Optolong L-eXtreme Dual-Band Filter Review

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The Optolong L-eXtreme is an exciting addition to the one-shot color filter selection. This filter is narrowband, with a 7nm FWHM Hydrogen alpha bandpass, and a 7nm FWHM Oxygen-III (doubly ionized oxygen) band. This filter cuts through light pollution and allows imaging of emission nebula, planetary nebula and even allows for imaging galaxies with active star-forming regions.
In this review, I used my experience and data acquired with the L-eXtreme and let you judge the results for yourself. Thank you to Jim Thompson, at Abbey Road Observatory for allowing me to use his data (specifically transmission graph) for this review.
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27 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 69

@JenhamsAstro 3 года назад

Very helpful. I have similar Bortle to you and have been searching for ages for a clear statement about the use of this filter and the L-enhance in this kind of sky. You answered my question, thanks.

@travbonde6035 3 года назад

I’m sold great review Cody!!!

@RaysAstrophotography 3 года назад

Everyone is getting that filter! Good review Cody!

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Thanks as always, Ray!

@beatriceheinze2294 3 года назад

Fantastic and detailed review! Thank you! 😃👍

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

@jackelrdhdhd4534 3 года назад

I liked your review / very helpful / but most of all I liked the fact you don't fiddle your data to death . THNX

@redfireroush 3 года назад

Great info as always! Thanks!!!

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Sure thing!

@bobbeanbags 3 года назад

Thanks! Great review

@GalaxyArtMedia 3 года назад

Good video. I have read also the Optolong L-eXtreme Filter Comparison at fast f ratio, useful information. I was testing these nights optolong l enhance and uhc s nebula filter at f 2.8, but i had fog, so i am waiting for clear sky.

@NebuloCity 3 года назад

Great review, thx for putting this together. The L-Extreme is a great filter for sure. The main critique I have is the halos it produces on bright stars. Not an easy artifact to fix in post. Otherwise, excellent option for those of us in Bortle class 6-9 skies. Have the L-enhance too. Agree with your comments and Jim’s analysis on both! You ever try the L-Pro or IDAS LPS D2? That second one is great for LED lit skies. Thanks again and clear skies to you!

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Thanks, glad you enjoy it. I own both the L-Pro IDAS LPS D2. Both excellent filters!

@JenhamsAstro 3 года назад

Very helpful video, thanks.

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

You bet! Have a good one!

@Spaced_Out_Bill 2 года назад

Great video, thank you!

@AstroBlender 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it, Bill!

@antandshell 3 года назад

This video is way more than the title says. You should rename it to reflect all the comparisons you made with the filters and the speed of the scope. Incredible information here.

@3DAstroTC 3 года назад

Fascinating!

@merc500sec 3 года назад

Hi Cody , well the triband from Altair astro will work up to f2 as it’s got 35nm blue and 12nm red , which is perfect for fast scopes , great videos keep it up

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Yeah, those wide bands definitely help.

@scottrk4930 3 года назад

Excellent followup Video ! Question , have you ever had halos around stars with either Filter and any of your Scopes ? Also , you mentioned you have a "shorter" approach to Post Processing your Images . Any chance of a future Video showing us what you use and how you do it ? /SRK

@MrWakeupUSA 3 года назад

Have you been able to get the ASIair pro to work with your Alt-Az mount?

@w8bya 3 года назад

Are there any plans for a clip-in L-extreme filter for a full-frame Canon DSLR like the 6D? There are so many of us who would love to use this filter with our Canon prime lens. Thank you !

@wizardz7938 3 года назад

So what should we be looking at instead

@koppervik1 Год назад

Very interesting! I was unaware that the speed of your scope was a factor. I shoot from bortle 5-ish with a dslr and a 61EDPH-II at f4.5. I have both a l-enhance clip-in for the dslr, and a 2 inch l-extreme for the reducer innthe scope. My next project is SH 2-173 Phantom of the Opera and the CTB1 the Garlic (or popped baloon...) nebula, both within the same frame of the dslr. Now... enhance, or extreme ? 🤔

@timburgess1528 3 года назад

hi Cody, thank you so much for taking the time to create this video! I am fairly new to AP. I have the Redcat with 183MC OSC, and am in Bortle 4.5'ish same as you. Pls can I ask 2 questions: 1) for galaxy photos I am using the Optolong L-Pro, would you do the same with your redcat in 4.5 skies or do you think it doesn't need a filter at all? 2) for nebula photos the filter choice seems quite borderline with the F4.9 Redcat in 4.5 skies, would you recommend the L-Enhance instead of the L-Extreme? Many thanks Cody!

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

This is just my personal opinion, but yes I would use the L-eNhance over the L-eXtreme at f/4.5. For galaxies it depends on the target, but I usually use a UV/IR cut and that’s all. An L-Pro should be okay, but you may lose some important signal depending on the target. Galaxy imaging is fun but challenging!

@timburgess1528 3 года назад

@@AstroBlender hi Cody, thank you so much but please can I ask 1 more thing- you say that for galaxies it depends on the target. why would the target make a difference as I thought all galaxies would have same basic wavelength spectrum profile? Thanks!

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

@@timburgess1528 I think it’s only worth your time to image some galaxies that are really popping in H-alpha. Many galaxies H-alpha isn’t going to do a whole ton to your image. You’ll still get data of course, but it won’t make a huge difference. For starburst galaxies though that’s quite a different story.

@DennisCarmody 3 года назад

I understand where you’re coming from but I’m getting incredible images on my f/2.3 Hyperstar and the lextreme. I haven’t tried it at f/6.3 yet though. Maybe I should...

@Mark_Bloom 3 года назад

Good video! A question: I see in some of your unedited shots a "star burst" off the edge of the frame. What is that? From the camera? I just started imaging and purchased the ASI294MC-Pro as well, and I see the same artifact.

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Yes, that is amp glow. Very common. It is removed when you apply dark frames.

@jimb7931 3 года назад

great video. Where did you get that saddle bar that allowed a guide camera and ASI Air on the same plane?

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Yep, got it on eBay. It’s great. Imaging with the RedCat is so easy. I can carry the entire thing with one finger!

@TaCtiCaL323 3 года назад

Good vid man, thanks. I unfortunately have already received my L-extreme to go with my Redcat51, which I see now wasn't the smartest choice. That being said I'll hang on to it for my next rig, which will be a bit bigger than this one. Might do some homework on the L-enhance and if that's the better Ha/Oiii option for a scope at f/4.9, I'll snag one of those. I do have a random question though. What is the adapter you have attached to your saddle that allows you to mount your guider and ASIair to it? I just started looking for a mounting solution for the same gear. Any response would be greatly appreciated!

@Spaced_Out_Bill 2 года назад

Hi TaCtiCaL323, Have you been able to use your L-extreme with the Redcat 51? What were the results?

@TaCtiCaL323 2 года назад

@@Spaced_Out_Bill I would match the L-enhance with the Redcat. I've had some good results with the extreme, but also some wierd ones. Keep in mind, I'm no pro, but I feel like I get better data with the L-enhance.

@singhsaurabh13 3 года назад

Hello Cody. Pse spare a few minutes for suggesting me accessories (especially eyepieces) for newly purchased Celestron's Next star 6se. I have only one 25 mm eyepiece which came with the telescope. Thanks brother, many regards from India.

@Hebert6615 3 года назад

Great info...I'm waiting on my RASA 8 and L-Extreme to show up. I'm curious to see how it will perform with the ASI2600MC-Pro.

@fmrc69 3 года назад

So after hearing him say on an f/2 system is only passes 10% of the Halpha, you're still going to get it?

@Hebert6615 3 года назад

@@fmrc69 its already been ordered. I'm curious to see if it behaves differently on the 2600 versus the 294 he us using. The 2600 samples better on the RASA 8 than the 294 that undersamples (at least according to Astronomy Tool CCD Suitability). And even if it doesn't work like I hope it does, I can still use it on the RedCat.

@fmrc69 3 года назад

@@Hebert6615 Well if its already been ordered then I really hope it works well enough for you. Pretty sure the performance is irrelevant to the camera used, as the transmission % is purely based on the angle of the light going through the filter before it hits the sensor.

@bealema123456 3 года назад

Using a 3d print I'm able to use the 1.25 inch on my canon using a samyang 135mm.... If I changed the aperture to above f5 ... Does it work the same way ? Or is different when it comes to telescopes ? I'm a newbie ha

@mwales2112 3 года назад

Good review. Cody, where did you get that double scope mount on the redcat?

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

eBay special! :D

@mwales2112 3 года назад

@@AstroBlender Plastic or metal?

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

@@mwales2112 Oh, definitely metal. I wouldn’t use it if it were plastic. It’s actually really solid, and well machined.

@mwales2112 3 года назад

@@AstroBlender I have found plastic one's, but no metal ones. Thank you

@Dennis-tf2cs 2 года назад

Do filters have a polarity? by that I mean Do they work the same regardless of what side of a filter is towards the camera sensor?

@AstroBlender 2 года назад

Some do, some don’t. I’m general you want the most reflective side to face the telescope and the least reflective side to face the camera.

@violamitch11 3 года назад

So, based on that graph you showed of the H-alpha transmission at different f-ratios, I did some math and came up with a conclusion. Let me know if my thinking is correct. (I shoot with an f/2 HyperStar, so I’m using f/2 as my starting point). Without a filter, a 1-second exposure at f/2 requires a 2.25-second exposure at f/3 to achieve the same exposure. But with the L-eXtreme filter only ~9% of the Ha light is allowed through at f/2, while 22% of the Ha light is allowed to pass at f/3. So with the filter, a 1-second exposure at f/2 would yield the same result as a 0.55-second exposure at f/3. Is that correct? Continuing the same math with the filter, a 1-second exposure at f/2 would be the same as a 0.55-second exposure at f/3, a 1.87-second exposure at f/4, a 3.75-second exposure at f/5, and a 6-second exposure at f/6. So it shouldn’t be that the filter doesn’t work at f/2-you’re still concentrating more Ha light at f/2 than at f/4, but the advantage of the speed is slightly diminished, with f/3 being the optimal ratio. As a follow-up to that math, if f/3 is optimum with this filter, could you do the math and stop down the scope to an f/3 from an f/2 using a mask of some sort? Would that accomplish the desired result and shorten the exposure time?

@fmrc69 3 года назад

I think you also have to consider the ratio of Oiii vs Ha at each focal ratio as it keeps getting larger and larger the faster your optical system. At f/6 you have roughly a 1.4:1 ratio of Oiii:Ha from your exposure, but at f/2 you have a 4:1 ratio and your image will be dominated by the Oiii.

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

@@fmrc69 Frank, this is correct. At f/2 O-III really dominates the image, this is true of f/3 as well. More H-alpha would be passed through the RASA without the central obstruction, as the light would be parallel to the camera, but because all the light is coming in from an angle, as you get to the edges of the mirror, you’re basically transmitting no h-alpha at all, and it slightly improves as you get closer to the center.

@JeffHorne 3 года назад

This is fascinating. I knew that band shift was an issue, but I didn’t know it was this drastic. I was thinking of getting an L-eXtreme for my RASA 8, but I don’t think I will anymore. I have been using an L-eNhance, and I’ve been happy with it, but signal loss is still significant, according to the chart. I guess the L-eNhance is the best option for this type of filter at f/2?

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

Yes L-eNhance is much better at f/2, but still doesn’t transmit as much of those wavelengths as you’d like to see. I’ve heard IDAS has a high speed filter, but I’ve yet to try it.

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

And yes, it’s quite drastic. F/2 is so fast it really requires that you design things for it, rather than adapt them to it.

@jamesthompson5878 3 года назад

You may want to have a look at Astro Hutech's IDAS-NBX filter. They've designed it specifically for use on f/2 optics. The pass bands are purposely shifted off band to the right so that when the bands shift with f-ratio, they keep O-III and H-alpha in-band for longer. I received mine this past Friday but haven't had much of a chance to test it yet.

@JeffHorne 3 года назад

@@jamesthompson5878 I'll be watching your site like a hawk, to see what you think of the NBX filter. I've been reading and researching, but there isn't a lot of info out there. Not that there's a lot to explain, but I can't even find any images that have been taken with it.

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

@@jamesthompson5878 That’s right, I’m wanting to get one and try it out. Will have to see what the wife says. :D

@martijnschuman 3 года назад

Hi, I have a Skywatcher 72ED 420mm f5.8 reduced to 336mm f4,64 connected to a Canon 760D. I was wondering how well the L-eXterme filter would work at this f ration. It's only f4.64 so it's not that fast but also not slow.

@AstroBlender 3 года назад

I didn’t get good results out of my RedCat51, which is f/4.9. The L-eNhance is much better for me at that speed.

@martijnschuman 3 года назад

@@AstroBlender Thanks for your replay. Do you maybe have an example comparison image where the difference is visible? Thanks in advance