Light pollution filters such as the Optolong L-Pro are designed to ignore many of the wavelengths of artificial light that surround my backyard sky. Thankfully for astrophotographers in my situation, there are a variety of filter options available. OIII and SII and can be incredibly gorgeous.īut what about if you want to capture a full-color portrait of an astronomical target with the real colors? Because the wavelength of light they record is so narrow, only the good light that contains the gas from your target is recorded on the camera.Ī false-color image can be constructed using a set of filters in Ha. Narrowband filters are an excellent option when it comes to capturing DSO’s (deep-sky objects) through bright city skies. Update: In January 2019, we moved to the other end of town, which is now a Bortle Scale Class 6/7. The biggest problem when taking images of space from the city is lack of contrast. I live in a red-zone on the light-pollution map ( Bortle 8), which makes long exposure astrophotography a challenge. Unless I want a completely white image of the sky in a 30-second exposure, I need to do something about that horrible city glow. Whether I am shooting with a modified or stock DSLR camera, shooting from the city without a filter is not realistic. The Astronomik CLS (city light-suppression) filter is the perfect “first-filter” for astrophotography, whether it is through a telescope, or with a camera lens. This filter has a proven track record of consistent results under city light pollution, and one of the first light pollution filters I used with my camera. If you are currently shooting with a stock Canon DSLR camera (that has not been “astro-modified”) such as the Canon EOS T6i, T7i, etc., I suggest the affordable Astronomik CLS filter (clip-in).

In my mind, the filter that produces consistent usable data from your location is the one you’ll use most. I’ll provide actual image examples of subjects shot using these filters, so you can decide which filter is best for you. The majority of my imaging happens in my light-polluted backyard, but I have used many of these filters under dark rural skies as well. The Optolong L-eNhance dual bandpass is a great choice for one-shot-color astronomy cameras. In the following post, I will share what I have discovered about each of these filters when in use for astrophotography. This includes both deep-sky camera and telescope configurations, and with wide-angle camera lenses. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to use a number of filters designed to improve astrophotography performance.

Couple that with the fact that these astrophotography filters can be expensive, and you’ve got some tough decisions to make. There have never been so many choices available, with each one offering their own advantages and disadvantages. One of the most common questions I receive each day is which light pollution filter I recommend for astrophotography in the city.

Dark crusade camera mod