Buy Cheap buy twice? or a bargain?

[Adaaam75]

Guys,

I'm after an IR Pass 685nm filter and there are two distinct options with FLO.

The Antilia at £41 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/uv-ir-filters/birpass-1.html

The Baader at £77 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/uv-ir-filters/birpass-1.html

They look different in the images however that could easily be the image itself. My point is this, if it is an Infrared filter at 685nm and that is its only job, am I paying an extra £36 for the badge or will the Baader actually be more effective and true to the claim of 685nm where whereas the Antilia will be less accurate?

I'm happy to pay for quality and design if that's what I'm getting.

Thoughts?

[bosun21]

I just bought the Svbony 685nm IR pass filter from Amazon for £19.99. Works just fine for planetary imaging and is also used by other imagers.

 

Edited February 27 by bosun21

[ONIKKINEN]

I've no complaints for my one Antlia filter, and neither do i have any for my 3 Baader filters - should say none of them are these 2. Antlia filters are usually received well in terms of quality, maybe this is just a better deal than the Baader?

[Cosmic Geoff]

I bought a ZWO IR-pass filter that cost about £25. No complaints.

[Adaaam75]

Right! That's all I needed to hear guys and thanks so much. I have seen the SVBONY brand and that particular filter on Amazon and questioned the quality as it's £50 cheaper!

Is there a particular nm I should be looking at? There are 685nm, 720nm and 850nm. I'm using it with my ZWO 462 to shoot the moon.

[Adaaam75]

Guys, noob question……Does this make the images monochrome? I’m using it to image the moon however will look to extend the use to planets and wonder if I’d need coloured filters as well and how that works?
I do have coloured filters as part of this set https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/celestron-eyeopener-eyepiece-filter-kit-125.html

If I need colour filters, will they work? 

[Franklin]

8 minutes ago, Adaaam75 said:

I do have coloured filters as part of this set https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/celestron-eyeopener-eyepiece-filter-kit-125.html

If I need colour filters, will they work? 

They are visual filters for planetary observing not imaging.

[Adaaam75]

8 hours ago, Franklin said:

They are visual filters for planetary observing not imaging.

If indeed the IR Pass 685nm produces monochrome images, could you point me in the right direction for the filters i will need for imaging the planets as this will be the next step for me....

 

[Franklin]

2 hours ago, Adaaam75 said:

If indeed the IR Pass 685nm produces monochrome images, could you point me in the right direction for the filters i will need for imaging the planets as this will be the next step for me....

I'm no imager but I think colour filters are used with monochrome cameras. OSC camera with UV/IR cut for planets, I'm sure someone who knows what they're talking about will be along soon to give you a better answer😁.

[happy-kat]

Is that the ZWO462 MM or MC version you have?

[Kon]

I also use the svbony one. I got mine from Aliexpress so a tad cheaper than Amazon. It does not matter which brand.

A bargain set of filters are from Astromania, you get a UV, CH4 and IR pass (you can get them on Amazon). I also wrote a review a while back:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/409518-astromania-filters-for-planetary-imaging-review/

You will end up with monochrome images but if you combine different filters you can set false colours to them.

Venus with UV and IR pass false colourised:

11 hours ago, Adaaam75 said:

There are 685nm, 720nm and 850nm.

With your setup you are probably better off with the 685 or 720. 850 will be quite dim and you will need longer exposures or higher gain.

2 hours ago, Adaaam75 said:

If indeed the IR Pass 685nm produces monochrome images, could you point me in the right direction for the filters i will need for imaging the planets as this will be the next step for me

With the 462mc you need a UV/IR cut filter. Any cheap one will do (I have an svbony). You can also get IR and CH4  images on Jupiter and Saturn. Unfortunately the 462c is not senisitive enough in UV.

[Cosmic Geoff]

10 hours ago, Adaaam75 said:

Guys, noob question……Does this make the images monochrome? I’m using it to image the moon however will look to extend the use to planets and wonder if I’d need coloured filters as well and how that works?
I do have coloured filters as part of this set https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/celestron-eyeopener-eyepiece-filter-kit-125.html

If I need colour filters, will they work? 

The ASI462MC camera needs a UV/IR cut filter to produce correct colour images. With a IR-pass filter it produces a monochrome image with a bluish cast, which has to be corrected  to grey in post-processing.   Colour filters are used in a filter wheel in conjunction with a monochrome camera. 

[Adaaam75]

2 hours ago, happy-kat said:

Is that the ZWO462 MM or MC version you have?

MC

 

[Adaaam75]

2 hours ago, Kon said:

Venus with UV and IR pass false colourised:

With the 462mc you need a UV/IR cut filter. Any cheap one will do (I have an svbony). You can also get IR and CH4  images on Jupiter and Saturn. Unfortunately the 462c is not senisitive enough in UV.

Stunning image of Venus!

So I have the UV/IR Cut filter, it was recommended when I bought the 462mc, but I was slightly naive at the time and didn't really get why I needed it. Will this filter assist with the seeing then as the IR Pass 685nm?

And yes Happy-Kat, it is the colour version 462, so would this filter cut the colour which will then be drawn out in processing like your Venus image Kon?

[Kon]

34 minutes ago, Adaaam75 said:

Will this filter assist with the seeing then as the IR Pass 685nm?

34 minutes ago, Adaaam75 said:

o would this filter cut the colour which will then be drawn out in processing like your Venus image Kon?

No it will not help with seeing unlike the IR. As Geoff said above, the UV/IR cut will give correct colours. It does not cut colours but cuts UV and IR that can mess the colours.

Imaging Venus in colour will not give you much details (I have seen a couple but very subtle). For details on Venus clouds you need a UV pass filter. In the image above, I imaged in UV and IR. I assigned the UV in blue, IR red and I made a synthetic green of combining 50:50 the UV and IR. I colour balanced and edited the saturation.

With the UV/IR cut you will get colour images of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This is Jupiter from last year with the 462c and UV/IR cut filter. Without the filter you will get weird colours. You can also image in CH4 and IR and make a false colour that brings different features. See my interpretation on Saturn with the false colour from the mono images. These are all with the 462c (except Venus 462m)

 

Edited February 28 by Kon

[Adaaam75]

1 hour ago, Kon said:

No it will not help with seeing unlike the IR. As Geoff said above, the UV/IR cut will give correct colours. It does not cut colours but cuts UV and IR that can mess the colours.

Imaging Venus in colour will not give you much details (I have seen a couple but very subtle). For details on Venus clouds you need a UV pass filter. In the image above, I imaged in UV and IR. I assigned the UV in blue, IR red and I made a synthetic green of combining 50:50 the UV and IR. I colour balanced and edited the saturation.

With the UV/IR cut you will get colour images of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This is Jupiter from last year with the 462c and UV/IR cut filter. Without the filter you will get weird colours. You can also image in CH4 and IR and make a false colour that brings different features. See my interpretation on Saturn with the false colour from the mono images. These are all with the 462c (except Venus 462m)

Well it's good to know that the UV/IR filter can assist with images like that!

So the IR Pass 685nm will assist with stabilising the moon? The issue I have is my location. Moving from the South to the North not only brings consistently poor weather, it also gives bad seeing the majority of the time when there are no clouds!

[Kon]

44 minutes ago, Adaaam75 said:

Well it's good to know that the UV/IR filter can assist with images like that!

So the IR Pass 685nm will assist with stabilising the moon? The issue I have is my location. Moving from the South to the North not only brings consistently poor weather, it also gives bad seeing the majority of the time when there are no clouds!

Yes IR should help with bad seeing but at a loss of resolution. If the weather is stable, then uv/ir cut will be better plus you can reveal the mineral colours with having a colour capture.

The weather is not any better down south but we can only hope for better skies.

[Adaaam75]

1 hour ago, Kon said:

 plus you can reveal the mineral colours with having a colour capture.

 

I would prefer not to sacrifce resolution, so in hindsight i will give the UV/IR a chance to see what results i get first. Would a colour capture simply be the ASI 462MC without a filter.

[Kon]

9 minutes ago, Adaaam75 said:

I would prefer not to sacrifce resolution, so in hindsight i will give the UV/IR a chance to see what results i get first. Would a colour capture simply be the ASI 462MC without a filter.

For colour you will need to use the UV/IR cut filter. But if seeing is not great, then the IR pass will give you better results.

[happy-kat]

Also if imaging DSO the IR/UV filter helps as with out any filter stars can be a bit bloated.

I have the same camera, I went for the astromimix 742 though I hadn't got to use it much yet.

[Adaaam75]

Thanks Kon, I'm going to get the SVBony IR Pass filter for the moon to hopefully improve stability, because I suspect at the moment it will give better results than without.

I really appreciate your advice, just wish i could put it into practice more often!

[Adaaam75]

8 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Also if imaging DSO the IR/UV filter helps as with out any filter stars can be a bit bloated.

I have the same camera, I went for the astromimix 742 though I hadn't got to use it much yet.

I'm not at DSO yet! I really am dipping my toe in the water of imaging the moon and Jupiter but want to nail the moon first and get used to focusing accurately. It takes me ages to get used to a bit of kit, and it doesn't help when i can't use it often 😭

[happy-kat]

If using your camera with anything say asistudio or sharpcap I find it helps to practice with it when it's cloudy. I'm very happy with the camera.

[Kon]

2 hours ago, Adaaam75 said:

I'm not at DSO yet! I really am dipping my toe in the water of imaging the moon and Jupiter but want to nail the moon first and get used to focusing accurately. It takes me ages to get used to a bit of kit, and it doesn't help when i can't use it often 😭

Jupiter is way past its best and it is better to wait until later in the year. The moon is excellent to practice your setup and processing skills. Post your pics on the lunar section and ask for constructive criticism. It has really helped me asking for honest opinions to improve my imaging and processing; I have thick skin so I am happy to be told something is not good.

[Adaaam75]

5 hours ago, happy-kat said:

If using your camera with anything say asistudio or sharpcap I find it helps to practice with it when it's cloudy. I'm very happy with the camera.

That's a good point, I use Sharpcap and will consider using cloudy nights for practice! 👍🏼