Battling Light Pollution - A Comparison

[rickstanners]

Having got totally fed up with an inability to image anything thanks to LP, I bit the bullet and went to find a decent filter.

Initially I went for a Skywatcher LP filter, which although it did make a difference, was not really allowing me to achieve a huge amount more than without.

I have read that sometimes the type of lights in your area can have a bearing on which filter will work better, so I decided it might be worth having a go with a different one. So next on the list was an Astronomik clip-in CLS, which was also meant to be a bit more 'aggressive' anyway.

Unfortunately, with the weather as it is, I can't do any meaningful imaging comparisons (especially over how 'process-able' the resulting images are), but I decided to do a bit of a ground-based comparison. Below is the comparison between no filter, the Skywatcher and the CLS. All images are 30s exposures with the 450D and Megrez 72.

No Filter

Skywatcher LP Filter

Astronomik CLS

From this test, it would seem that the CLS will be the better choice here, but I'll just have to wait for some good weather to try it out properly! I will update the thread with the results, if people are interested.

It would perhaps be interesting to run some sort of survey on which filters people use in different areas, with different set ups, and different aims (e.g. visual/imaging etc), and see if there's any correlation...

Rich

[PeterW]

Very impressive indeed!

PEterW

[Beulah]

The CLS looks to have an amazing effect on LP....

I was going to invest in the Skywatcher equivelent next year, but am going to have to change my mind about that one...

[SteveL]

I used a CLS filter for imaging, but swapped to using a Hutch IDAS instead. Less harsh, less colour shift in the images, but it could be that the IDAS worked better for my location.

[Starblazer]

Looking at the last image, was that doubling from camera shake or is that due to the filter? It seems more out of focus than the other 2 although better colour corrected.

[Psychobilly]

Hutech IDAS P2 for me as well... have It in 2" and as a body filter for the Canon Cameras..

I Also have Astronomik CLS-CCD (now relegated to the 3rd camera) and Lumicon Deep sky and several other types that dont even coem out of the "seemed like a good idea at the time" boxes and I have quite a few of those...

Like SteveL it may be down tot he LP that I have around here but it gives by far teh most natural colour rendition...

Billy...

[kevin321]

Looks like someone was watching wot you are up to on the first pic, Great test

[bish]

I'm impressed with the difference using the Astronomik filter. If the effect is as striking on DSO's, should be great.

[causerino]

Can I ask what colour the street lights are? Just I expect this has a bearing on how good each filter is.

ie My current street lights are a very bright orange, but previous house was more of a white light from the street lamps.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Can I ask what colour the street lights are? Just I expect this has a bearing on how good each filter is.

ie My current street lights are a very bright orange, but previous house was more of a white light from the street lamps.

Very bright orange usually means you are lucky: they are probably low-pressure sodium lights. These can easily be eliminated even with my old Celestron LPR filter. I am looking for a replacement, so this thread is very interesting to me.

[stolenfeather]

Very interesting and effective test. Thank you! I've been asking myself the question for some time now about filters,

Now I have answer!

[causerino]

Very bright orange usually means you are lucky: they are probably low-pressure sodium lights. These can easily be eliminated even with my old Celestron LPR filter. I am looking for a replacement, so this thread is very interesting to me.

Thanks for the info, I hope they are eliminated easily as they are in close vacinity. I have gone for a Explorer 130P and a Skywatchet LPR filter so I'll try do some comparisons as well.

[Lerxst]

That's very impressive - is it great for visual observations too?

I live in a fairly light polluted area, just between two cities - with my 12" I can easily see the nucleus of M31, and will the CLS allow me to see the dust lanes, for instance?

I have a Lumicon OIII filter, but it's suitable for nebulaes only.

[johnnychaos]

Wow what a difference. I've recently ordered a Skywatcher LP filter so hope it wasn't a waste. I've recently moved to a small village and hoped the LP would be better than the town I used to live in.

But the orange glow is so bad, on our first night we thought we'd left lights on downstairs. But it was just the glow coming through the glass on the front door!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Wow what a difference. I've recently ordered a Skywatcher LP filter so hope it wasn't a waste. I've recently moved to a small village and hoped the LP would be better than the town I used to live in.

But the orange glow is so bad, on our first night we thought we'd left lights on downstairs. But it was just the glow coming through the glass on the front door!

The orange glow may be from low-pressure sodium vapour lamps, as mentioned above. Even fairly basic LP filters work rather well on them visually.