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Lumicon UHC vs DGM NPB filter

cpsand88

By cpsand88
in Discussions - Eyepieces

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ronb

ronb

Posted
Posted

I don't want to highjack this thread but I'm looking for a 2" UHC filter. Is there a noticable difference in performance between the Lumicon/Astronomik filters against the cheaper ones (eg Skywatcher/Baader) or is any difference marginal? I am aware that whether the extra cost is worth it is my decision.

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allen g

allen g

Posted
Posted

I own the Astronomik uhc & Lumicon O III and both are truly of high quality. I bought them based on various reviews and they have proven to be excellent filters but how they compare to less expensive I cannot address, albeit others that have viewed through mine who have experience with others were very impressed. allen g

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Tiki

Tiki

Posted
Posted

I have recently bought a Lumicon UHC and have hardly had chance to use it. With my 4" frac it worsened the view of M1 and enabled me to see a bit of The California Nebula. The sky was dark enough to just about discern The Milky Way.

This link http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/filters/curves.htm has a whole bunch of light transmission curves for a wide range of filters which is handy (and interesting) for comparisons. I hope it helps.

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Rossco72

Rossco72

Posted
Posted

I have the DGM one, purchased from the states, they are very highly thought of over in America and have taken a lot of Business from Lumicon.

I have only had the chance to use mine in 3-4" refractors so far, it definately cuts out the skyglow and makes the contrast better. However I really want to give it a go in the 14" dob to see what it can really do....

Cheers

Stuart

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ronb

ronb

Posted
Posted

Many thanks for your comments, much appreciated. Very encouraging reports on the top end filters. From other threads here it would appear that people are also happy with both Skywatcher and Baader. It would appear that few if any on SGL have experience of these filters at both ends of the price spectrum which is what I was hoping to hear.

I currently have a 1.25" EHC filter that OOUK sold me for LP. It isn't branded so I don't know its spec but it seems to work well on M42 so I want a 2" UHC for my larger EPs.

One consolation if I go for the Lumicon or Astronomik is that at least the wife won't know I have paid twice the price of one of the cheaper ones.....

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  • 2 years later...
TheLookingGlass

TheLookingGlass

Posted
Posted

I have recently bought a Lumicon UHC and have hardly had chance to use it. With my 4" frac it worsened the view of M1 and enabled me to see a bit of The California Nebula. The sky was dark enough to just about discern The Milky Way.

This link http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/filters/curves.htm has a whole bunch of light transmission curves for a wide range of filters which is handy (and interesting) for comparisons. I hope it helps.

The California Nebula is best seen with the H-Beta filter...Also, the Crab Nebula emits light in polarized, so filters don't do a whole lot for M-1, except for maybe darken the background to see it a tad more.

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TheLookingGlass

TheLookingGlass

Posted
Posted

As far as a comparison goes......about 5 of us compared the Lumicon UHC to the DGM NPB on M-42 in Orion. The Lumicon had a green cast to it, while the DGM NPB made it look more natural. The red leak in the DGM NPB made stars look reddish..but that can easily be ignored because the main thing one looks at is the nebula anyways. The Lumicon showed the nebula as greenish-looking and so were stars.

I'd say that the DGM NPB had an overall more "natural" look to M-42.

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John

John

Posted
Posted

It is an old thread :smiley:

Since contributing to it I've acquired a DGM NBP filter. It's a great filter and pairs with the Lumicon O-III really well :smiley:

Just as David Knisely said it would of course !

I used the NBP on the Crab Nebula the other evening and it did enhance the contrast and structure a little I felt, along with darkening the background sky. Not an earth-shattering improvement but welcome nonetheless.

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  • 5 months later...
Bramble

Bramble

Posted
Posted

I just acquired the DGN NPB filter as a result of reading pages like this and other reviews.  I bought it directly from Dan McShane in the US.  FYI, it took 2 weeks to arrive and I had to pay the Post Office £29 approx.  This made the total cost of the filter around £150.  I have yet to use it, waiting for a suitable night!

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GavStar

GavStar

Posted
Posted

I got mine from okularum this year and they were very efficient.

John/Stu, when I use mine the stars become red but also I get a bit of a 'double' star effect. Do you get this as well? Clearly seeing more nebula is the key aim but I found the star appearance a little surprising.

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Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Gavster said:

I got mine from okularum this year and they were very efficient.

John/Stu, when I use mine the stars become red but also I get a bit of a 'double' star effect. Do you get this as well? Clearly seeing more nebula is the key aim but I found the star appearance a little surprising.

Gav, yes I see the same effect with mine. Not ideal but the nebula views are very nice still.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
Posted

I thought that these more expensive filters gave tighter star images? I have never noticed double star reflections (I presume they are reflections) with my Castell but the stars are not as tight as an Astronomik I tried once.

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John

John

Posted
Posted

I picked an inaccurate description of the effect I think. It's not really 2 star images but rather that the star images do look slightly different through the filter than they do without the filter in place.

I have found that star images are tighter with the Astronomik, Lumicon and NBP filters than they are, for example, with an Orion Ultrablock.

 

 

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GavStar

GavStar

Posted
Posted

I definitely get some ghosting using mine. Having done some further research (ie googling) I think I may have found the reason. I believe that the okularum filter is actually a 'new improved' ngb filter produced separately by omega optics rather then the 'classic' ngb one that Dan mcshane designed. In a post on 26 March 2015 on cloudynights, Dan McShane states that the new version is in his opinion not as good for visual as it produces a more blurred star image. You can get the classic one still direct from Dan in the US and I now think this may be the best option.

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