other astrophotography gear, please feel free to use the below affiliate links!
Optolong L-Extreme 2 inch: bit.ly/3b9qlpo
Optolong L-Extreme 1.25 inch: bit.ly/31G7E9S
General affiliate link to OPT: bit.ly/2OIw6jH
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This filter really is great for white zones! If you want to support me and wish to buy this filter or other astrophotography equipment, please consider using my OPT affiliate link! bit.ly/3b9qlpo .
Oh shiny shiny 😍
es la vercion l-extreme f2 ??
Hey Yannick! Super cool with the shoutout. Thanks buddy. Really nice results you got with the L-eXtreme. It's an awesome filter. Great video. Enjoyed watching. Keep it up. Cheers!
Thanks Shawn, and you too! Your reviews of the L-series have been really good and instructive, and yes, it's an awesome filter :) Cheers!
4 seconds in *gets excited with L-Extreme eager to show it and drops it from the balcony*
Hahaha that could have happened! I like to live dangerously :)
Love this filter! I image from just north of Detroit, Mi and this thing is a game changer for me. Zero moonglow gradients from what I've experienced and its just a huge jump from the l-eNhance using my 533 and ed80. Keep the videos coming :)
It's such a good filter indeed! Videos are still coming, enjoy! :D
@@CuivTheLazyGeek but what if in a bortle 5 zone?
Great video, I bought an L eXtreme (before I saw your video) and am using it with D2, so far clouds have only allowed 17 frames of North American Nebula but it is amazing to clearly see the nebula emerging live on the D2 after 4 frames of 15 sec. I know that it costs almost half the cost of the D2 but my aim is motorcycle based astrophotography so portability is critical. Looking forward to fun when the clouds go away. Thanks
Glad you liked it, also this filter is hard to find for the last 2 months, really good demand. Looking forward using it!
Still waiting for delivery after nearly 3 months - can’t wait any longer after seeing this video!
Great stuff!
The more I watch your videos the more I like them. Thank you for making them!
Thank you!
I must stop watching your videos. I recently purchased an ASI533MC Pro and now an Optolong L-eXtreme. I simply cannot afford you any more.
Kidding! Thanks for another fine review!
Your wallet thanks you, it's nice very thin :)
I can only agree. I atarted out at F/2 with Hyperstar, and L-Enhance, then moved to L-Extreme at F/7, anfd now F/7 with mono. I totally recommend this filter for OSC users.
I've only started watching the video, but when you reached for the filter on the ledge I was relieved that the video didn't take an unfortunate turn there hehe (although I assume that the box was empty by then)
You don't know me well enough itai :) The box was full, and I like to play with fire and make my viewers have heart attacks :D
Thanks for another great video. I shoot with a DSLR from a bortel 7/8 area looking forward to getting my l-extreme. It has been on backorder for 2 months but I received an email today that it has shipped!! Keep up the great work, I watch your channel a lot and enjoy it. Thank you!
Excellent review Cuiv! I have optolong l-enhance. Now I am looking forward to this one!
Thanks Ray! I think you will really enjoy the l-extreme!
Awesome final image of the Veil Cuiv! I think I'll be adding one of these filters to my setup.
Thanks Pete! They are indeed very nice filters, I don't think you would regret it!
Well Done Cuiv! I hope to get to your level one day...soon!
Great video with all the discussion and explanation a new astrophotographer like me needs. Thanks!
My pleasure, glad it was helpful!
Yet another very informative vid. Many thanks - you’re cranking out some great stuff 👏👏
Thanks Melvyn!! :-)
Cuiv the clumsy geek 🤣 you are a great salesman. I’m definitely adding this on my wishlist. I hope Santa doesn’t get quarantined for christmas this year.
For my current set up (canon DSLR and prime lenses) I would need the clip in filter but doesn’t look like thats available yet. They made a clip filter in for the l-enhance so maybe they’ll do that for the l-extreme in the future. In the meantime maybe I can find someone selling off there l-enhance for a good price :)
I'm sure they'll make a clip-in filter at some point, and yes the L-Enhance will work great as well (depending on your Bortle zone :) ). Good luck!
Extremely nice results! Got my eye on this filter as well for my 533 osc if it ever comes back in stock and the wildfire smoke and or clouds ever clear out on my off days where I can actually attempt to image.
Oh man those wildfires look really brutal, please stay safe...
As always, great information 👍
What a difference 😲 Nice shot 👍
Thanks Mathias! It indeed makes a huge difference! I really like this filter :)
The image of the Veil Nebula is amazing! I live under a Bortle 9 sky, and have being doing mainly planets and the Moon. I am going to give it a try to DSO but with a different filter: IDAS LPS-D2. In any case, it's inspiring to see you can achieve great results using a filter like the Optolong L-eXtreme. Thank you for the great review.
Thank you so much for your dedication in bringing this to us. As a beginner, it really helps. However, I never hear anyone talk about how they determine the length of the exposure, nor what the histogram looks like under there extreme conditions as I have in north Dallas, TX. You mentioned you knew you needed to go from 30" to 60" based on the filter specs - still a mystery to me. I would welcome you commenting or doing a topic on how you know you are setting the right exposure and what the histogram might look like with the L, R, G, B on a graph so when you stack all the images you get workable data. I am using a stock DSLR - just ordered the L-Extreme - tried the IDAS - D2 and Optolong UHC without much success so far, shooting the Heart & Soul Nebula. I pick up a lot of light gray on the bottom of the image closest to the horizon at 30 degrees and the top goes green when trying to compensate. If you can help - PLEASE!
Hello, I'm considering buying the l-extreme but I'm worried of it being useless with my unmodded camera, did the l-extreme work with your stock DSLR?
@@javgondom not at all, Bortle 8 I use it exclusively, both unmodified Nikon D7500 & dedicayed QHY 268C Astro camera. Please support Cuiv The Lazy Geek.
@@1AngryDpg thanks a lot, I live in bortle 8-9 too. How long do you expose for? My mount can't do longer than 90s. Yeah, I discovered this channel recently and it's great
@@javgondom I have an EQ6R-Pro, so time is not an issue 600 sec if needed. For you, at 90 sec, I would shoot for 700 to 1,000 images, and stack. DSS will only load ~360 at 1 time, so you will have to do either multiple loads or use the tabs at the bottom to add multiple sessions of 350 each.
@@1AngryDpg I don't know if it depends on the version, but I can stack +1000 frames at once with dss, as I did it before having a star tracker. Thanks a lot for your answers
We aren't there yet with very specific rejection filters...the other problem would be to control light pollution and allow only specific very narrow band outdoor lighting fixtures.
That's for sure. And forbid high temperature LEDs. etc, etc...
I am so grateful to you for this video! It has answered many of my questions!! thank you so much
I love watching your videos Thank you. I would really love to see a L-Extreme comparison with the L-Enhance . Keep up your great work
I'd like to do that too! But the L-Enhance would not be interesting for me to own, and companies don't send me equipment to review yet!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek ahh ok Thanks for the reply
Love your channel my friend! You offer excellent content and I am gaining lots of knowledge. From an island in the North Atlantic Ocean...thank you!!
Thanks a lot Kevin! This is really why I am making those videos, so it's always good to see such great feedback! Good luck and clear skies, island weather can be quite tough right?
Thanks for doing the comparison! I'm just starting out (after making some brief attempts into astrophotography in the past) and it seems like this filter will be great under my Bortle 7/6 skies.
Welcome (back) to the hobby Tom! This filter will definitely work amazingly in your skies, as long as you point it at emission nebulae! :D Good luck & clear skies!
Great review! Awesome filter and I will certainly try and get it. That 533 is doing some nice things to I see!
Great video, really informative. I don't get many clear nights, so I use an Altair Triband when there's a lot of moonlight. It seems like the narrower OIII bandwidth on the L-Extreme might be a good move for my situation.
Thanks Andy! It really is a good, simple design in my opinion.
Awesome final image!
Thanks Khalefa!
Great Vid Cuiv!!!, thank you for sharing.
Thanks Luke!
Nice video Cuiv. I would like to test this filter also, I had beautiful results with Optolong L enhance and baader and uhc-s nebula filter, andr baader 7nm Ha from my garden, with bortle sky 4-5, but you have much more light pollution in Tokyo though.
I hit like as soon as you said "lazy geek"
Hahaha, thank you!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek you do an amazing job Cuiv, really love your videos.
@@the_astro_garden Thank you!
thats a super image , i have the Lenh now of course I gotta get this one ;)
Thanks! Ooooh yes, more equipment is always, always the right answer!! :D
the test i am waiting for for my color caméra !!
It works! :-)
why won't filter makers show some love to my fellow Nikonians? All the clip in filters are for Canon EOS and the only good duo-narrowband filter that fits a Nikon is an STC Duo-Narrowband, whereas Canon users get a whole library of filters to pick from! No fair!
I guess it's really about market size! Canon had proper raw frames when Nikon was blasting them with noise reduction if I remember correctly. Amazing how old decisions that no longer have an impact on the actual products can actually impact the market.
probably going to pick one of these up in the next month or so, hoping it comes back in stock soonish so i can snatch it up :D
Very informative, but I think that the color image with the ZWO filter would improve with a longer exposure time.
Grats on 3k Subs :)
Thanks!!! It's a bit mind-blowing!
Very informative, thank you for making this Quiv. So if you should do imaging with a color camera than this is one of the filters to have ? Which other filters would you also need to purchase for other nebula, galaxies, moon and planets ?
I need a filter that can manage tons of smoke in the upper atmosphere! This is the fourth year in a row we've had weeks of no imaging from the wildfires here in Northern California. That's a really sad statistic not that I say it out loud.
Please stay safe Patrick. Those red skies pictures are scary... Take care and I hope things will get better soon...
Hi Cuiv could you please do a video on how to process that image ? i want to compare it to the Quadband Altair make, along with there triband filter and want to lear how to pull the nebulosity out
I'll probably do something based on Siril and/or Pixinsight! Stay tuned :-)
Excellent review Cuiv, juat wondering if we should attach this filter at the bottom of coma corrector or place it between camera and coma corrector train by using filter drawer?
Hi Mate, great video thanks for this review... just got this filter and I’m waiting for delivery.... quick question... have you tried to extract each channel and process this separately using Astropixel processor? Maybe do a video about that, that;s what I want to try... thanks again and keep up the good work..
I don't have APP, but I want to try that in PixInsight and in Siril, probably will make a video on this! Thanks for the suggestion!
Always wondered this !
And now you have the answer ;)
Great video, Cuiv.
A question:
I used this filter successfully from a bortel 3 sky. Red Cat 51+Canon DSLR T3i (unmodified). 30s exposure @ ISO 1600
When I tried it from my backyard, a bortel 7 sky, same equipment setup, same exposure & ISO, the results were poor.
Do I need to change my exposure time & ISO while taking pictures from the city light polluted skies?
Thanks in advance,
Vinay from Austin, Texas
Love your videos, and have subscribed but not sure this was a valid comparison, 30 second exposures on the enhance and 60 second on the extreme? Longer exposures go deeper - perhaps despite the bandpass differences? How about trying a single exposure of he same length using each and giving us a comparison?
Thanks Gary! This is exactly what I did towards the end of the video (from 13:30 ) - one exposure of 60 seconds for each filter. Also, as long as the read noise is swamped in each sub-exposure (which is easy for CMOS), what matters is the total integration time, rather than the sub-exposure time (see my older more theoretical videos on noise in astrophotography), so I do believe the Crescent Nebula example is also a relevant comparison.
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Bugger - missed that - had a parcel delivery while watching. Guess I'll have to sell my L Enhance now :-(
@@garymckenzie9307 Hahaha your wallet will not be happy ;)
nice video as always buddy, I ended up getting the Radian Quad :) I am really interested on how does it compare with the L-extreme....but once the world stops burning I can show my results
It will indeed be quite interesting! I had the Radian Quad, but of course didn't test it directly against the L-eXtreme. It's really that H-Beta bandpass that bothered me with it... still, I got great results from that filter as well!
Cuiv what results did you have with it? can i see a photo??
@@ioan_astro static.wixstatic.com/media/e58d39_9489b4727d4a4d73b1e3dba133bd3771~mv2_d_4850_3057_s_4_2.jpg or static.wixstatic.com/media/e58d39_5c1683d8213c413faa9da5cbcb2beefe~mv2_d_3000_1992_s_2.jpg , but the latter is mixed with some pure HA data.
Cuiv, The Lazy Geek it looks amazing:) but no mono:))
I am very happy with the first result I got with the L-extreme on NGC6960 (centered on the Witch's broom). Even with the full moon I could get some decent number of subframes. Any reason to keep the L-eNhance?
Glad to hear it's working well for you too :-) I would probably get rid of the L-eNhance? Personally... Both are very emission nebula specific... But maybe others have different opinions!
Gorgeous Veil image, one of the best I’ve seen. Does anyone want to buy a gently used L-enhance? Only a few months old 😑
Thanks! Hahaha, yeah, the L-eXtreme kind of makes the L-eNhance obsolete, doesn't it? :D
Hi Cuiv, Seems you are doing great with all the videos that keep coming and thanks for sharing as always. You may have to shed the lazy bit now --- after all videos! May be you ca be Cuiv FOR the lazy geeks. Anyway question for you. What would you think of these filters if you use them for milky way? I know for milky way you need a clip filter as you generally use standard lenses and not telescopes?
Cuiv for lazy geeks :) that sounds fun too! The filters can be good for Milky Way imaging, to get the nebulae out, although I'd likely want to somehow merge the result with normal OSC on it! As for using camera lenses, if you're using them with an astro-camera, no need for a clip-in filter, but with a DSLR, yes, it becomes needed... Which means Canon has a much broader range of choice for that...
Am in Ohio and tested it when it came out but found it not as good as OPT'S Tri-Band which am using now. I did not like that it more than doubled my exposure times and took longer to get ready for imaging (longer to focus, longer to plate solve and so on). The ordinal filter L-eNhanse (i think is called) is better in my opinion.
I understand that you will need a longer exposure time for plate solving and autofocus (5 seconds works well for me), but you're playing into a common misconception about the fact that it doubles your exposure times: it *allows* you to double your sub-exposure time - you'd still get a better result with the same sub-exposure time as the L-enhance or the Tri-Band (although read noise is now less easily swamped because there is less LP). The narrower bandpasses are a net benefit. Any time lost in autofocus and platesolving is gained back multiple times by the increased SNR you get... But then whatever works for you!
Nice comparison! Very useful thanks. Can I ask what filter drawer are you using on your OSC? Thanks for sharing your videos!
My pleasure Matteo, glad it is useful! I am using an old Teleskop Service filter drawer - I don't think they make the same model these days, although I think they have some kind of successor!
Did you take a look at the IDAS filters? I've got a range of their old LPS-D1/D2, V4, HEUIB-II, up to their newer(ish) NB2-PM, & NB3-PM. Recently they released an even newer NB4-PM.
The IDAS filters just got me super confused, there's just too much choice! It's a bit like Borg... when they're too much choice, I start to tune out.... Their bandpasses are fairly wide from what I can tell (the NB4-PM is still 15nm...)
Yeah that's true. They have churned out many different filters. It seems the new NB4-PM 15nm is to replace the NB2-PM 20nm. I used their D1 in Chiba's Bortle 6 skies which worked reasonably well. Side note, I find processing bi/tri NB on OSC to be a PITA esp with colourbalancing, etc. Maybe you can do a tutorial on that one day :D.
Cuiv, I shoot from my bortle 4 back yard all the time (other than when that pesky moon is out) and I'm using an Optolong 12nm H-Alpha filter and getting good results. Will the L-Extreme give me that much more in my images? Is it worth getting if I already have the H-Alpha filter? Thank you..
I have the Optolong L-eXtreme as well as the L-Pro filters and have had fantastic results with the L-eXtreme. I have a question to ask if you know the answer. I watched your video closely but was not able to tell which way your filter drawer was holding the filter in orientation to the camera and telescope. I currently use the ZWO filter drawer and before that I just put the 2" filter into the threads that are provided in my telescope reducer. Either mount method in my set up makes it so the filter threads are pointing towards the camera, not the telescope. That is in reverse of the direction that the filters are held inside my ZWO EFW for the mono camera set up. I believe that the ZWO filters do have a correct way and wrong way to orient them to the camera and telescope because I have seen this discussion in Cloudy Nights. I have not found anywhere that addresses the Optolong Filter orientation or even if there is a difference that should be followed when mounting them? Have you? Which way is your filter orientation in the filter drawer you are using?
Well... to be honest I stopped caring about this a long time ago. I never could determine what side of the filter was more reflective and therefore should be directed telescope side rather than camera side! In my case, the threads are towards the camera, simply because that's how they would be when screwed into a focal reducer, as you mention, which I assume is what manufacturers assume. But then I really don't know which side is supposed to be facing what - as long as I don't see reflection artifacts, I don't really care though!
I always thought that for screw in filters, the threads should face the camera because that's how they would go in if you screwed the directly into it as I do with my 1.25" Optolong L-Pro. But I have no idea if that is correct. If it's not screw in, I have no idea.
Liviing in a Bortle 8 sky in Athens,Greece i consider L-eXtreme as an essential asset, but i wonder is it suitable for emission nebulas only or could be also used for galaxies?
Bortle 8 zones are really painful... The L-eXtreme will not work well on galaxies but it will still enhance the nebulosity details from them. I would likely take a lot of Luminance frames, and maybe half as much time with the L-eXtreme, and try to merge their lum channel...
Hi Cuiv. I you tried plate solving with the l-extreme in place? Some peeps on ASIAIR FB group have noted some issues with the very low transmission of stars to solve with. Always keen to here your view as it relates to me (Bortle 8 city locale) :)
Hey Greg! Yes, I've been platesolving and autofocusing with the l-eXtreme as usual, I believe the exposures were 5s long, and I didn't have any issue...
@@CuivTheLazyGeek that aligns with what I've read. ASIAIR defaults to 2sec, so going up a little makes sense for such a narrow pass band(s).
Congrats on 3k mate.
Stacking only the blue channel of 50 images and 25 with only the red channel, wouldn't that enhance the blue part of the nebulae in the final image?
No, you'd still want to stack as many frames as possible (for both colors), because it doesn't increase the luminosity of what we're seeing, it just increases the signal to noise ratio. Having better SNR in HA than in OIII doesn't harm OIII per se. So really I'd want to treat the blue channel separately to try and boost it some more.
Hi Cuiv. i just bought an ASI533MC Pro and am thinking about buying the L-Extreme. Does ZWO make a 1.25" filter drawer or do you have to go with the 2" filter?
Thank you Cuiv. I will have the same camera, filter, and bortle as yours but with William Optics zenithstar 61II (f/5.9). What my sub exposure time should be? Please help me as I'm totally new to these equipment and I see some people take 300 sec and some 600 sec and you only take 60 sec and not sure what to use :/
two questions what model of watch is the one with the white color? and is it true that the extreme filter should be as close as possible to the camera sensor?
Saludos desde Mexico 🤟🏼
Interesting that, according to Astro Blend, it doesn’t work well at f/2, but seems to work at f/4. I wonder where the inflection point is?
Please be aware that this dual narrow band filter will not work very well on fast optics below about F5. Any scope with a central obstruction tends to suffer most. Refer to this video for more information, around the 6 minute mark. th-cam.com/video/kv8y_ioVBFM/w-d-xo.html
Update: Astrodon say their narrow band filters can be used down to F3.5. astrodon.com/products/astrodon-narrowband-filters/
Baader make preshifted filters to work on RASA's. www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-f2-highspeed-filters-(h-alpha-o-iii-s-ii).html
You have mounted your "on-scope PC" just in front of the guiding scope. Don't you have some trouble with thermal turbulence from the PC so close to the guider? I wonder if this has some effects to your guiding precision. Just in case...
Thanks Christian! I had the same worry actually, but when I saw I could get my usual guiding performance, I just shrugged it off. It might be worse in winter, but then seeing in winter is even worse here, so it probably wouldn't impact things too much... thank you for pointing it out!
Brilliant video as always . ! In a bortle 4 / 5 site would is see as much benefit from l- extreme vs l- enhance or is this really for white zones ? Thanks
love your videos,very informative,is the zwo asi294MC ok with broadband filters
Cuiv do you find the L-extrem works Good with the sharpstar?
I have the 76edph and it gives me major problems especially with flats the just won't come out right they looked tie-died
Great video! I recently purchased the asi533MC pro and I am considering getting this filter. Could you please tell me what your gain & offset settings were?
I shoot with a modified canon T8i, do the filters require longer exposures creating more noise?
Nice review.
But why did you limit the exposure time to one minute with the L extreme? With the narrow band pass you could have gone much longer?
Kon'nichiwa, Great video! Mr. Geek (😂) - I’m just starting in AP but as I’m in a similar bortle zone I was all ears! I’ve a question on so much, but even with colour, do you enhance the RGB bands separately with your processing software during the processing of the image?
It depends on my mood... :) Usually together.
I'm considering the L-extreme just to maximize my clear sky nights and be able to shoot DSOs with a near full moon out too if needed. Is the L-extreme mainly a filter for people in Bortle 8-9 like yourself or would it work just as well in darker sky areas? I'm in Bortle 5-6 and sometimes in Bortle 3 at the cottage. Would the L-Enhance be better in the dark skies? Thanks!
The L-eNhance would probably be sufficient in your case, but I suspect the L-eXtreme would still give better results - however I haven't tested it so it's an educated guess on my part...
I am curious, if the extreme will also have that "effect" with artefacts like the L-enhance had with the 294MC and the 1600MC (which I have)... Well, I got those artefacts quite visible on 5 minutes frames from cirrus region, but not as strong, as many others have. Nonetheless, I got the extreme a few days ago and I am waiting for clear skies to test it.
You definitely will have those horrible artefacts with the 294MC and the 1600MC - even more so than with the L-eXtreme. I should have mentioned that in the review - the 294MC and the 1600MC are not a good match with them. I am the one who discovered and reported those in the first place, and Sam (ZWO founder) confirmed he saw such artifacts with every 294MC and 1600MC they tested www.cloudynights.com/topic/661685-word-of-warning-asi294mc-pro-and-opt-triad-and-nb/
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Yes, I am pretty sure, the effect will be more severe with the extreme. A strong reason to get a new camera, won't you agree? :-)
@@cheloniachris Yes, absolutely - do it, do it now :-p
Love your videos,
Question what Filter Changer are you using? I have a zwo 533mc pro camera.
Thanks
Hello Cuiv, thanks a lot for all your videos :)
A question: would you suggest the use of an LPS filter for a Bortle 6.5 zone (sqm 19.05)?
I was thinking about an Idas d2, since all street lights around here are LEDs.
I image with an apo refractor and a stock DSLR.
Thanks :)
Great video. Could I use the L-extreme with a monochrome camera?. Thanks
You could absolutely use the L-Extreme with a monochrome camera - You could use it instead of the luminance filter for instance, so you'd had RGB from normal RGB filters, and luminance would be using the L-eXtreme filter. A monochrome sensor would mash Ha and OIII together with no way of separating them later on, so that's the main use-case I can think of...
How effective would it be with a non modded DSLR. Would you need super long exposures to overcome the limitations of the standard filters? BTW, no one seems to have the filter because of maintenance at Optolong.
A non modded DSLR will give you around 1/5th of the signal in H-Alpha. But at the same time it also will get only 1/5th of the light pollution filtering through at that bandpass. So you will need to have longer exposures to try and swamp sensor read noise for both the red and the green & blue pixels. I'm pretty sure it can work quite well!
Hi Cuiv What filter would you recommend for a ZWO 2600mc. Do you need a filter with a color camera?
Not sure if you would know this . My question is I live 30 minutes from a bortle 3 and an hour from a bortle 2. I would not need this filter during a no moon night . Would dark sights be the best for us no matter what . The most color in Nebula captured with long exposures like 2 or 3 hours . Or rather then being in the middle of Northern California forest at 4000 foot elevation where cougars , bears , bobcat , coyotes and strangers might be or get the filter , that street light and the moon won’t matter , lazy don’t want to drive if I can get just as good images as a dark site .
You will be able to get great images on emission nebulae from your site, and even from a dark zone, narrowband can be fun due to the ability to play with colors! If you are going to image galaxies or the like, the difference made traveling to a Bortle 2 would be quite large. I would suggest trying it out :)
Whats the difference between ehance-pro-exetreme? I own all 2 but have a feeling i only need 2 of them
Hi Yannick! If you don't mind saying, what are your settings for your ZWO 533 with the 60s exposures?
No worries Terry - I'm at gain 101, and offset 70 ( I think, it's the default ASCOM offset for that camera)
Thanks Yannick. Is there a reason why you go with the short exposures? I’ve also been trying to gather data on the Veil Nebula, but I’ve been getting 300s exposures. I also live in a highly light polluted city; white zone. And I’m lucky if there are a couple clear nights a week, so gathering enough data is difficult.
@@terrymartin1243 As long as the read noise of your sensor is swamped, there is no need to go for longer sub-exposures (although it is not harmful to do so either, unless you get pixel saturation). If we had only shot noise, and no read noise, 100x60s would be equivalent to 10x600s (assuming no pixel saturation).
Nice video! With the l-extreme, the H alpha shows up in the red channel of the osc, where does the Oiii falls into essentially ? The green or the red? With my l-enhanced I was getting it in the green channel of the ASI183mc not the blue.
Thanks Eric! The OIII falls on both green and blue - although 500.7nm is more on green than on blue (should be on both channels though)...
Cuiv, The Lazy Geek with the ASI183mc the blue channel is so noisy that I usually process with the red and green and redistribute the green on the blue and get a new green as a mix of the original red and blue. Well it’s a personal choice.
Hi Cuiv, how do you remove the green and purple color gradient? (Green no the left and purple on the right) I do have the same problem when I use my CLS filter and l-enhance as well. Thank you very much!!
Flat frames took care of the gradient for me!
Great video. Out of curiosity what brand 3nm Oiii filter do you have? As a follow up to that, what's the bandpass on your Ha and Sii filters? I'm thinking the only upgrade I should ever make is from my ZWO Oiii to a 3nm Oiii, since I still want to keep capturing the Nii signal and that won't be possible with a 3nm Ha filter.
Thanks Alex! I have 3nm all over (from Astrodon, they were the only choice for 3nm at the time), because Tokyo. In general, I'd recommend 3nm for OIII and SII (weak signal, so need as much SNR as possible), and 5nm for HA (strong signal, so can survive LP more easily, plus that NII bandpass!). This is what most people do I believe.
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks for the reply! Have you heard much about the Antlia 3.5nm filters that came out recently?
@@AlexJames-mj1bz I've heard of several people getting them - at least one received a defective SII filter. If I were on the market, I'd probably go for Chroma or for Baader Ultra-Narrowband (even if they're still at around 4nm), just to be safe...
Hi Cuiv, great video again, one question , how many frames do you take before dittering with 30 or 60 seconds ?
It depends on how many total frames I'm taking, but I typically dither every 3 to 5 frames in that case, so I don't lose too much imaging time, while still keeping the benefits of dithering
I'll add here that dithering frequency is determined by how many subs you're taking as Cuiv mentioned, but also the resolution of your sensor. Higher resolution sensors need to be dithered more often, especially with short subs. I was super surprised when I tried to do some LRGB imaging of Corona Australis recently with my 183mm that I ended up with walking noise when I usually never get it when I do narrowband imaging. Usually for NB I image for 3 minutes and dither every 3 subs and it works fine. I thought when doing LRGB with exposures of 45s that I could get away with dithering every 5 subs but that didn't work at all. It was suggested to me that due MP count of the 183 you really should dither every 2nd, maybe every 3rd sub when doing short exposures. It wasn't something I had considered before so hope that helps
Great comparison. What were your gain settings with the 533?
Thanks Darren! My gain was 101
I just tried the L-extreme on a revisited target and was amazed by all the extra nebulusity in the Lagoon Trifid area. There's a cat's paw in there! Also, regarding the potential inflexibility of tying the two bands together in one filter, it maybe possible to extract and process the narrowbands separately to get more out of the O-III from a dual band filter. www.astropixelprocessor.com/community/main-forum/problem-with-extract-ha/
Overall, it really is a great filter! It is indeed possible in processing to create a synthetic HA, synthetic OIII and then imitate some narrowband palette - but you still are capturing signal to noise ratio for HA long after you don't need to, instead of focusing all your pixels on OIII, if you see what I mean....
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks for responding. Yep, it would take separate sets of images to create the best exposure for each band, but I thought it was a clever trick to maybe get a little bit better out of the tools available. Awesome channel! How to you churn out so much good stuff so often?
Could this filter be used for photographing galaxies? If not, what filter do you recommend for that with a color camera?
No it's not good for galaxies... I never had good success with any filter on galaxies except simple Lum filter...
Hi Cuiv, what brand of 3nm filters do you have on Vixen? I have just purchased set of Chroma 3nm, and waiting for them to arrive. Do you find focusing difficult with these? Any tips for using such narrowband filters?
I have the Astrodon 3nm filters - the Chroma should work excellently as well! My focus exposure is 10 seconds with these (at f3.8 and gain 200), and it works quite well. Tips would be: take advantage of these filters, and expose a long time for each sub so you can really grab the tiniest wisps of nebulosity!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks for that, it sounds like I might be a little optimistic using these at f7, think I might need a focal reducer. The point on the gain is a good one, did not think of that. The faint detail in nebulosity is exactly what I want. The detail in your image of the crescent nebulae with L-extreme is impressive, indeed it would be impressive even if it had been taken in Bortle Class 3-4, in monochrome on larger APO. I am becoming a little obsessed with detail in images! Mmm... perhaps the move to the Scottish Highlands might be on the cards!
@@grahamwhite75a Don't get too obsessed with details!!! :D I used to use these filters at F7 on an EdgeHD800 - it works, but my AF was then 20 seconds...
Hello....Are there any plans for a clip-in L-extreme filter for a full-frame Canon DSLR like the 6D? There are so many of us who would love to use this filter with our Canon prime lens. TU !
That's a question for Optolong! :D I have no relationship with them and have no idea!
@@CuivTheLazyGeek TU for your reply. Enjoy your videos quite a bit. This is a long shot but can you think of any way to use a 2" filter with a DSLR and DSLR lens? I realize the BF may get messed up but is this anything that can be compensated for by refocusing the lens etc? Desperately trying to use my 2" extreme filter with my 6D and Canon primes. Thanks agn !
If you dont mind , what do you do in Japan ? I want to go, I worked for Delta and have flying benefits , looks like a beautiful place
I work at a software company, standard corporate drone :-) I envy you, my dad was at Air France for decades and I enjoyed such tickets for a long time...
@@CuivTheLazyGeek yea , it's a good gig , my dad worked at the airlines to so been flying all my life... Got my first shot yesterday so hopefully I can get back to flying soon... Keep the vid coming
Have you checked out DGM Skyglow?
Nope, I had never heard of it. Seems like a budget version of the ZWO Duoband...
In the final image. Are there any advantage between L-extreme 2" Vs 1.25" and an Asi533 mc?. The price is important. Thanks
For the ASI533MC, as long as you have a good way to include it in the image train (and you don't use something like an F1.4 scope), a 1.25 inch filter is perfectly fine!
Culv.....do you need to crank up your gain to get more through this filter through to my ASI385mc
Looking at the read noise chart of the AsI385MC, I'd likely be at gain 60 in broadband, and maybe gain 150 for narrowband
Thanks Culv…..appreciate all you put into these videos and info !!!
i need 2 of them , im surrounded by Pot LED (pink, red) GREENHOUSES .... erggg
Ugh, that sounds really painful! You need monochrome + 3nm narrowband filters!
This paper indicates the L-eXtreme is not the best choice for f/4 and faster, especially in H-Alpha and that the L-eNhance should be preferred at f/4. See that graph (fig 12) at page 11: karmalimbo.com/aro/reports/Test%20Report%20-%20Optolong%20L-eXtreme%20Filter_Aug2020.pdf
Cuiv , can you use it on galaxies ???
No! This is really a filter for nebulae! I mean you'll get something on galaxies... Just not much.
Galaxies are emitting a continuum, not lines. The best tactics is to cut off disturbing lines or small bands of artificial lighting. If only low- pressure sodium lamps are used, a neodymium filter will do a good job. For the bands of high-pressure sodium lamps, use CLS and similar; it will also reduce the green line of mercury containing lamps. Some IDAS filters block only the disturbing lines and can help, too.
I think these people are taking the piss for charging £180 - £240 for a piece of tinted glass
Yeah I understand the feeling, although it's much more than a piece of tinted glass - I'd be very interested in knowing the actually R&D and manufacturing costs. 3nm filters are extremely expensive, so I would think there is an underlying reason...