Lumicon Oxygen III Filter

[Megaman250]

Hi,

I am thinking of getting the Lumicon Oxygen III Filter http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/lumicon-oxygen-iii-filters.html and was woundering if it would be worth getting the more expensive one's or will the mid range do just as well? and is there a particular brand I should be looking at?

[Megaman250]

Oh and I will be using it with my Celestron astromaster 70AZ until I manage to upgrade to the Skywatcher Explorer 200PDS EQ5 Pro GOTO Telescope at some point 

[swamp thing]

HI

First off the lumicon O-III is about as good an O-III filter as any on the market. Whether you feel the need to part with such a large amount of cash for a filter is up to you.

If you intend on spending a lot of time observing nebula it's certainly worth the investment IMO but others may differ.

If observing nebulae is only going to be an occasional thing for you. It may be worth considering a less expensive brand, unless money is no object of course

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If money is no object get the Dobson first. That will provide much more improvement in images of nebulae than the filter would. I would also favour a UHC filter over an O-III (unless you already have a UHC). I have fairly cheap and cheerful UHC and O-III filters, and they do the job. I am thinking of upgrading them at some point in time, to something like a Lumicon, but that upgrade is at the end of a long list.

[John]

I reckon it depends on how far off your prospective 8" scope is !

If you will be using the 70mm for this autumn and winter then I'd suggest UHC filter.

If you are thinking of the future then you will also need to consider going for 2" filters but the 70mm Astromaster is 1.25" only as I recall so thats another factor to think about.

When I used to have 80mm and 100mm as my largest scopes I started with a Baader UHS-C filter which was the 1st to show me the Veil and Owl Nebulae. I then moved on to a "full blown" Telescope Services (TS) UHC filter and then an Orion Ultrablock which were both good filters and more effective on enhancing the nebulosity but darkened the background stars quite a lot with my smallish aperture scopes. These were all 1.25" filters.

When an 8" and then a 10" scope came into my life I invested in a 2" Astronomik O-III filter which was really excellent and still worked pretty well in my 102mm scope, the smallest I own now.

Today I have a Lumicon O-III and an Omega DGM NBP filter (a UHC type) both in the 2" size and a Lumicon H-Beta in 1.25" (not used much to date !). I can't imagine that there are better filters out there for visual use although there are less expensive ones !

I'd be wary of investing in a 1.25" Lumicon O-III at this point if I were you because I would almost certainly be wanting one in the 2" size when my 8" scope came along.

[MarsG76]

I'm very happy with my Celestron OIII for observing and Baader OIII CCD filter for imaging.

[rockystar]

I'd be wary of investing in a 1.25" Lumicon O-III at this point if I were you because I would almost certainly be wanting one in the 2" size when my 8" scope came along.

John, do use only 2" eyepieces, or do you screw the filter into an adaptor\extension tube?

This is something I was thinking when I upgraded my extension tube and it came with a treaded base, were my old one didn't. Guess it would mean you can swap out the eyepieces without having to fiddle about also swapping the filter?

[John]

John, do use only 2" eyepieces, or do you screw the filter into an adaptor\extension tube?

This is something I was thinking when I upgraded my extension tube and it came with a treaded base, were my old one didn't. Guess it would mean you can swap out the eyepieces without having to fiddle about also swapping the filter?

Most of my eyepieces have 2" barrels. The 1.25" ones are high power eyepieces but when I want to use a filter with them I put it onto either the 2" barrel of a diagonal for my refractors or onto the threads on the bottom of a 2" - 1.25" adapter with my dobsonian. With the latter approach I've checked that the inserted 1.25" eyepiece barrels won't contact the filter attached to the adapter. They won't in my case but it's worth checking if you intend to use this approach.

[Megaman250]

Ok I don't think i will be getting a bigger telescope this year but hopefully next year I will be able to get the skywatcher 200p and this can take 1.25" EPs as astro photography is a little expensive at the moment, a filter may have to be put off until the skywatcher comes along as I am able to see deep sky objects with my 20x80 Bins for the time being.

I will just have to wait a little longer I have been using the Astromaster for a few months now and after getting my 20x80 bins it is a little difficult to go back to it!

[rwilkey]

I personally think you will not get much satisfaction by using it with a 70mm scope, which is not built for hunting feint DSO's.  It would be better for you to get the bigger scope first.  Also I think Lumicon filters are the best and have converted all my filters to Lumicon (2"). Also, if you are getting the 200PDS I would suggest getting 2" filters as they can be used with 1.25" or 2" ep's.

[jetstream]

What EP's does the OP have? Matching the eyepiece focal length to the filter can be crucial using these. Is this scope f13? and I just looked it up and comes with 20mm and 10mm? If this is what you have and these are the eyepieces they won't work well with the OIII, or to a lesser extent a UHC.

My vote? another scope first

[John]

.....My vote? another scope first

I tend to agree with Gerry. A 2" Lumicon O-III filter costs around £170.00. You can get a nice used 8" dobsonian for that sort of money which would make a massive difference to your views of deep sky objects over your 70mm scope, far more difference than any sort of filter would make.

[Mark at Beaufort]

I agree with all my colleagues that you would be better buying an 8" Dob rather than a Lumicon O-III filter especially the 2" which is £170. For the record I have a Lumicon UHC and an Astronomik O-III filter and they are both first class. Prior to the Astronomik I had a TS O-III which is currently on offer for about £80. The TS was a very good filter and enhanced many objects. in my 4" frac, 8" Newt and 10" Dob - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Optics-Nebula-Filter-telescopes-TSO31/dp/B004N60QZ6

[allen g]

I concur with the foregoing opinions.  I have the Lumicon 0111 (2") and it is high quality.  Works great in my 4" fract.  Buy your bigger scope first.