Individual narrowband vs. UHC filter imaging???

[AlexxxAA]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to astro imaging and I'm trying to get my equipment together. I've been looking at some nice pictures using narrowband filters. Will using a UHC filter that I already have give the same effect on nebulas as using the other individual filters and stacking? Or will the end result be completely different or not as good???

On another note, is the effect also better when bringing RGB filters into the mix? Thanks in advance

[Ben Ritchie]

UHC is generally H-beta plus [O III] - you need to check that it doesn't leak UV/IR, as they're generally visual filters and therefore block only what the eye can see. In general the H-beta line is a factor of around three weaker than H-alpha for pretty much all nebular conditions, so UHC isn't a general replacement for H-alpha + [O III]. But if you're using an unmodified DSLR with aggressive IR cut then it's not so bad, as you wouldn't get much H-alpha signal anyway.

edit: the other disadvantage is that the UHC lines are similar wavelengths, so splitting the lines out into the Hubble palette isn't really practical. With conventional Ha/[O III]/[s II] you acquire the data separately.

[AlexxxAA]

Thanks alot ben

I'm already in the process of collecting some narrowband filters. I got rid of my uhc, since like you said its mainly for visual aid... I already purchased an Astronomik H-a... And I'll look into getting the O-III soon as well