advice on filters

[allen g]

:hello2:Hi, I am a newcomer and enjoying every moment i get to view the heavens. I have found the info you all provided to be invaluable. Now that I have a couple of fine EPs to view the sky, I was wondering if filters are really useful and worth it. I was thinking of a filter for the moon, jupiter (as well as other planets, etc) and possibly one to filter out light pollution (eg, a UHC filter by lumicon). I have been working with a 2" diagonal. Your opinions and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. allen g

[spaceboy]

What size scope do you have ?

[allen g]

I have the Meade LX 90 8" with a set of 4000 plossls and a 10 and 21 ethos eps.

[MjrTom]

I like the Baader Neodymium filter for planetary viewing as it increases the contrast.

I also have a Lumicon UHC filter which is excellent for seeing nebulas especially planetary nebulas.

[spaceboy]

I will start off by saying there is NO substitute for dark skies. While you will already know this I wanted to make this point as some nebula require both dark skies and a filter to be seen at all and galaxies ideally need dark skies to see any kind of significant improvement. The most obvious being M31. Until you have seen it under dark skies you really cannot appreciate just how huge M31 is. No filter will ever give you this no matter how good they are!!

The reason why I asked what scope you have is UHC & OIII filters are best recommended for 8" and above. Some brands give a harsher effects to the image while others allow more light to pass through so as to which one to pick you really have to search the internet for reviews that closely match your scope.

The Baader Neodymium is often recommended as an all round filter although as I have not tried one I cannot comment on it's performance.

UHC filters work well but the most useful filter I have ever used is an OIII filter.

I know this doesn't actually answer your question but the trouble is we all have different levels of LP, different scopes and to a degree different climates. There are so many filters out there one may work wonders in your scope while the other is terrible. I personally don't feel LPR filters offer a high enough performance value over cost but others may disagree. My argument is that UHC & OIII filter work under both LP and dark skies so you are getting more bang for your buck.

If I could only choose one filter it would be a OIII. Price is the only deciding factor after that.

[Damo636]

As above the only filter i own is a Oiii. I bought it specifically for the Veil nebula and it has not disappointed. Although i can see the Veil unfiltered it really jumps out with the Oiii in place. The UHC may be a better all rounder though as i believe its not as harsh.

[Charon]

Another vote for the Baader OIII filter.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have an old Celestron LPR filter (wide band, useful on many fuzzies) and an APM UHC filter (narrow-band, very useful on planetary and other emission nebulae, useless for galaxies and reflection nebulae). I am planning to get an O-III as well for reasons given by others above. The Veil and the North America nebula and Pelican were unforgettable sights in my 80mm with UHC filter AND from a dark site.

[allen g]

Thank you for the suggestions I will check them out. Has anyone heard of or used the DMG GCE filters. I have been reading and came across this brand as well. Lastly how useful are the colored filters for using the moon & planets. Very much appreciated.

[faulksy]

i bought a baader OIII for my 6" sct and it blocked out to much light couldnt see anything with it, even lost a lot of detail on orion. as spaceboy said 8" and above, but different brands might work differently

[rwilkey]

My advice is to stick with the broadband and narrowband filters, the OIII is particularly useful in my view, as for coloured filters, they don't do anything for me so consequently I don't like them or use them.